It’s been an easy week since my last blog, but I wonder where the time seems to go, as I haven’t got as much of my book done as I would have liked to. Time seems to disappear easily when sorting out the chickens, setting up the solar panel, hanging an outdoor shower, filling the water barrels, or any of the other things that so easily distract me here. I am thoroughly enjoying myself though.
This weekend I jumped at the chance of getting out and about when Moe suggested we go to Alaska to visit the Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines. Her daughter Maible is away at camp, so it was just Finn with us this weekend.
It is about five hours in the car from Whitehorse. The drive is spectacular, and the weather was beautiful. We stopped for lunch at Haines Junction, a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, and we crossed the border into the States without any problems, and more surprisingly, without any paperwork! Our tent was set up in the campground well before dinner time, so we went for a look around.
Haines is situated on the coast on a large sheltered inlet surrounded by mountains, and is very scenic. The Chilkoot River flows into the sea from Chilkoot Lake just nearby, and we watched salmon in the river, and eagles glide overhead. I was hoping to see a bear, apparently there are quite a few around here, but unfortunately we weren’t lucky enough to spot one.
In town in the evening we were extremely disappointed to have missed the opening hours for the intriguing Hammer Museum, but consoled ourselves with beer and pool in the pub next door.
The fair the next day was great. As I had hoped, there were all sorts of lumberjack competitions, including axe-throwing, running over logs dragging heavy cables, and sawing through huge trees with chainsaws! Brilliant.
Groups played on stage all afternoon and evening, and there was some great music. One of the highlights was the amazing “Nanda” – an all-action ninja juggling combat extravaganza.
The journey back was just as spectacular, and we stopped off for a snowball fight on the way. There is still plenty of snow around here, even in the middle of summer! Crossing back into Canada was just as easy as the border crossing on the way out, with a surprisingly minimal amount of questioning.
What a great weekend. It has been nice to do a little travelling again! Hopefully that will soothe my itchy feet enough to be able to sit down and get the next couple of chapters done!