Johannesburg

So, no, I'm not in South Africa. That would be pretty sweet. The 2010 World Cup started Friday and for the preliminary round there are three games per day. We are watching a lot of soccer on tv. World Cup is one of the reasons we got a big flat-screen tv. As much as my husband dislikes sports, he tolerates my love of soccer. We have several friends who don't have tv or cable so we started hosting World Cup viewing at our house Saturday afternoon. Today three people showed up at 6am for the Dutch vs the Danes. I had whipped up a batch of muffins while the coffee was brewing. We are doing this again tomorrow morning and I've already baked blueberry and also lingonberry muffins. Tomorrow's early morning match is Portugal vs. Ivory Coast. I really enjoy watching soccer!

My favorite droll thing today was after watching some piece of thuggery against a player, British announcer Ian Darke said, "He was dispossessed of the ball."

Tok Cutoff/Glennallen

We stayed in Tok for the night. Ralph doesn't like to eat before he begins talking to people, so it's always a late dinner afterward. We left the Tok Lodge and headed over to Fast Eddies for food. I ordered the nacho plate special. It was as big as a spare tire. Good grief. Very yummy, but I couldn't even eat a third of it. By the time we were finished, it was pretty dark. Suzanne had given us a 2010 Milepost before we left Anchorage and we used it a lot during the trip, especially from Tok to Gakona which neither of us was as familiar with, as we are other highways. Sourdough Campground and RV park is open all year along the Tok Cutoff about 2 miles from the junction. We did a couple circles in their parking lot trying to figure out if they really were open or not, and then a guy came out and set us up for the night. $27 for electricity, wi-fi, and bathroom with shower. It was very nice to be able to have heat all night and charge up all the techno devices. I slept really good that night.

We meandered along the Tok Cutoff the next morning, stopping to see a mining informational display and eating breakfast at Mentasta Lodge. I bought my girls some beautiful Athabascan beaded earrings at the lodge. The second half of the Tok Cutoff runs along the Copper River which forms a boundary for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Mt. Sanford and Mt. Drum were both visible. What glorious weather we had for our trip. Wowee.

We passed by Porcupine Creek campground which I haven't been to since 1990. In the 1960s our dad used to hunt near Slana and he knew the area well. Our family spent most summer weekends on the road system camping in one place or another and Porcupine Creek was a favorite. It had the running water of the creek, plenty of dead wood for the fire, and it was close to the road. That was in addition to being the most beautiful place on the planet. Back then, we towed a homemade trailer with our tent, 2-burner stove, rubber boots, and food. Mom, who came through young adulthood in the space age, tried every new food or food idea that came along. I remember wrapping blueberry biscuit dough around a stick and cooking it in the fire. It took a little more patience than us kids were up for, so was a short-lived camping creation. My favorite camping food was when Mom would make fried pies on the 2-burner. Nothing tastes so good as food eaten outdoors.

Glennallen is Glennallen. I've probably been there a couple hundred times. We parked the motorhome at the Hub and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon napping and watching motorhomes towing snowmachines coming into the Hub for gas. I have never seen so many snowmachines being towed anywhere in my life. Ralph says I need to get out more. He says every Friday evening in the spring, it's like this with people on the way to Petersville. Regardless of that, Arctic Man is a huge event. Most of the people headed to Summit for the race are spectators and snowmachine enthusiasts, not necessarily racers.

It wasn't my first time spending hours waiting at the Hub, although never inside a moving billboard. The gas station is called the Hub of Alaska because it sits at the junction of the Richardson and the Glenn Highways. The Richardson runs from Fairbanks in the north, through Delta Jct, through Glennallen, then south to Valdez. The Glenn runs from Glennallen southwest to Palmer and onto Anchorage. A couple women stopped by to talk, mostly about a local project they wanted Ralph to know about. Very interesting.

The Copper River valley newspaper and radio station both interviewed Ralph later in the afternoon. Our last event before heading home was a meet and greet at the Caribou Restaurant. It was fun for me because there was a real diversity of opinions stated during the conversation. Also, one of the people who came is the friend of a friend so I had a connection.

It got dark as we were headed away from Glennallen and the drive home was long. The weather was still wonderful, though, until we reached Anchorage. Upon reaching downtown, it started snowing hard, and the roads turned to ice. Several cars were in the ditches along the Seward Highway. We safely made it out to my house about midnight and unloaded all my stuff. Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

Delta Jct/Tok

I'm in Tok right now. Same routine as other places: arrive early, park strategically, wait awhile, then go inside and see what develops. Right now Ralph is chatting up a few people, probably about hunting and fishing, and I'm in the corner with internet and power. It doesn't get any better than that.


Delta was a lot of fun. Poor Boy Restaurant rocks in the diner food department. Alden has a giant smoker next to the front door and whenever the temperature rises above 20, he goes out and smokes up some delicious meat. I had the barbecue sandwich which was out of this world good. They also serve the biggest hamburgers in Delta.


I snapped some pictures of mountains from the Poor Boy parking lot. It's such a different view than what I'm used to. With no leaves on the trees, you can really see the mountains much better, plus the weather has been OUTSTANDINGLY sunny.


On the drive from Fairbanks to Delta to Tok, we keep seeing vehicles obviously headed to the Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic at Summit Lake. I say obviously because they are trucks or SUVs towing covered snowmachine trailers. Arctic Man is an annual race where a skier or snowboarder begins on a 5,800-foot summit. They drop 1,700 feet in less than two miles. At the bottom of a narrow canyon the skier or snowboarder meets up with their snowmachine partner, grabs a tow-rope and races to the finish line reaching speeds up to 86 mph. My kids' junior high gym teacher is a perennial winner, he's the skier of his team. Everyone around here says we should go, there are hundreds of spectators, but Ralph's schedule wouldn't allow it. The joke along the road system is that this year's Arctic Man should be called Mud Man because there is very little snow right now, it's so warm.

We are off toward Glennallen in awhile. Political conversation is heating up right now at our table. Better go.

Military Appreciation

What a privilege it was to attend the 42nd Annual Military Appreciation Banquet here in Fairbanks last night. Ralph sponsored seats at the table for the Delta Company Commander for the l/207th Aviation Battalion of the Alaska Army National Guard and his wife. Capt. Haker was also the first to be called to receive an award at the banquet. He's responsible for maintenance of the aviation battalion's fleet of UH-60L Blackhawk Helicopters. It was interesting to hear a little bit about his time in Kosovo.

General Norton A. Schwartz gave the keynote address. He emphasized how much work it is for the military and the surrounding community to have a good relationship. I had never really given that much thought, but he's right. It's melding two distinct systems into the same geographic area. The Fairbanks region in conjunction with Eielson, Ft. Wainwright, Clear, and Greely have done an outstanding job of making a vibrant and supportive community.

Beaucoup dignitaries attended last night's banquet. As we mingled, prior to being seated, I was talking to the wife of an aircraft manufacturer's rep. We were chatting about our kids and living in Alaska. Suddenly a person was there introducing himself and shaking her hand. The governor. There was no help for it. "Hi. I'm Paula Lindstam. I'm Ralph Samuels sister."

"Oh." To give him credit, he only looked liked he'd stepped in something nasty for about a half a second. Then cheerfully, "Good for you." He made a quick escape.

Later I told Ralph, "I met the governor."

"Oh, good for you," he said.

I've decided that just as red is the new black, "Oh, good for you" is the new "Who cares?"

Fairbanks

Last night we overstayed our welcome at the venue in Nenana. The poor restaurant managers needed to go home to bed and people kept trickling in to talk to Ralph. Everything was packed up so I started loading the motorhome and Ralph went off to the community center to talk more with some people for a few minutes. He came back two hours later. I'm laughing. My iPod's pretty well stocked so I was rocking out in the motorhome hoping he hadn't been kidnapped or something.

I have realized that voters who live along the road system are a very conservative bunch and there are a lot of political junkies like Ralph who can sit and chew the fat for hours. My head would explode.

Driving into Fairbanks through the rolling hills from Nenana at sunset was indescribably beautiful. We are experiencing the best weather we could ask for. We arrived at the hotel in Fairbanks around 10: 30.

Ralph had to set up appointments by phone this morning and then he went to do a radio interview, a luncheon, a meeting, and then maybe a tv interview. I didn't go to any of that. Instead I Googled "lunch" and found a Thai food place a few blocks away. I know, I know, it's always about the food with me. What can I say? It was great!

We are headed to the Military Appreciation Banquet in a little while. I'm all dressed up and ready to go. Hope I don't slip and fall on the ice in my dainty evening shoes. We are in Fairbanks for a couple more days.

Clear/Anderson & Nenana

We left the gloriously beautiful Healy (retirement possibility, Larry?) a little late due to the great conversation. I had to put my foot down and boost Ralph out of there. We ventured forth to Clear Sky Lodge at Clear where we strategically parked the motorhome again. After a couple hours of talk, talk, talk we turned the motorhome northward again to Nenana. We rested in the motorhome at Nenana for the remainder of the afternoon. Ralph went walking around the town and visited with a famous former Alaskan politician who lives here.

Right now I'm sitting in a very cute little restaurant called Rough Woods Inn. There are quite a few people here, sitting around enjoying the sandwich fixins, asking questions, listening to Ralph. It's a very relaxed atmostphere. It's been interesting to note the issues that keep coming up over and over again, and not necessarily those that affect the general national consciousness right now. These are people who are very independent, they read, and they think. I love Alaskans!

Off to Fairbanks this evening. We'll be there till Sunday or Monday.

Healy

We are into a routine. I set up and Ralph starts talking to people. I've heard the spiel many times now, but at every meeting someone asks a new question. During the meetings is the only time I have to use the computer because the venue usually has power and internet, so I'm trying to do many things at once, but my ears perk up when I hear that new question. The whole trip has been fascinating in that respect. We are hearing issues both local and personal along with national and communal. Very, very interesting.

Right now we're at Touch of Wilderness B & B. Windows line the breakfast room. It's a beautiful, clear day and the mountains are right there in the window. It's awesome. It's a wonder to me that this many people will show up at 7 in the morning to talk to Ralph. Quite a few people have come and gone already and more keep dropping by. To give you a better gist of this . . . we are 2.9 miles from the highway. You have to really WANT to talk to him in order to come here.
More later.