Alaska is Awesome

Anchorage, AK
February 25 - March 1, 2011

This weekend I went on an Alaskan adventure. My first trip up north was fantastic. The trip was planned around a festival called Fur Rendevous or Fur Rondy. This Alaskan festival is something that has to be experienced to be truly understood. It’s not often that I have trouble coming up with words to describe an experience. However, I’m really not sure how to pontificate what it is like to hang out in 0 degree temperatures, watching teams of people race custom built outhouses down a frozen downtown street. Snowshoes softball, sled-dog races and competitive snowball fights are also as glorious as they sound.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to watch the fur trade auction. The Fur Rondy festival started as a trading expo for fur trappers in the 1930s. Watching the auction itself was interesting but watching people bidding at the auction was a once in a lifetime experience. My two favorite characters were a pair of brothers dressed in full on taxidermied animal hats. One guy was wearing a wolf carcass (head and all) and the other was wearing a lynx. Their gloves were awesome too. Each seemed to be wearing hollowed out bear arms. And no, I’m not kidding.

The food in Alaska was surprisingly good. I had potentially the best halibut of my life at the Glacier Brewhouse. It wasn’t cheap but it was delicious. A friend took me to eat some of the best sushi I’ve ever had at a place that can only be described as a sketchy hotel. The location really was surprising. It was the type of restaurant you would never go to unless someone with local knowledge took you there. In this case, I’m glad he did.

I expected my trip to Alaska to be exciting, cold and fun. It surpassed my expectations on all levels. If Alaska isn’t on your bucket list, it should be.

Until the next adventure,
Katy