Friday, February 13, 2009

Fun in the Alaskan Sun

While I was in Alaska, I wanted to do some cross-country skiing because it seems to be quite the sport up there. In Alaska, people run in the summer to train for skiing in the winter. A little backwards, huh? My sister, Grace, has become quite the skier, and my dad goes every night. Whenever we went out, the trails were full of people and dogs. Of course everybody brings their giant wolf dogs, and sometimes they are skjorking. Yes, that is a real thing. It's when your wolf dog pulls you on your skis. We also saw quite a few people with baby sleds. Yes, a tiny sled to put your child in and strap to your body while you ski along pulling the sled. We even saw one women skjorking (strapped to a dog in front of her) with her baby sled (baby strapped to her back). It looked a little dangerous, if you ask me. These are some pictures of our last skiing excursion. It was pretty fun. Grace literally skied circles around us. But I didn't let that hurt my feelings.





Look closely at the last picture. Do you see a MOOSE? On our way back, Mango (my parents dog-not a wolf dog, just a golden retriever) kept barking at some bushes and when we took a closer look there was a moose chomping, about 15 ft. away. In case, you don't remember, the last time we went to Alaska, I had a very special moose encounter. The moose charged me, probably the scariest thing ever! So you can imagine I was a little skiddish, strapped to some skis, completely helpless. My only consolation was the two sharp poles in to my hands. I skied away as quickly as possible, and then my dad came up behind me yelling, "RUN". Just imagine me high-tailing it out of there as fast as possible. Oh yeah, he was joking. Good joke, dad.

4 comments:

Alli said...

I wouldv'e probably done the same thing if I saw a moose and I've never even interacted with one. Guess I am more of an indoor girl?

Brittany Webster said...

HI!!!! oh my this is so fun! i am so glad you found me! I want to meet up with you! we are here til the end of april. email me - soon...
brittanywebster@gmail.com

I am so excited - thanks for your supportive words and you look great! I am assuming this is your little boy - if so, he is a doll!

Leslie said...

Um, the moose story is a little scary! People really run in the summer to train for skiing? Wow. Looks like it was a great trip.

Anne said...

That's a funny story about the moose, your dad, etc! I'll have to tell you my moose story sometime...coming face to face with one at midnight in Montana...scary). Hope you are well.