On July 22, we began making our way south from Fairbanks (N 64°  50.427’, W 147°  50.175’, sunrise 4:16, sunset at 23:39, moon rise at 23:40) to Anchorage with a stop at the Riley Campground in Denali National Park and the historic town of Talkeetna. While in Fairbanks we visited the Cabin Fever Quilt Guide show. Members meet monthly except when the outdoor temperature recorded that day is less then –35 degrees. Also during our time in Fairbanks the World Eskimo Indian Olympics was in progress. So of course we had to check out the Eskimo Stick Pull (greased with lard) and Alaskan Two Foot High Kick (kicking a small ball hung from a pole). Both were very intense competitions among the young men and women from villages throughout Alaska cheered on by their friends and family.

 

      

Fairbanks has erected a monument to the brave American and Russian pilot who ferried lend-lease aircraft to the Russian front during World War II. Many of the pilot who flew the airplanes from the United States to Alaskan bases were women. These are heroes that have not received much recognition.
                          

Because we did not have a reservation, we were very fortunate to obtain a campsite in Denali National Park. Therefore we were close to the start of a nice trail around Horseshoe Lake which was formed by the very industrious beavers. This provided a source of food for the resident moose.

For all you quilters and quilt lovers

Row by Row is a project designed for quilters traveling in North America. By visiting a participating shop the quilter receives a free pattern for a 9” or 10” by 27” to 36” row for a Home Sweet Home theme quilt. A resident quilter is usually the designer of the row, highlighting a local location or activity. So far we have obtained a pattern at quilt shops in Vanderhoff, British Columbia; Hinton, Alberta; Yorkton, Saskatchewan; and in Alaska at Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Healy, and Denali. We have also, of course, been able to add some unique fabrics to Carolyn’s stash. And we are not done yet.

This is Marie Noah owner of Northern Threads, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Many of Marie’s creative quilt designs are displayed at her shop and are available as kits.

Nenana Ice Out

In addition to being home to an Iditarod competitor, Nenana, Alaska is also the home of the Nenana Ice Classic. This is a competition to pick the date and time of the breakup of the ice on the Nenana River. In mid-March a large tripod is placed on the four-foot thick river ice and connected by a rope to the timer clock in a tower on shore.  When the rope is pulled by the tripod moving down steam, the official time is recorded. We have two prediction in the pot for the 2017 breakup. This is for real money.  Last springs winners, of which there we many, splits about $300,000. We plan to win it all next year. If you are interested in making a prediction, go to  www.nenanaakiceclassic.com.

 

Tapping Birch trees

Native bead work



Talkeetna town airport

The mathematics challenge for today

Based on popular demand, here is another mathematics challenge.

Now that we are back in the USA, our distance is in miles and our fuel purchase is again in gallons. Not so in Canada. Therefore, we needed to convert kilometers per liter to miles per gallon in order to continue to check our fuel efficiency.

For example, one fuel purchase was 56 liters for 485 kilometers. How many miles per gallons is this?

Some helpful conversions:

5280 feet per mile, 39.37 inches per meter, 1000 meters per kilometer, 1.09 quarts per liter,          4 quarts per gallon.

Also, our fuel consumption rate for the 16000+ miles already driven is about 18.5 miles per gallon. How does this compare with your calculation?

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