Alaska State Fair 2007

Last weekend turned the tide on one of our last hurrahs of the summer with a trip to the Alaska State Fair. It was a perfect day for the outdoor gathering of 20 to 30 thousand people looking for a great time and sharing that time in the sun . . . soaking up the rays and warmth while having fun with the family or friends. In the shadow of Pioneer Peak . . .









State fairs in America have always been a fascinating glimpse into a rural part of life for me and that so few of us ever actually see anymore. They do not have that same feel that they did when I was 11 or 12 years old but I do enjoy that time if for no other reason than to ‘people watch’.

Each state fair is unique in its own special way but one that stands out from all the others that I have seen is the Alaska State Fair and its fantastic giant vegetable contest.









Sure, every state fair has similar contests where local farmers wheel in giant pumpkins and other items they've either grown or raised on their land. The difference with Alaska’s vegetables however, are those very long, extended summer hours when the sun stays out much longer than it does in the lower 49 states. Produce is exposed to the nurturing sunlight exponentially longer and as a result, can grow exponentially larger.









It was neat walking through the hall seeing the items laid out for display and listening to the laughter and chatter of those walking past the variety of vegetables.









For example, here is a list of state vegetable records set at the Alaska State Fair:

23-foot, 3 1/2-inch corn stalk
4.702-pound parsnip
17.195-pound yellow zucchini
67 1/8-inch long gourd
55.15-pound blue hubbard squash
21.530-pound bushel gourd
18.985 pound Carrot
64.8 pound Cantaloupe













1,019-pound pumpkin










Cucumber anyone?




In addition, there is a separate category focused entirely on cabbage. Last year’s winner of the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off was a 73.4-pound cabbage.










And a Guinness Book World Record Kale . . .
105.9 pounds by Scott Robb . . .








Something very exciting that I just found out about the Alaska State Fair:
. . . . . . . . . .THERE IS A PIG RACING CONTEST!!!


Photo:

Erik Hill

Anchorage Daily News



I don't know exactly what that means, but it sounds fantastic and with the odd people here it could mean almost anything.

Well at least they didn’t have the salmon jockeys riding them this year as it must have been nixed this year.


It was a great day and the drive home provided another beautiful sunset over the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet . . .









And by the time we arrived home a large full moon had risen over the Chugach Mountains. My pictures did not turn out well enough to post.

It has been a record breaking year at the Alaska State Fair this year and it continues through this weekend over the Labor Day Holiday . . . go out an enjoy this late summer we are having right now as the snow will be falling shortly.

Ice

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morrison Springs - Ponce de Leon, Florida

Image
Morrison Springs Ponce de Leon, Florida County road 181 Morrison Springs was one of our favorite dive spots on many of our Florida trips but it also had the most danger to it.  One of Northwest Florida’s best-kept secrets was known to more Georgia and Alabama folks than Floridians.  And they weren’t talking.  It had to do with the jewel of a Panhandle spring, a turquoise pool surrounded by stately cypress trees whose aerial roots stand taller than a man. Below the surface, clear, 68-degree water wells up from a spring cave source over 90 feet deep. Morrison Springs is just far enough off the beaten path in this sunny pine and cypress country to be special for any diver lucky enough to find and dive the site. The shallow pool reflects the overhead blue sky and if the water is clear and the bottom clean of silt, it resembles a giant sapphire.  Unlike some springs with a deep, black hole source, this one takes visitors gradually into its shallows from a gol...
Read more

Are Showing Your Nipples Appropriate Work Attire?

Image
Let me first say that personally, I have no problem with it at all. This has been kind of a weird week here in the north land with the first of many winter snowfalls’s to come and the landscape once again beautifully covered in the white stuff. It looks like the kids will have to put their Halloween costume on over a snowsuit again this year as the cold snowy stuff is here again. That is not what I wanted to write about tonight but was necessary to set up what I did want to write about. “Frosty nipples” are quite common here during most of the year and when things cool down on the cusp of winter probably more so. Work attire with tight shirts or low cut blouses that ‘make a statement’ during colder weather could be taken several ways by co-workers or visitors to your place of business. While you may not always be taken seriously by others in the office and some may have trouble looking you in the face, I say it's a freedom of rights issue. If you want to show o...
Read more

Biscuits and Whores

Image
Some of the best things about life I learned from Lonesome Dove. Great movie, excellent characters, and tells a story about how to live life. Augustus McCrae “It ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living.   I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live.” I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less. “Yesterday’s gone and we can’t get it back.” “I'm sure partial to the evening,' Augustus said. 'The evening and the morning.   If we just didn't have to have the rest of the dern day I'd be a lot happier.” Hat Creek Cattle Company Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is . . . he's hard to stop. Biscuits “I never knew you to get excited about anything except biscuits maybe . . . and whores!”    Captain Woodrow Call to Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. Whores L...
Read more