Around Alaska's Mat-Su Valley with Pam Holen
November 23, 2007
The kennel latch
wasn't banging against the fence when I awoke this morning. It was still pitch
black at 7:30 but I knew the wind had backed off. When it was light enough to
see the strombrella weather vane, it wasn't spinning of control but slowly
moving around the base. Finally, the Chinook has passed. It was fall when
I left for Arizona and Oregon, winter when I returned, and now - fall again.
I traveled to
Scottsdale, Arizona a few weeks ago for the 2007 Cynosport World Games '07. Held
at WestWorld Equestrian Center, Alaska Dogs Gone Wild (our flyball club) competed in the flyball competition
with two teams. It was hot and dry with warnings of rattlesnake activity after
dark. Quinnie got a new purple cooling jacket and a cooling waterbed in her
crate. I settled for dunking my baseball cap in a cooler of icy water every hour
and accepting a shocking case of hat hair. We did okay for two Alaskan teams -
almost beat our previous team record.
Quinnie and I then
flew to Astoria, Oregon to spend a week with my granddaughter - Baby Ana. She
took her first steps while I was visiting and celebrated her first birthday a
week later. My son and his wife, Chris and Jen, own two restaurants - Baked
Alaska (www.bakedak.com) and Schooner
Bistro (www.schoonerbistro.com).
The food at both restaurants is delicious. If you are in the area, try the BLTA
with yam fries at Baked for lunch or the ale braised baby back ribs for dinner.
If you make it during happy hour, Schooner Bistro has a discounted light fare.
Everyone raves about the halibut tacos. Quinnie, Ana, and I spent our days
walking along the Columbia River riverwalk and I spent my evenings enjoying the
food and Walnut City wines. A friend from Rochester, Kathy, joined me for a few
days along with her border collie, Reach. We walked the beach, watching the
fishing boats and giving the girls a chance to run fast and wild.
Thanksgiving has
passed and the pre-Christmas activities are now in full swing in the Mat-Su
Valley. Tomorrow is the annual Colony High School Christmas Bazaar. Over 200
booths are featured and everyone in the community shows up to support the high
school and start their Christmas shopping. My husband goes to visit. He always
walks away lamenting how many teens he counseled or coached now have families -
proving time marches on and he is getting older and grayer.
Our Bed and Breakfast
Association, AMSBBA, is celebrating with Palmer's Colony Christmas (www.palmerchamber.org/visiting/annual_events.php)
early next month. We host a cookie contest every year and invite kids and adults
to enter with their favorite recipes. The prizes are always well-worth the
effort and recipes are published in our AMSBBA Cookbook. If you are in Palmer on
December 8th, stop by and say hello.
It is now 41 degrees
and the weather vane is picking up speed. The girls (Sophie, Jessie, and
Quinnie) are impatiently waiting for their daily walk. I need to locate my ice
walker boot clamps and slid down the road with them.
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