Greetings    ----

Guess what!  As I write this at 7:30 it is 43 degrees outside.  That is more than 60 degrees warmer than it was yesterday morning.  It felt very warm out today.  I think there have been three times since early November that it has been this warm.  Once in mid November, once in January, and today.

Pioneers of Alaska crowned their king and queen.  One must be a resident of Alaska for at least 30 years to join the club.  They do the official crowning outside and then go inside.  The thrones are ice.  They did have polar bear hides to sit on.  Notice that the queen's feet miss the pavement by about 18 inches.  She needed help getting into and off of the the throne.

We went to the ice art again, actually a couple times.  This is an ice chapel.  First under construction and finally complete.  We hear that some people plan to have their wedding ceremony here.

Next is the altar in the chapel.

Does it look like a good place for a wedding?

Entering the park they had a couple snow sculptures

 At night they had this bonfire in ice.  We didn't stick around to see how long it took for the ice to melt.

He must have wanted two pieces alike, so he had a piece double wide in the shape he wanted and then sawed it in half with a chain saw.

A piece ready to be frozen onto the sculpture.

They also worked with chisels.

 They also did intricate carving with the chain saws.  Most saws had four-foot blades.

Enjoy the art!

 Close-up to show feathers in dragon's head

We also went to some Native Youth Olympics.  The most amazing event was the one hand reach.  Contestants must balance on one hand - at their center of gravity and then reach up to hit a ball suspended above them.  First they balance on two hands.

Then gradually shift their weight to just hand.  Once started, they can only touch the floor with their hands.  Here the judge is also watching to make sure nothing touches the floor except his hands.

Once balanced on one hand they reach up to touch the ball.

They cannot just make a wild swing for the ball.  After touching it they must maintain their balance on two hands until the judge says they are done.

I played football and basketball in high school and ran track.  I did hard farm work.  I played basketball up until four years ago when I hurt my shoulder.  But I could never have done this.

Thanks for your interest.  God's blessings to each of you.

Larry and Elva in Alaska.