Alaska Awards

Okay, time for the awards. Everyone sit down; you sure do look  nice in your gowns and tuxes.

Best Place to Stay:
Pioneer Ridge B & B, Iditaord Room. The room featured artifacts from the race, including an actual sled with over 10,000 miles on it. The building was a refurbished dairy barn, and beautifully appointed. Runner up, the Denali Dome Home.

Best Section of Road:
Thompson Pass to Keystone Canyon, enroute to Valdez. At one spot you can observe three magnificent waterfalls cascading down between the green foliage. Not to mention the viewpoints and glacier. Even Mel enjoyed it, with freshly broken ribs. Fabulous.

Most Interesting Character:
Jean, daughter of Mary Carey and owner of the McKinley View Lodge. She had fascinating tales of her mother's struggle to make it, homesteading in Alaska. She was as sweet as her blueberry pie.
Jon Nierenberg of the Earthsong Inn received second place with his slide show and Iditarod knowledge.
The two teenagers in the emergency room got honorable mention, giving Jim and me a native's viewpoint of living in a village.

Prettiest Town:
Whittier. Love getting there through the railroad tunnel, and it has an authentic fishing village feel because it is. Interesting museum too, and Whittier got wiped out in the '64 quake with the earthquake, tsunami and fires. Valdez fell out of grace with it's hideous weather.

Best Food:
I questioned my traveling companions and we drew a blank! All good or all forgettable, I guess. Pioneer Ridge B & B provided the best breakfast, delicous.My Chicken Fajita Pita at the Potato in McCarthy was surprisingly tasty, and the only rhyming meal on the trip.

Best Museum:
We saw a lot. Too many. After awhile, one just wanders through, overloaded on information. However, the Portage Lake Visitors Center featured a great 20 minute film and afterwards the curtains opened with a full glass view of the lake, the mountains, and the Portage Glacier. No one got up to leave, but sat there in awe. PLVC gets the gold.

Best Animal Sighting:
Two bears that looked to be facing off, blocking the road in Denali. They eventually trundled off to the shoulder and sat in frustrated semi-reconcilement.

Tomorrow (I know, I promised it Today) I'll provide the Mutterings. Musings, Rants and Raves. Going too long today. Find out if I'm a racist. And photos after that! Daily, starting Saturday when I get in front of a PC, not the iPad (the tool of Satan).  See you then.