Snow Day

Six inches of snow on June 16th! Today, meanwhile, it got to 61--warmest temps yet.

Hockey Moms and the Tea Party

Wasilla, one of the nearest towns, is the home of former VP candidate and part-time governor Sarah Palin. As a previous mayor and someone with an 8th grade writing level, she is very popular here. But seriously, this area is a tea party stronghold. I have never seen so many “Impeach Obama” signs, whether in people’s front yards or people holding them at street corners (photo enclosed). I would like to take pictures of this (or better pictures), but since my only means of transportation is a van with state markings on it, I’m afraid of the response I will get. Can you image someone in a state vehicle taking photos of anti-Obama signs/protesters? They are already anti-government, they might think I would report them to some fictional conspiratorial government group.

Related to this, during our training, the state park staff told us to be careful how we act in public, especially when driving the state vehicles or wearing state park outfits. It’s not unheard of for volunteers at state historic sites to take the brunt of tea party anger.

Eklutna

Finally seeing a place that has something to do with my dissertation—St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in the Dena’ina village of Eklutna. You can see the fusion of Native American and Russian Orthodox Christian traditions in the cemetery. The spirit houses (the small structures over the graves) are from the Dena’ina tradition, with the colors and designs to indicate clan membership. The actual practice of burials (instead of cremation) and the crosses show the Christian influence. The wooden chapel is from the 1870s, built during a time when many Native Americans embraced Russian Orthodoxy as a way to maintain their own traditions. Russian missionaries were more inclusive of the aspects of Native religions that paralleled their own faith (the idea of an afterlife, for instance) and tended to ignore the religious beliefs that they disagreed with. In the face of American settlers/prospectors and uncompromising protestant missionaries, groups like the Dena’ina became Orthodox Christians.

I’m planning to go to one of the major Russian settlements, but can only afford one trip. Kodiak or Sitka?

Hey Bear!--Gold Mint Trail

Grizzly Man

Last night around 8pm Tanveer and I began what turned out to be a five and a half hour, 13 mile hike. The trail we took, the Gold Mint Trail, follows the Little Susitna River to its source. It begins within the forest and gradually rises in elevation above the tree line, ending at a glacier (which we did not make it to). The plan had been to stay out for three hours or so, but we kept going. Tanveer, who is ten years younger than me and bikes 40 miles a day, kept a very brisk pace. Around six or seven miles in, I had to plead with him to turn back...I was already exhausted, we brought little water and no food, and we still had to hike that distance out.

Throughout the hike, as we passed through the thickets and brush, we constantly shouted "hey bear!" We didn't want to run into or surprise a mama bear and her cubs. This reminded me of the documentary Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's portrait of grizzly lover Timothy Tredwell. He lived with the bears in Alaska, guess what happened to him? Luckily we didn't run into any bears.