On Wednesday I flew up to Anchorage

And met Tricia, Dave, Ben and Cooper.  They flew down from Bethel and we went to the Alaska State Fair at Palmer.  I lived in Anchorage for 11 years and never once went to the fair.  This was a first for me.

We saw a 1700+ pound pumpkin that was sadly, disqualified because the judges found a small hole in the bottom of it. A 1200 pound pumpkin wound up being the winner.

My Cooper, #5216 and his great big happy smile

We saw all of the fair things,  Here Ben # 5113 and Cooper #5216 are feeding and petting the animals in the petting area.

 I looked for Charolette and her amazing web, but did not find her.  I did not take any pictures of Wilbur either because I was really taken by the contented smile on this Mama's face as she nursed her little brood.

We got to watch baby chicks, ducks and something else in very tiny eggs hatch.

We also got to "People" watch.  We were both pretty amazed by the lack of clothing on this woman.  We were layered up so much and still cold and she was walking down the fairway like she thought she was in LA in July.

Cooper and Ben both got to jump for a while on a trampoline.  Of course they loved it.

After the trampoline, we parted for a while.  Gramma was to tired to walk any more. I actually sat down in the Craft Barn and snoozed for a few minutes.  Afterwards, I walked around enjoying the exhibits while the rest of the family was enjoying the rides.

This was by and far the most amazing exhibit of all. It is a wedding dress made of Doe skin, all hand beaded.  Someone made the dress and the bride did all of the beading.  There was a picture of her in it that would have taken your breath away.  She also beaded a head piece that was amazing.  I did not see it exhibited but it was  visible in the picture.

The family returned to collect Gramma.  Tricia brought me chocolate covered bacon on a stick.  We shared it as I did not feel like eating it all.  I must say it was a very interesting combination.  We hung around Anchorage on Thursday.  Dave flew back to Bethel because he had to work.  We did some school shopping for the boys and then I caught the 5:10 back to Seattle.

Anchorage sits in a bowl with the inlet to the west and the Chugach mountains to the south and east.  These are a couple of the glaciers I saw from 35000 feet.  They were amazing!

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And, finally an amazing sunset from 35000 feet.  We are above the clouds here.  Sadly, the sun was almost behind the airplane and I could not capture the incredible beauty of it with my camera.

Have I told you how much I LOVE Tricia's job?  If she did not have it, I would not be able to make these wonderful impromptu trips.