A is for Musk Ox

No, I haven’t forgotten my alphabet. J It’s the title of the kids book I picked up at the Musk-Ox Farm just outside of Palmer Monday. I thought it was quite cute, and the kids might enjoy it as a bedtime story. Turns out Musk-Oxen are pretty cool (even without the book). We took a tour of the farm (in the rain), and learned about the musk-ox (the only big North American land animal that doesn't migrate to warmer climates in the winter). People are just beginning to domesticate these big shaggy beasts, and it turns out that that shag is worth a fair bit. Musk-oxen have a fine underwool called quviut (kee-vee-ute; really good scrabble word) that’s softer and warmer than sheep’s wool (8X!), and can be harvested when they shed. It is spun into yarn which can is knitted into scarves, blankets, and such by an Alaskan Native run co-op which uses traditional patterns in the knitting. The work is really beautiful and still quite rare as there aren't that many animals being farmed yet. Bob & I would have both liked to get a piece, but it was a bit out of our own price range. I think the cost is pretty justified, though. Would you want to comb out a 900 lb, relatively undomesticated animal? (Can we say danger pay?!)

After an extra day in Palmer (because we just didn't feel like moving yet. Life’s flexible that way.  It’s nice.), where Bob & the kids took a walk along the trail system surrounding the campground and found many interesting mushrooms, we moved a whopping 40 minutes south and are now on the north edge of Anchorage at the city run Centennial Campground. They just finished putting electrical into some of their sites, and have lots of trees & a playground for the kids, so we decided to stay. The final grading of these sites still needs to be done, so at the moment they’re a bit uneven (and muddy with all the rain). But, they’re going to be quite nice when they’re all finished.

We had planned to see several sites and attractions in Anchorage before heading a little further south into the Kenai Peninsula, but our timing has reverted to its usual poor self and our list has gotten shorter. Several of the places we wanted to check out are now either closed for the season or down for maintenance. Grrr. Note to anyone planning a trip to Alaska. Come earlier in the summer! Tourist season is pretty much done by the end of August, and between that and school starting right after the long weekend, many businesses wrap it up early Sept. That said there are still plenty of things to do. The zoo, several museums, the Imaginarium for the kids, shopping in the downtown, seeing the 20 foot high chocolate fountain (and preventing the kids from wanting to jump in), fixing the trailer (oops, yep – we are rattling things apart as predicted. While taking the laundry out to the truck I discovered the rivet on the step had come off – by having the step half collapse under me, of course). 

Yesterday’s we went to the Museum of Science and Nature. It had lots of hands on displays and exhibits detailing the prehistory of the area (dinosaurs, volcanos, glaciers, and ice-age animals & people) Today, I think we’re off to the zoo (That is if we can actually get our butts out of the house! The kids are quite enjoying their schoolwork today.)