Forest Games and Aurora Flames

Axe throwing, fires starting, bucking with a two man saw, log rolling and of course birling - the art of being the last one standing on a log floating in water greeted me at the Forest Games put on my University of Alaska last week.  

 

 Our team was 1 local and two imports, with a couple of add-ons throughout as events demanded more than 3. Alice - a new friend from Fairbanks, and Phil, my room-mate and co-worker made up the team for this rainy Saturday morning.

Birling on the lake! We got off easy - last year they had to break the ice off first!

My first time birling I  made it to the second round! (by dumb luck I'm pretty sure). Second time I took the plunge, but I'm ready to go again as chance presents itself!

Phil preparing to chop off my toe!

A couple of eyebrows lighter, a few minutes later!

Firestarting - One half can of soapy water (for an obvious boil), One log (knotty), one axe (a bit dull this late in the competition), and five matches (we only needed two - don't we get extra points for that?)

Jack and Jill Log Rolling - 1st place!

 The fireworks show to celebrate was only a couple of days later! These auroras danced across the sky for hours as we drop jawed enjoyed the view for quite a while until we had to retreat for the warmth of the stove. 

 

 These lights dance so quickly across the sky, it can almost look like ribbons blowing in the wind. The photos are truly unique in that they comprise about 60 seconds of the light we saw all at once.

 

Oh, and of course I've been working while I'm here - a couple of project photos -

What a mess! Lots of water all over the place! Mostly dripping right in front of the door!

The solution - lower the roof, can chop off one corner the building's main roof - no fancy flashing required.

Phil's mascot at lunch.

 

 The main attraction - The Pita Place with a completed roof only minutes old. Northern Phil, Southern Phil and myself. This is an expansion of a beloved food cart in Fairbanks that serves Falafel and other middle-eastern foods. This is the project that allowed me to come to check out AK for a couple of months this year. Four weeks left as the winter begins to close in! 

(The puddles are not melting anymore!)

Name that giant Alaska Veggie! - Biggest I've ever seen!