Hoofin' It - Alaska Style!

Over the years Fur Rondy has grown into more than the annual gathering of miners and trappers looking to trade and sell their winter's take. Established in 1935, the festival was widely attended by the majority of Anchorage's 3,000 residents, who enjoyed the traditional events of Fur Rendezvous including the Rondy Fur Auction, sled dog race and blanket toss.

This year, as part of the 10 day Fur Rondy celebration, seven antler-sporting reindeer were joined by 1,000 zany costumed runners in the Last Frontier's version of Spain's famous Running of the Bulls.

Seven year old Anchorage resident, Rees Marie McCampbell, snapped a shot of the oh-so-vicious beasts from atop her Dad's shoulder's this past Sunday during Anchorage's first annual Running of the Reindeer event. Both sides of 4th Avenue were lined with people all angling to see if the reindeer would actually give the contestants a run for their money ... and they did.

The animals really got going pretty fast in spite of the packed street full of runners. In fact, a few daredevils got tagged by the beasts, but were not seriously hurt. Good fun was had by all and the reindeer received lots of appreciation and treats for their efforts.

Proof once again that the old Alaskan adage still holds true ....
"The odds are good, but the goods are odd!"

To read more about the event go to http://www.adn.com/furrondy/story/325213.html

To see a full schedule of Rondy events go to http://www.furrondy.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=63

It's Rainin' Moose!

This time of year is usually filled with stories of avanlanches - both along highways and in high country posing dangers to backcountry skiers. Avalanches, landslides, and rockslides are common dangers in many locations and especially so in Alaska. But every once in a while a story comes along that makes you do a double take!

Howard Peterson, a State Trooper based out of Girdwood, Alaska, was heading home late one evening and travelling along the Seward Highway when in the blink of an eye, a large dark object fell about twenty feet in front of his car. At first, Peterson thought it was a falling rock, but after getting out of his car, he soon realized it was a moose!

Most likely the moose had been up on the cliff and either tripped or slipped....or was reaching for food and lost its balance. Although uncommon, state wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott says it is not entirely unheard of for this sort of thing to happen.

(This story appeared in the Anchorage Daily News. To read more about the incident, please visit the story: "Falling moose nearly takes out trooper"