Memorial Adventures

Well, I had a very eventful Memorial Week-end! It started on Thursday when I picked-up Emily from school (the last day of school) and drove to Fairbanks. We were traveling to Fairbanks to see Amy compete in the High School State Track Championships. Amy had left earlier that day on a school bus with the rest of the track team. I was nervous about the trip because I had never driven to Fairbanks before and I didn't really know where I was going. I found out that it's almost impossible to get lost - you get on the Parks Highway and just drive and drive and drive. The scenery was breathtaking and reminded me why I love this state so much. After about two hours on the road, I felt myself getting sleepy and jokingly asked Emily if she would like to drive for awhile. Emily has her learner's permit and is a scary driver. She hasn't had much driving experience because she doesn't like to drive. I really didn't expect her to say yes, but to my surprise she did. Boy, I was wide awake fast when Emily took the wheel! She did a good job and drove for over 100 miles. I was very proud of her. We almost made it to Fairbanks when cars that had been traveling about the same speed slowed down quite a bit. I wasn't sure why, so I just passed them all. That's when it happened - yup, I got a speeding ticket! I guess the other drivers knew which spots to be wary of. The trooper was extremely nice though and although I was going 12 miles over the speed limit, he wrote me up for 9 so that it would only cost me two points instead of four.

We pulled into Fairbanks a little over six hours after we left Anchorage and with a small amount of confusion, found our hotel. It wasn't quite as nice as the pictures on the internet, but it was clean and the staff was friendly. We walked across the alley to a restaurant for dinner and then drove to find the High School where the championships were being held the next morning. It was easy to find and only minutes from the hotel.

Amy's event (high jumping) was the first event Friday morning. We arrived early and watched the high jumpers warm up. She seemed very nervous. The starting height was 4'6" and Amy had jumped 4'10" in practice. Jumpers get three chances to clear each height. If they don't make it in three jumps, they are out of the competition. Amy missed all three of her jumps at 4'6". We are so proud of her for making it to state her first year going out for high school track, but knew she was disappointed in her performance. After a few tears, we cheered her friends and teammates in their events. In the end the Bartlett boys took FIRST in state and the girls took third.

Amy rode home Saturday night with the track team and got back to Anchorage at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. I don't especially enjoy driving all night, so Emily and I stayed Saturday night in Fairbanks, got up Sunday morning, attended church and then drove home. The drive home was equally breathtaking and we even got to see a small heard of caribou! I watched my speed this time and got home without another visit with a trooper.

Monday morning (Memorial Day) the whole family packed up for a four-wheeling day trip. Our friend Angela was staying with us while her parents were out of town, so she joined us. We traveled to our favorite four-wheeling spot - Knik River. We went up river a ways and found a nice spot to build a campfire. We roasted hot dogs, shot guns, climbed the cliffs and played in the river. On our way back to the truck, we stopped at some sand dunes to play on and off of our four-wheelers. The kids found a cliff that they had a blast jumping off of into the soft sand. It was tons of fun!!

When we got back to the truck, we were dirty, tired and hungry. We were a motley crew, but stopped in at a Chinese restaurant in Palmer anyway. Fortunately, they didn't turn us away:)The food was wonderful and we ended the day fat and happy!