myumyumyu

This weekend, I got a lesson about Alaska, Alaskans, and Alaskan vocabulary. On Saturday, Chris had everyone from work over at his property in Sutton for a "garden party." I envisioned a nice house, lawn, and small garden out in the back, with lawn chairs and a barbecue for grilling. Apparently, everyone else got the memo about what it really meant though, as others showed up in XtraTufs, the boots that everyone in Alaska owns, and outdoorsy waterproof pants and raincoats. We were literally in the middle of the woods, on a 20-acre plot that had 3 cabins with no electricity or plumbing (yay for outhouses!). There was a garden, I'll have to admit. It was pretty awesome to just be in the middle of the woods with a giant bonfire. A perk of throwing parties is that bonfires allow you to clean up the brush on your land.

Garden party bonfire

There were also Norwegian candles, made by sawing an X through a log, standing it upright, dousing it with gasoline, and lighting it on fire. It was a pretty awesome sight.

One of the Norwegian candles

We also managed to catch sight of a moose mom and calf running through the woods a few yards away. All in all, a truly Alaskan day.

Sunday, we had a dinner party, and it was another fun afternoon and evening of food prep, consumption, and cleanup. Delicious salmon! Here's a photo courtesy of Carla:

Natalie and me, excited about the red salmon that we were about to eat!

After cleanup, Natalie, Carla, and I ended the day in the hot tub. With the temperature in the 50s, I thought it was chilly weather for going out, but Natalie said that they use the hot tub year-round, even when (or maybe especially when) surrounded by snow! Alaska is a pretty ridiculous place.