#1. April 17th in Big Lake, Alaska - Makya’s Flat Stanley started her Alaskan journey. She encountered a late season snow in the Mat-Su Valley, and met a new friend, Flat Stanley from Bellingham, WA. https://www.alaskavisit.com/about-mat-su/explore-by-region/wasilla-big-lake-houston/big-lake/
#2. Makya’s Flat Stanley is exploring some Native Alaskan art made from a moose antler
#3. Flat Stanley is exploring some more Native Alaskan art
#4. Makya’s Flat Stanley and Flat Stanley from WA explored Bacon’s Acres and learned about a dog truck. Dog trucks transport sled dogs for training and racing. This truck has 8 boxes (4 on each side). Two dogs fit in each box for short rides. In the winter, this helps the dogs stay warm and cozy. In the summer, dogs do not ride in boxes like this very often because they would get too hot.
#5. Flat Stanley is checking out the size of the door to a dog box
#6. Flat Stanley meets Zumi, and takes a tour of Zumi’s dog house. Zumi looks a little uncertain about a stranger being in her dog house. Zumi has run the Iditarod with Kristin three times, and finished all three races with the team! Zumi runs in lead for Bacon’s Acres team sometimes. https://iditarod.com/
#7. A big smile from Tricky Mini when she meets Flat Stanley. Tricky Mini is a lead dog for Bacon’s Acres’ Iditarod team.
#8. Makya’s Flat Stanley learns about a dog sled. This sled has a back section that allows the musher to store their dog food in a cooler, as well as have a comfortable seat to rest on when the musher is really tired during a race. This sled was used during Iditarod 2016, and was sent out for a backup sled for 2019. A backup sled is used if the musher breaks their sled on the trail during the race.
#9. April 27th - Exploring the pond at Bacon’s Acres. Four Sandhill Cranes arrived today. They will stay in the area for the summer, as well as a pair of Red-Throated Loons and a pair of Mallard Ducks. The frogs are also active again and singing their spring tunes. The Sandhill Cranes have a very loud and easy to distinguish call: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/sancra/introduction We feel very lucky to have these cranes spend their summer months on our property, and raise their chicks here!
#10. Flat Stanley doing a close up investigation of the cushiony tundra and tiny black spruce trees at Bacon’s Acres in Big Lake, Alaska: www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=tundra.main
#11. It is April 27th, and the trees are just beginning to sprout buds. Spring is erupting in Alaska! In the distance, you can see the Chugach Mountains still covered with snow.
#12. April 30th, Makya's Flat Stanley hitches a flight to Cordova, Alaska. Quite a unique view from above. https://www.cityofcordova.net/ Kristin is a physical therapist and visits the students in Cordova a couple days each month.
#13. Mt. Eccles Elementary in Cordova has the coolest playground Kristin has seen in Alaska. Because it rains so much in Cordova, the playground is covered so the kids can go outside and play even when the weather is very wet.
#14. Cordova is a fishing community, and has a very beautiful and active harbor. Seals and otters can be seen swimming around too. Fishing season will be starting in the middle of May. Salmon and Halibut are the most common fish caught in this area. Cordova has a couple restaurants that make incredible Halibut fish and chips, as well as Salmon / Halibut Tacos.
#15. On May 10th, Makya’s Flat Stanley found herself on a truck from William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery. She helped stock a couple lakes with rainbow trout. Pretty cool looking truck! High tech too. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportStockingHatcheryInfo.williamjackhernandez
#16. Flat Stanley knew today might be slimy, so she prepared by getting laminated before today’s journey. :) Check out the final video below of how the trout are transferred from the truck.
#17. Flat Stanley missed this picture, but here is a view of how the hose connects to the truck.
#18. A trip to Alaska isn’t complete without showing Flat Stanley a moose. We didn’t find a moose today; however, we found some moose poop at Bacon’s Acres.