We traveled up to Denali where we did the park bus to view wildlife and scenery. Totally worth it, although I wouldn't have minded seeing a grizzly a little closer, but to be very careful what I wish for: not too close. I mean, I wouldn't want to be able to smell his breath or anything. We stayed at a B&B owned by an Iditarod racer and got to see the dogs, which was a big highlight for me. We chatted with the racer guy who was quite a character. He was telling us about grizzlies and how they kill their food and then bury it and let it rot for awhile before they eat it and I commented that I "would never make it as a bear" and for some reason this response really puzzled him.

We eventually made it up to Fairbanks, went to AlaskaLand -- my notes refer to it as "Cheez-whiz-land", and later spent a night in Paxson, which is unbelievably beautiful. We stayed in a B&B which was really a cabin in a most remote spot, by a lake and the thing was decorated to the hilt like a luxury car on the Oriental Express -- really bizarre. The breakfast was some mealy apples and those little boxes of cereal. We eventually made our way back down to Anchorage. There are signs on the highways that say "Give a Moose a Break" and then record the number of moose killed in the county by cars that year. Our friend told us that there is a list of subsistence families that get called to pick up moose victims. Can't you just imagine that phone call at 3am to go pick up your road kill?

If you haven't already seen them, you can read my emails from Alaska.

DOOGIE HOWSER ALERT

When did all the people get so young? Last time I had my teeth cleaned, the gal had her high school graduation tassel hanging from the water pick. "98" the simulated gold dangle said. (I'm lying, but really she was a child.) And my normal "personal physician" at my horrible HMO wasn't available so I saw this other "woman" who could not have been even 30. And I liked her, but felt like we should be going to yoga class and having tea and scones and not talking about my pelvis. I'm only 34 -- there have got to be some doctors between 35 and retirement age out there. Also all the Southwest Airlines employees in the terminal except for the evil "supervisor" in Oakland, were children. You know this is only going to get worse.

PAM PICKS 1998.

TV -- Dharma & Greg is the only new show to make it into our rotation. Our favorite character is Kitty. We think the writers hide out in our house for some of their stuff -- esp. the episode where Dharma tells Greg he needs yoga to relax. The funniest thing we saw on TV this year, and actually we had to turn it off because it was too disturbing -- it was this segment on Real TV where this chimpanzee at the zoo fell into the moat that surrounded its pen and the lady with the video camera is shrieking "somebody help that monkey" (The voice-over inform us, "as you know, chimpanzee's can't swim") and this zoo patron leaps into the moat to rescue the chimp and then ... I swear this is true, administers CPR.

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PHOTO: Antje, Kim, Sacco, Me, Margo, Sherwood, and Walker in Santa Barbara. PHOTOGRAPHER: ? Random passerby?

Posted: 4.4.99
http://www.pamrentz.com/pampage/xmas/v8/p3.html