Ice carvings are more than a wedding venue decoration - in fact, it is international in scope and highly competitive. Part of our trip to Fairbanks in February was to visit the Ice Park, home of the 2014 BP World Ice Art Championships. The event is a full month long, with competitions, family events and entertainment each and every day. We visited during the first two weeks when the "single block" ice carvings would be completed and judged.
Single blocks of ice measuring 8'x5'x3' are carved in 2 1/2 days by teams of 2 people (maximum) into amazing sculptures. As we walked along the shaded trail past the art, we were amazed at the detail the artists achieved. In some places, you could see that portions of the sculptures couldn't stand the test of gravity and were laying in pieces around the work site. At night the sculptures are lit which shows even more of the detailed work. Also at the park is a multi-track ice "slide" (think the "big slide" at State Fair only
all ice) which all can enjoy, smaller slides and tippy ice "bowls" for the younger crowd and a quirky ice maze. There is even an ice rink made completely out of ice (go figure)!
We had planned for our time out of doors and had plenty of warm clothes, boots and hand/feet warmers. However, the bright sunshine during our days in Fairbanks and non-existent wind made our time at the Ice Park really enjoyable.
We spent sometime at the "multi block" venue at the Ice Park where teams of up to 10 people carved up to 10 blocks of ice, each 6'x4'x3', into complete ice scenes.
Backhoes and tractors with forks maneuvered the large blocks to the appropriate spots, directed by the ice carving team members, sometimes stacking the blocks three or even four blocks high. The multi-block carving would be starting the week after we left, and teams had 5 1/2 days to complete their artworks. Working with chainsaws and hand tools, the artists climbed the blocks of ice and shaved off the ice from the blocks, exposing the art within! Neither the single block nor multi-block competitions allowed for any coloring of the ice so the texture was provided by packing snow into crevices cut into the blocks which reflected the colored lights aimed at the sculptures. Some parts of the sculptures used ice from the blocks that was absolutely clear and other parts of the blocks that were more opaque made the sculptures come to life.
Since we were there when the single-block competition was done and judged and the multi-block competition had yet to start, we didn't see the artists actually doing the detailed work. I can only assume that it was "pain"staking given the carving tools they used (chainsaws, ice axes, ice picks and really sharp knives!). At least if there was an injury, having ice on hand
was not going to be a problem. We finished off the weekend with a visit to Santa (alas, he was not at
home!) at North Pole and a great prime rib dinner at the Turtle Club in Fox, Alaska, complete with typical northern Wisconsin salad bar, loaded baked
potato (wrapped in foil!) and shrimp cocktail! Unfortunately, old
fashioned's are not the drink of choice in Alaska although we have
converted some to the delicious-ness of the brandy drink! All in all, it was a terrific weekend made more special because we traveled with our friends Jeff and Cindy. I leave you with some pictures of the ice sculptures - next time you look at your ice cubes, think about what "art" lies within!!
My last post described our first visit to Hoonah/Icy Strait Point and I had hinted at a return trip. As we were waiting to board the catamaran back to Juneau on our first trip, a representative from Icy Strait Point was asking everyone how they had enjoyed their stay which, of course, we all said we had. She said that the word on the street was that another "neighbors day" would be available in August. We kept the date on our mental calendar and I watched the website for more information. Finally - August 22 which fell after our return to Juneau 
from northern Wisconsin and our friends the Olsons, who couldn't commit to the earlier trip, could come this time. On a spectacularly beautiful day in Southeast, we again boarded the catamaran for a trip to Icy Strait Point. We enjoyed a bloody mary on board (delicious!!) but skipped the salmon-flavored vodka. There were four in our group who were game for the zipline adventure this time - we were more than happy to watch their descent from the world's longest 
and some say the most thrilling zipline. It is 5,330 feet long with a 1,300 foot vertical drop at 60 mph. The ride starts higher than three Empire State Buildings and offers great views, if you can keep your eyes open! We took the beach walk to the viewing area and noticed that the restaurant was not quite open (about 20 more minutes) but that didn't stop Mr. Bill from befriending the bartender who promptly pulled three Red Alaska Ales in pint glasses which we enjoyed in the sunshine. Our group of four was one of the first down the zip and we needed to get back for our return trip to the Spasski River - it was salmon season and there were bears for sure, we thought. 
Our bus was just the seven of us and we enjoyed a just-for-us trip (George was again along for the ride), 
walking again through the muskeg but not in bright sunshine and warm temperatures. While the river was beautiful, still no bears! We listened to our tour guide tell marvelous stories of life among the Tlingits in Hoonah (and some of us maybe even dozed the few minutes back to town). Time for lunch - this time outdoors. Cori and I decided to go for the "crabby mary's" complete with crab leg and souvenir glass! The boys shared a pitcher of beer and then some shopping, walking and simply enjoying the day and the company. When Alaska weather is nice, it is absolutely perfect - can't promise perfect weather when you visit, but any visit to Alaska is worth it. You should come!!
