AK State Fair Day

This was an event packed day near Palmer in the Matanuska Valley which included a you-pick farm, the Alaska State Fair and a Russian Orthodox cemetery! This area is lush farmland surrounded by the Talkeetna Mountains. Our first stop of the day was Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, a you-pick farm that was originally homesteaded and then used in a 1930s colony project to encourage lower 48 homesteaders to come to Alaska for agriculture.

The Pyrah family took it over in 1979 and ran it as an LDS church welfare farm. The church discontinued the welfare program in Alaska in 1988, but the Pyrah's continued to grow veggies and people continue to come and pick the ever expanding produce.

Our friend Brian, local volunteer at the nature center, drove us and our German volunteer Max on this day's excursion. Prices here were extremely reasonable, most items being $1 a pound.

The main objective of the day was rhubarb ($1.50/lb), but after gathering enough pounds for several pies, we also gathered broccoli, cauliflower, peas and potatoes. The cauliflower seemed quite picked over and when we asked about it, we were told that moose had eaten most the crop that week!

Some of the broccoli heads got rather large!

Other crops included lettuce, spinach, kale, turnips, carrots, and beans.
And then it was time to go to the fair and see the seriously big veggies!

This squash was a new AK record. The winning pumpkin was 859 pounds, but this slightly smaller 2nd place winner was much more photogenic!

If you don't know what to do with excess veges, here's an idea.

Tractors and quilts are my next two favorite fair stops. This tractor is one of only 132 built by the Friday Factory in 1948.

There was an exhibit on spinning that included probably 6-8 women each with their own unique wheel spinning merino wool, some blended with silk, to make beautifully soft yarn. Quilts hung all around, my favorite being this very Alaskan one.

Other exhibits, a show outside by Cirque Magnifique, and it was time to head back with one more short stop in the small village of Eklutna.

This is the original Russian Orthodox church, dating to the mid-1800s. The cemetery has been in use since 1650 and is now a blend of native practices and Orthodox Christianity.

This is the most fascinating cemetery I've ever seen. These are spirit houses which provide shelter for spirits. Families have similarly colored houses. Almost none of them have any name or date information.

This was perhaps the most unique of the shelters.

Unfortunately neither the original nor this current church were open.

Now...on to working on that 5 pounds of rhubarb we came home with!