Final Weeks: Seward, Swamp, State Fair

I've been putting off this post because, well, I don't want to acknowledge in writing that the year is over.  But it is.  Alaska: it was my honor and privilege to live here for a year.  Thank you.

One of my roommates had two friends in town, and we all went down to Seward for a day trip.  This was at a stop along the way.

Seward.

The harbor in Seward.

Exit Glacier.  While in Seward we also went to the Alaska SeaLife Center, which I loved.  I think aquariums are cool in general, and this was an aquarium plus aviary plus baby-walrus-refuge.  I loved seeing the walrus, and I didn't get flesh-eating bacteria after a bird splashed some dirty bird-water in my eye, so the trip was a great success!

Salmon!

So I called it a swamp in the title because I wanted to alliterate, but it's actually a marsh.  I had passed this marsh and its boardwalk so many times this year, but I finally stopped to check it out and saw salmon and this lovely view.

Last but not least, The Alaska State Fair:

Huge cabbage and cucumber.  (Where the heck are the huge gourds?!)

Terrifying vegetable lady.

I know it's blurry, but I really like this picture of a pig.  I think it captures the pig's essence.  "Hello there!" says the pig.

The lumberjack competition!  First up: log sawing!

Pole climbing start.

Pole climbing again.  Look at those manly men climb those logs.

Log rolling.  You can see the remnants of the ax-throwing portion of the competition in the background.  You can also see a minivan, the preferred vehicle of lumberjacks everywhere.