Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Top of the World Highway Trip... and Taylor Too

Yet another sticker sign. This one is on the Taylor Highway in Chicken, Alaska.

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to put a posting up. There was a holiday in there and yeah, now I remember, the sun came out again after being absent for awhile.
We headed out for Dawson City, Yukon and Eagle Alaska for the long weekend over the Fourth.
We seem to like to join in with the Canadians and celebrate Canada Day on the first of July.
I think I may be honorary Canadian with my Maine roots and Alaskan residency...at least I like to think so.

For some ridiculous reason they are closing the border at 6:00 PM (US's Fault)
so we spent a night camping at the border in the teardrop trailer and were the very first ones though in the morning. We're waiting for the ferry to cross the Yukon into Dawson City.
Dawson City is one of my favorite summertime destinations with funky buildings and boardwalks and its gold mining history. There's always fun to be had at the legendary "Pit" bar .

You can get some fresh morels in the local store...for a price

And imagine the glamour inside this beauty salon!


We had lunch at Klondike Kate's and I got to meet a fellow blogger,  Jeffrey from the blog 
He's a cook at Kate's and writes about cooking gourmet creations with wild game...can you say tasty?

Then I found this gorgeous boro canvas shed that was completely made up of pieced together old canvas. I woulda like to roll up a few yards to take home!



Always interested in old graveyards everywhere we go.



After our night in Dawson we had a wedding to go to in the remote town of Eagle, Alaska.
The wedding was right on the Yukon at the old school site.

The brides father even constructed outhouses for us. There's no SaniCan service this far out.

We left a day earlier than we had planned when the rain started to dump.
The Taylor Highway had washed out last year taking a US Customs agent that was driving the road with it. It had washed out again already this year and we didn't want to take any chances on the eroding mountain road.
I did get to visit my friends Ron and Mary from Yukon Ron's
The community was hit hard by the flood a couple of years ago and road closures so that now no tour buses will travel the road which has severely impactedthe sales from their jewelry business.
They had a big tent downtown that they called the Eagle Mall which would be in operation when the buses came through. Mary is realizing that she's going to have to beef up her online sales
Have a look here to check out some of their artistry.

We talked about product photography which we are both working on.
I was impressed by her setup that mary had gotten from a friend.
After a little research into the brand "Square Perfect" I was dismayed to learn that they WON'T SHIP TO ALASKA! 
I'm going to have to wait until November  or get someone in the states to ship it to me.
(any takers?)


Somehow I love the way the lowly black spruces look after a wildfire.
There was plenty of evidence of a previous massive wildfire along the road from years before.


Stunning views from the Taylor Highway

How about a little fireweed?

Can't you just imagine some mammoths walking about here?

What happened is that the sun finally came out last week and I wouldn't go near the computer quite so much. My frustration with the spotty access has nearly weaned me from it for the time being.
I've been working on some new designs.
I must say I have been inspired by some other folks  (Fanciful Devices, specifically) styles lately and had the idea to take the head pin process a step further and torch baubles right onto pre-made doohickeys.
You can see what she did with a pair of my lampwork whorls on this post link too. very cool, wish I had thought of it, she's so amazing with her designs.
I had some interesting links from some chain I picked up at the gem show ( the eyes)

This was the first set of wires I made with 18 gauge annealed steel.

After that set I decided to add another loop and hammer them as well ... yay new jeweler's bench!

I'd been meaning to cover this torso for awhile since it was bright orange plastic. 
My son just gave me a crate full of old encyclopedias to cut up.

I think she may come in handy for some of my jewelry photography, don't you think?

15 comments:

  1. Yet another wonderful roadtrip on your coattails, Kim. I surely thank you. Good for you meeting another blogger friend. I love graveyards, too. Maybe the tinier and older the better. Love your altered torso, and you look mah-velous under the Chicken sign!

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  2. you always have the most interesting travel stories, photos and tid bits in your posts! I love that Boro style shed..reminds me of an abandoned old wood boat in a marsh in Maine that i always wanted to take a piece of.. though when we got up close we realized how big and heavy the wood really was...your jewelry is so creative..i love the mixed metals and lampwork beads.

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  3. 1-Oh those doohickeys are badass!!! I wonder if you could sell them un-bent as extra-long double headed glass pins . . . ?
    2-You might want to coat the mannequin in a layer of gesso or watery white/cream paint to tone down the contrast of the text against the paper. this way the jewelry wont compete with the background.
    3-I just stumbled on to your amazing fancy website- do you have links to it on your announcement and profile on etsy? You should!

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  4. Looks like you are having fun.

    Wonderful road trip but a little to rough for me.
    Been there done that many many many years ago. For me roughing it now is no chocolates on my pillows and Room Service is a must !

    cheers, parsnip

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  5. You look positively skin and bones, wow are you skinny. Boro sheds and gorgeous views. Yummy. I love your new jewelry model, glad she isn't orange plastic anymore. New jewels are industrial chic Chica! xox Corrine

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  6. Such beautiful landscapes - breathtaking! Have to ask, what the heck is a morel? I like your model in her new guise too - much easier to display jewellery on now than in her previous orange state! I see what you mean about direct torch onto wire - very cool - but scary!

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  7. Wonderful shed Kim! What was it used for? Liking your new jewels and display mannequin too :-)

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  8. You lucky people!!! I would love to join you there someday! The views are breath taking. You experiences must be awesomely wonderful--it's just too beautiful to miss.
    Love that jewelry!!! Wow!!!!
    Rose

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  9. Oh, look at all these beautiful places you have been to! Breathtaking! And I love, love, love your new earrings!!!!

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  10. Oh my so many beautiful photos of the places you have traveled and visited.Thanks for taking me along.Hugs,Cat

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  11. You know I have no idea what the shed was being used for. It was in a small parking lot on a street corner with no other dwellings nearby. they had actually covered a modern tarp shed with the old pieces.

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  12. great photos especially of klondike kates and that canvas stuff..glad you werent stung the other day when you were making your lovely jewellery

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  13. lovely views & jewels, particularly the boro shed. Love the sticker collage signs, too!

    Yeah, what is a morel, looked a little scary ;)

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  14. Morels look horrible but they ARE wonderful. I love the beauty salon and your wires... Your jewelry. Enough said because you can hear the sighs of covetousness. I love your travel stories, Kim. And, yes, you have a taker if ya wanna email me or do private message through FB and tell me what you would like me to do to make the shipping happen. Unless it was a joke, in which case you are Robin's ROTTEN little sister (as opposed to Rotten littlest sister). And, HEY. You have at least one root that remains in CT, you know.

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  15. Some beautiful landscapes there. Oh my, that canvas is spectacular- so is the taste of morels!

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