It is that time of year again. The Iditarod. Which means it is time for the Iknitarod! I picked a project that is nearly impossible to finish before the Red Lantern is extinguished when the last musher enters Nome, AK, but I am going to give it a good go anyway. It is a lace shawl with my Silky Alpaca lace yarn from Classic Elite. My first project completely in lace weight yarn. I think it will be perfect for this spring weather. The yarn is amazingly soft and fun to knit with.
I am not currently reading this book but I thought I would share a story from it since we are celebrating cool things about Alaska this month.
The cover picture is from my father's story in the book. When I was 5 years old I was walking home from kindergarten when my older siblings came running down the hill to tell me that my dad was lost. He had been out flying for a few days, nothing unusual, but had not returned when he said he would. 4 days later he was found. It was quite a lesson in the power of prayer for a 5 year old.
He was flying in his airplane to Hagemeister Island, AK in October to do some beachcombing. As he was taxiing to a stop on the beach, a gust of wind picked up the airplane and threw it off the island's steep cliffs into the sea. He was able to escape the plane but lost hold of his bag of survival gear as he was trying to swim out of it. The waves pushed him on to the beach where he had only the wet clothes on his back and his emergency locator transmitter, which it turns out didn't survive the salty water.
He scratched SOS into the beach, tried his best to dry off his clothes, and waited for rescue as temperatures dropped below freezing. He found a cave to sleep in. He found a white garbage bag and made a flag to wave at the 2 different aircraft that flew over searching for him. It was the third plane to pass by that spotted him. Can you imagine the despair that might set in when 2 airplanes fly over and don't see you?! 4 days with nothing to eat, in wet clothes, in freezing temperatures. Quite the miraculous story. I remember spending the entire time praying with my mother and siblings. And then watching him and my mother meet on the local news after he was flown back to Anchorage. The power of prayer is real. It can bring miracles into our lives.
The entire book is full of remarkable stories of Alaskans escaping death. My children's favorite is the one about the octopus attacking the scuba diver. Alaska is definitely not the place for the weak of heart. My children told my dad yesterday that they read a story about him being lost at sea. Jokingly he said if it isn't on the internet it isn't true. Well, now it is true.
Sharing with Ginny, Nicole, and Tami.
Labels: Iknitarod, lace, shawl, shawls, Work-in-Progress
