A day at the Pit

So, after bundling up enough to withstand 33 degree cold, I headed out to the pit to help with the cross country meet. I had never been out to the pit when it wasnt frozen and snow covered, so this was new to me. I drove up and parked along this trail that led into the pit, where everyone was parked.
It was a beautiful sunny day. By the time I got there, the JH runners were already on the starting line getting ready to take off.
Here are the first group of JH kids running by. I tried to encourage Avery to get involved, especially after hearing that he WANTED to run track, but apparently he DOES NOT WANT TO. I think he would be good at it, but he just doesnt have any interest.
The sand pit is basically just that...a big sand pit. It is the place where they dig up all the sand to build roads and maintain level streets, houses; basically everything. If you need sand(dirt), it comes from here usually. During winter, it's a great place to do some sledding. And, apparently during summer, it's a great place to do some doughnuts.
Trail markers for the runners to know how far along they are on the trail. No sign...that's okay. In Alaska, everybody knows how to improvise.

Planes were flying by all morning. On such a nice sunny day, everyone had there planes out for a spin. Many people own their own planes here.
This was my post. I was a spotter. My duty was to make sure that they followed the trail and didnt cut corners. Kind of a boring job, esp in between races when there werent any kids running by.
The moon was still out and was really neat to look at though.
Here are the first of the HS girls running by. We had almost 150 kids in town for this event. It was said to be the largest cross country meet that we've had in Bethel!
It was cold enough to be wearing mittens for the first time. I found some mittens for a dollar per pair this summer at Big Lots, so I bought about 10 pair. We go through them pretty quickly once winter hits. I was a bit taken aback when I looked down and noticed this deformation. Apparently, people who shop at Big Lots have really long pinky fingers. Doesnt it look weird?
The fall colors of the tundra are just beautiful. It was nice to spend some times outdoors before it gets very much colder. I finally settled on wearing my long john's top and bottoms, jeans, a tshirt, a hooded fleece sweatshirt, regular socks, fleece socks, mud boots, mittens, and an ear warmer. That's alot of clothes for so early in the year.
I think this pic is neat. The track markers through the fall colored tundra bushes.
I dont know why, but I like the way that the doppler looks. I just think it's cool. So, there's our doppler in the distance. I'm not sure what that tower is for.
Here you can really see the colors of the fall tundra.Finally, here come the first group of HS boys. They ran so fast. I was amazed. The Bethel sand pit course is a pretty rough course with lots of hills. You can see all the boys in the background running up one of the hills. Remember that you can click on any pic to make it bigger.
After I left the pit, I headed over to work for a few hours. I finally got some more of my poster hung on my walls so that it doesnt look so bare. I still need another book shelf and two bulletin boards hung up before I finish all of my decorating. After that, I went to wash my car. Then I hung at home for awhile and made dinner. After that, I went to some friends to try to figure out our final plans for our Thanksgiving Fairbanks trip. I really had a long day and I'm so ready for bed