Today was the warmest day we've experienced for a long time, sunny with a high of 64-65 degrees. We returned to Saw Fest 2011 for a while this morning where Bonnie and Nancy both purchased several original water colors from a local artist. They met her yesterday when they convinced her to sell them some of the originals used for prints she sells. She was good to her word and brought a box of her originals for them to choose from. The chain saw carvers worked til mid-night last night and made a lot of progress on their creations. Later in the morning we drove to Sterling, AK where we visited yet another local artist who specializes in creations form wood burls. Some spruce trees in Alaska contract a fungus which creates a wound on the tree which heals into a large ball like wood burl on the tree or limb. You aren't allowed to take wood with bark through customs because of the possibility of insect infestation; Ben purchased a 8 foot post with burls which still had the bark. The bark is best removed with a pressure washer and Bonnie made quite an impression on the 78 year old artist when she helped with the pressure washing. Nancy purchased a very pretty burl bowl. After lunch we relocated to a State campground in Eagle River, AK which was a 161 mile drive.
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| NANCY AND BONNIE WITH ARTIST |
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| AN EXAMPLE OF THE VERY RARE "CHAINSAW" TREE |
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| BONNIE PRESSURE WASHES BURLED WOOD |
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| IT JUST NEEDS A LITTLE WORK |
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| VIEW ALONG THE STERLING HIGHWAY |
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| WE PASSED THROUGH ANCHORAGE ON OUR WAY TO EAGLE RIVER |
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