Cranberry Picking in Fairbanks

Can you believe that I lived in Fairbanks for four years, off and on, and never picked low-bush cranberries?? I suppose I was busy with other things, like oh, going to school. But still, I had no idea picking cranberries could be so easy and accessible.

Our good friends from Seattle, Brooke, Adam, and 5 month-old Logan just moved here and have already found a great cranberry spot. It's on Cranberry Ridge (go figure). One of the first things they did when we got here on Friday was take us out to pick berries. Lucky for us, Friday felt like a Saturday because Ryan and I both took the day off work, Adam is currently on furlough as a National Park Service employee (thanks, Congress), and Brooke's full-time gig is taking care of Logan.

A five minute drive from Brooke and Adam's house and a two minute walk down a trail through birch forest led us to a spot where Ryan and I managed to pick 3/4 gallon in just a little over an hour. I'll take that.

At this point in the fall, Logan is a seasoned berry-picking supervisor. He lounges on a foam pad in his psychedelic snowsuit while the adults forage. As long as he is on a slope or is propped up enough to see someone, he's as happy as a clam. Unless he's hungry. Or needs his diaper changed. Luckily his parents were prepared for both scenarios, and even though he looked like he wanted to pass out after his bottle, there was just too much excitement for him to cave. At the end of the adventure, he was still his smiley self.

And just because it's adorable, here is a photo of Ryan holding Logan. Logan loves Ryan (really he loves everybody). He also loves his feet.