Going Rogue: An American Life (127 page)

ABOVE LEFT: Judy shot this of Todd and Piper (in backpack) marching with me in a local parade as I campaigned for lieutenant governor in 2002.
Courtesy 2 009
©
Judy
Patriclc/AlaslcaStoclc.com
ABOVE RIGHT: Autumn 2006. Gold miners stand in front of a bar in Chicken, Alaska, to help in the campaign. Constituents like these at the Chicken Creek Saloon made the campaign perpetually exciting and unconventional!

Courtesy Judy Patriclc

LEFT:

ovember 6,2006.

Piper gives a thumbsup

with her cousins McKinley

and Heath crammed in

the booth as I vote for

governor. We won the sixway race with more than

48 percent of the vote.

Courtesy Chuclc

December 2006. My first day in the

governor’s office in Juneau. The

Wasilla Warriors presented me with

their team ball. It was joined by

John Stockton and Jerry

Tarkanian basketballs, a John

Wooden inspiration pyramid, a Fred

Crowell Golden Ruler, a Jack Lambert jersey, a Scottie Gomez puck, Great Alaska Shootout schedules,

and as much high school and college

sports memorabilia as I could fit on

my desk.
Courtesy Sarah Palin

December 4,2006, inauguration

ceremony in Fairbanks. Todd,

Piper, and Bristol are shown here,

having just witnessed Superior

Court Judge Niesje Steinkruger

swear me into office as governor of

Alaska. Piper was as patient as most

five-year-olds could be but could

barely muster one last hand on the

heart at the end of the ceremony.

Courtesy AP Images

Todd and I dance the first dance at Juneau’s

Governor’s Inaugural Ball. I’d run out to

Shoefly just two hours before to grab a pair of

heels so we could kick them up at the event.

Courtesy
©
2009 Christopher S. Miller/

A laskaStack. com

Early lessons in life.

Here in Juneau, reading to Trig

about his

ative culture.

Courtesy State ofAlaska

Track visited Juneau after his

Michigan hockey tour and before

his U.S . Army enlistment. Here we

were getting ready for an official

First Family photo, but we weren’t

ever able to have a portrait taken of

the entire family at the Governor’s

Mansion because Track was gone by

the time Trig was born .

Courtesy State ofAlaska

The kids have always been

such good sports! For three years

running, Piper’s birthday was

celebrated in the Capitol. One year

I brought a cake into a meeting and

pretended that was her birthday

partyeven though the visitors

didn’t speak English.

Courtesy State ofAlaska

A hehind-the-scenes look at the

AGIA ceremonial bill signing in

Fox, underneath the Trans Alaska

Pipeline. Piper and McKinley stood

near me (Piper was still grooming

my wardrobe) while my gasline

team and other dignitaries

surrounded us. This historic piece

of legislation would progress

the largest privatesector energy

project-ever.

Courtesy Todd Palin

Dad and Mom, married

forty-eight years, stand in

front of a house of prostitution

(long abandoned, of course) in

the ghost town near Bonanza,

Alaska. This house served the

gold miners during one of

many Alaska gold rushes.

Courtesy Chuck Heath

LEFT: January 18,2008, Fort

Benning, Georgia. We made

it to Track’s U.S. Army hoot

camp graduation ceremony

in time for Todd to put the

blue cord on our son’s right

shoulder. The young soldier,

along with thousands of

others in a Stryker Brigade,

later deployed to Iraq for a

year. This was one of our

proudest days .
Courtesy

Sarah Palin

At the 2008 GOP convention in Minneapolis , both the McC ain and Palin families were on stage after John’s inspiring acceptance speech! We teased th e Secret Service about th eir “volunteering” for the campaign assignment, perhaps not realizing all th e kids (and their energy) were part of the gig. Note my dad ‘s head in the bottom rig ht of this picture. Always gri nnin g ear to ear!
Courtesy Sally H eath
D ad and Mom w ith Henry Kissinger at the 2008 GOP

convention in the Twin Cities.

It was an honor for me to meet

with Mr. Kissinger a few times,

and even after the campaign to

return back East for another visit

with him.
Courtesy Chuck Heath

Pictured here at the GOP

convention , Todd’s parents, Jim

and Faye P alin, lived the maxim

‘I’ll slee p when I die’ as they

traveled all over the

country working tirelessly

for th e campaignputting their

passion for golf on hold.

Courtesy Chuck H eath