Alaska, the land of beautiful snow covered mountains and wilderness as far as you can see. You've probably seen the photography or the documentaries. Or how about the movie, Into the Wild. I was born in Fairbanks, but do not remember anything. I've heard lots of stories by my brothers and sisters, but that was from 40+ years ago. What about today? I found Nichole Sauer, a recent transplant from Alaska. She had the scoop.
First things first, people do not live in igloos and they do not ride around in dog sleds. People do live in log cabins, some very rustic, but not in town. There are cities just like in the lower states. Fairbanks has a population of around 82,000; Anchorage 261,000 and the capital Juneau around 31,000. People live in normal houses and drive cars and trucks. There are some remote towns that are only accessible by plane, but in southern Alaska, towns are just like in the lower states.
Do people really drive around in dog sleds? No, but you do see dog sleds in more rural areas. You also see people driving snow mobiles as transportation in the winter. And there is dog sledding, with one famous one every year. The Iditarod dog sled race is a huge event each year as well as the ice festival. During the ice festival, there are ice sculpture contests, slides and rides made of ice. The sculptures are made by teams around the world. Some pretty amazing stuff.
People in Alaska like to go shopping just like you and I. My mother used to talk about 'Sears chic' because Sears was the only big chain store at the time. Sears is still around, but they also have Fred Meyers, Safeway and Gottschalks plus the first Wal-Mart recently. They even have malls. Very small strip malls, but they do have malls. The prices may be a little higher then you're used to. In fact, according to Nichole, prices are about double what she pays in Washington.
Tourism is the biggest industry in Alaska, especially in the summer. But they also do big business in fishing, crabbing and the pipeline. With fishing and crabbing, people can make enough in several months to last them for the remainder of the year. You can make $30-40,000 per month. Crabbing, though lucrative, can be very dangerous since it's done in the fall. The ice forms on the boats which you have to keep knocking off. If you don't, the boat sinks. In the winter you will find lots of Asian tourists. Their culture considers is good luck to conceive a child under the aurora borealis.
Speaking of the aurora borealis, Nichole claims that she really misses these light shows. They occur all year, but you can only see them in winter. They come in all colors, but you mostly see blue and green. It is said that if you whistle, they will move.
There are still moose that wander aimlessly, often right down the middle of town. In Anchorage there have been problems with bears wondering into town. You'll also see lots of elk, musk ox, wolves, eagles and a plethora of other wildlife further out of town. Some say the wolves are as big as bears. You don't have to travel far from town to be in the wilderness. Let's not forget the insect world. Not to be messed with, the mosquitoes are said to be as big as golf balls during August. And the hornets you do not mess around with. On the plus side, they have no poisonous spiders or snakes.
The Iditarod dog sled race is a huge event each year as well as the ice festival. During the ice festival, there are ice sculpture contests, slides and rides made of ice. The sculptures are made by teams around the world. Some pretty amazing stuff
Going back to Alaska is definitely a dream of mine. It used to be a thing about getting back to my roots, but over the years, it has just become a destination that looks beautiful and captivating. I don't think I'd want to live there, but I'd love to experience both summer and winter there.
By the way, the movie Into the Wild really was filmed there. Nichole says they hauled the bus into a wilderness area for the filming, then just left it there. Tourists used to flock to the area just to see it. Now it's just an eyesore in a beautiful area. - 14915
First things first, people do not live in igloos and they do not ride around in dog sleds. People do live in log cabins, some very rustic, but not in town. There are cities just like in the lower states. Fairbanks has a population of around 82,000; Anchorage 261,000 and the capital Juneau around 31,000. People live in normal houses and drive cars and trucks. There are some remote towns that are only accessible by plane, but in southern Alaska, towns are just like in the lower states.
Do people really drive around in dog sleds? No, but you do see dog sleds in more rural areas. You also see people driving snow mobiles as transportation in the winter. And there is dog sledding, with one famous one every year. The Iditarod dog sled race is a huge event each year as well as the ice festival. During the ice festival, there are ice sculpture contests, slides and rides made of ice. The sculptures are made by teams around the world. Some pretty amazing stuff.
People in Alaska like to go shopping just like you and I. My mother used to talk about 'Sears chic' because Sears was the only big chain store at the time. Sears is still around, but they also have Fred Meyers, Safeway and Gottschalks plus the first Wal-Mart recently. They even have malls. Very small strip malls, but they do have malls. The prices may be a little higher then you're used to. In fact, according to Nichole, prices are about double what she pays in Washington.
Tourism is the biggest industry in Alaska, especially in the summer. But they also do big business in fishing, crabbing and the pipeline. With fishing and crabbing, people can make enough in several months to last them for the remainder of the year. You can make $30-40,000 per month. Crabbing, though lucrative, can be very dangerous since it's done in the fall. The ice forms on the boats which you have to keep knocking off. If you don't, the boat sinks. In the winter you will find lots of Asian tourists. Their culture considers is good luck to conceive a child under the aurora borealis.
Speaking of the aurora borealis, Nichole claims that she really misses these light shows. They occur all year, but you can only see them in winter. They come in all colors, but you mostly see blue and green. It is said that if you whistle, they will move.
There are still moose that wander aimlessly, often right down the middle of town. In Anchorage there have been problems with bears wondering into town. You'll also see lots of elk, musk ox, wolves, eagles and a plethora of other wildlife further out of town. Some say the wolves are as big as bears. You don't have to travel far from town to be in the wilderness. Let's not forget the insect world. Not to be messed with, the mosquitoes are said to be as big as golf balls during August. And the hornets you do not mess around with. On the plus side, they have no poisonous spiders or snakes.
The Iditarod dog sled race is a huge event each year as well as the ice festival. During the ice festival, there are ice sculpture contests, slides and rides made of ice. The sculptures are made by teams around the world. Some pretty amazing stuff
Going back to Alaska is definitely a dream of mine. It used to be a thing about getting back to my roots, but over the years, it has just become a destination that looks beautiful and captivating. I don't think I'd want to live there, but I'd love to experience both summer and winter there.
By the way, the movie Into the Wild really was filmed there. Nichole says they hauled the bus into a wilderness area for the filming, then just left it there. Tourists used to flock to the area just to see it. Now it's just an eyesore in a beautiful area. - 14915
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