Blogs from Alaska, United States, North America - page 2

Hello at last, dear friends and family! I am sitting here in the greatest of luxury and happiness aboard the Alaskan ferry, Columbia. I am in total bliss as I lie in my lounge chair on my thermarest with my grandmother’s down comforter over me, watching the most glorious land and waterscapes drift away behind us. Two humpbacked whales just bounded by minutes ago. I have not felt this relaxed and at peace in many months (since before January 21st at least…). For all who have ever considered it, the ferry from Bellingham, WA to Alaska is a destination in itself. It is important, however, that you don’t get sucked into the idea of sleeping indoors, be it a cabin or on the floor of the lounge. The heated and covered solarium is the spot to ... read more

Yesterday was, as expected, a very long day of travel. I had not slept the night before, which ended up working in my favor because I basically slept on all of the flights. Coming in for a landing in Anchorage was very memorable. As we broke through the clouds on our descent I saw Alaska for the first time. Snowy hills as far as the eye could see, almost blindingly white. It was beautiful. The final flight from Anchorage to Nome by way of Kotzebue was definitely the most exciting. The weather was impeccably clear as we made our way into Kotzebue. One moment all you could see was snowy tundra, and then out of nowhere the landing strip appears and you realize the cluster of buildings next to the runway IS the city, and it ... read more

On February 27th, I talked about the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, and on March 3, I talked about the Official Restartof the Iditarod in Willow, but I have more to say! (Big surprise, I know.) We had so many random experiences and had so much fun, even though (as I mentioned), it was the coldest I’d ever been in my entire life!! Technically, the temperature at the hotel said -10° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit), which doesn’t sound that cold, but it was like the frozen ocean air and the frozen glacier air came swirling down and wrapped itself around me!! But, it’s not just not my imagination – it actually froze my battery in my camera! (A local coffee shop let me recharg... read more

It is the beginning of March and 30 days ago my life was very different. Today I am completed moved out of my home of 5 years. I am temporarily living with my dad while my house is being sold. I don't have a job. I won't have a car shortly. In 12 days I am flying to meet one of my closest friends in New York with no return ticket to Anchorage, AK. Instead, I will be flying to Reykjavik, Iceland and onto London, England without any definite plan of what to do or where to go. This is by far the most unplanned my life has ever been and I feel great. Of course new beginnings are exciting, sometimes scary, but mostly full of hope. Travelers spend all of their time looking forward, that ... read more

On my mission to eventually go to every State in the USA and every province in Canada (except Nunavut), I eventually decided itwas time to go to Alaska, The Last Frontier. Coincidentally, and conveniently, Shannan’s family lives in a little town a couple of hours from Anchorage, so we all decided to go visit! I have mentioned Shannan’s family briefly, off and on, over my blog-times, because they moved to our little town of Eureka, once upon a time, while we were in high school, and stayed about…a year, I think. But they were like a comet coming through – only there for a short time but made a lasting impression!) I practically lived at their house and Shannan’s parents were my parents and her sisters were my sisters, and when we weren’t living at her ... read more