Blogs from Alaska, United States, North America - page 201

After our trip to Utah to see some of its national parks a few years ago, I asked my mom where else she wanted to go. She told me she'd like to see Denali. This year she turned 79, a good year to make the trek. We flew to Anchorage and spent the night there before catching the morning train to Denali. A great muskox, mounted but not behind glass, greeted us in the hotel lobby at Anchorage. His fur was coarse on the outer coat but deliciously soft underneath. I thought of qiviut and decided I wouldn't return to the "outside" without some for knitting. The Alaska Railroad has lovely scenery, passable food with a chef on board, and is a relaxing way to get used to the thrill of being up there. It is ... read more

My planned afternoon of repacking and organizing documents turned into a four hour motorcycle ride out to a place called Murphy Dome. The ride out to Murphy Dome doesn’t take four hours unless a person (or in our case, persons) drives from North Pole and back with frequent stops and off-roading. I imagined spending my time cleaning my little cabin, studying, and living in a quiet and simple manner for the last few weeks until I leave for Peru. However, thanks to adventurous friends, this was not the case, at least for the first two days. It all began when I was sitting on Jason’s only piece of furniture left in the living room, an ornamental carpet of red and black. He was trying to sell his house and had sold or given away most of ... read more

Back on the road after fun times in Denali. What to expect from Fairbanks! We were steeped in anticipation! It had been just a few months over a decade since my last visit to Fairbanks and my recollections of it were that it was somewhat anti-climactic. We arrived in the mid morning, and boy was I right. Basically Fairbanks is like Middletown in Alaska. The car was in need of an oil change, being a solid 4000 miles overdue, and there were a few food items we needed so we began our search for the local Wal-Mart. Every other town we have been to that has a Wally-World (including Anchorage) does not make it difficult to find. With no prior knowledge of a town, you can often drive through it and simply look for Wal-Mart and ... read more

After sitting around the Croan’s house for most of the day feeling useless as they cleaned and packed their things for the new renters, I finally left on the ferry at 4:30. Unbeknownst to me, the Matanuska ferry was last of the season. The Alaska Marine Highway system usually bumps up their schedule for the summer due to the increase of travelers—mainly motor homes and campers. In the winter there are not too many visitors to Alaska, so the ferry rates are also cheaper, but the ferries also go less often. From Juneau to Haines I paid around thirty-five dollars for a four hour trip. My backpack was half-full of books and weighed close to sixty pounds. I staggered to the ticket counter and onto the Matanuska ferry like a mule about to die. Next plan, ... read more