Alaska

[uplander]

If you ever go to Alaska, you never come all of the way back home.

Oh Magicman you are sooo right! My wife remarked that if we had done the trip 30-35 years ago we would not have come home. I had a new degree in explosives engineering and blasters license in Indiana, Il. And Ky.  It would have easily transfered to licensure in Ak. and I could have found well paying work. There is powder being shot all over the state.
Right now, we are scheming to go back. I left part of myself there.
We have a really nice tree farm in Southern Indiana and at 62 I feel too old to start a new life on the last frontier but it is so very tantalizing.

[uplander]

Man,,,,,I'm laying the groundwork...... 8)

Just do it. As soon as possible. It was a very enriching experience.
We wish we had 35 years ago. We would still be there...

[tule peak timber]

A pic of the Bay we look out onto. I drew a little yellow line, aimed at the hilltop we are developing. We have a long way to go, but it is my dream to summer up there, have a boat and spend the last years of my life on the ocean, in the rivers, hiking, hunting etc. We plan to keep our place here, in S. CA, and keep chopping wood in the "off Alaska" season. Anyway, that is my dream, the light at the end of my tunnel.

 

[uplander]

A pic of the Bay we look out onto. I drew a little yellow line, aimed at the hilltop we are developing. We have a long way to go, but it is my dream to summer up there, have a boat and spend the last years of my life on the ocean, in the rivers, hiking, hunting etc. We plan to keep our place here, in S. CA, and keep chopping wood in the "off Alaska" season. Anyway, that is my dream, the light at the end of my tunnel.

Beautiful. The very picture of Alaska. Evocative of so much that makes it such a wondrous place.
 I have to go back.

[Chuck White]

Having spent a little over 4 years stationed in Alaska, one of the things that I discovered was:
Pictures do not do justice to Alaska when compared to the real thing! 

[sawguy21]

I watched Alaska State Troopers and was stunned at the aerial shots, the sheer size and beauty of that state has to be seen to be appreciated.

[uplander]

Having spent a little over 4 years stationed in Alaska, one of the things that I discovered was:
Pictures do not do justice to Alaska when compared to the real thing!

I have to agree Chuck. We spent several days east of Willow Ak.
Camping along lovely Willow Creek. Driving up to Hatcher Pass
and Independence gold mine.
My pictures from near the top of the pass completely fail to show the immense enormity of the bush vegetated alpine valley stretching out 20 miles below us.

[uplander]

I watched Alaska State Troopers and was stunned at the aerial shots, the sheer size and beauty of that state has to be seen to be appreciated.

To put it in to perspective. Alaska is 1/5 the size of continental United States and it has a population of 744,000 people. Most in Anchorage (shudder) and Fairbanks.
 Throw in several major mountain ranges and it is a wild, rugged and beautiful place.

[Machinebuilder]

I missed this thread before I started mine in Travel.

This one just makes me even more excited to go.

[caveman]

I enjoyed reading about everyone's experiences in Alaska.  I had the opportunity to go in 1989, not long after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.  My mother was an avid bicyclist and wanted our family to accompany her on a trip.  My wife (girlfriend back then) and I were told we could go (and she would pay) if we rode a bike with her and the small group that was going.  My sister and my Daddy did not have to ride a bike.  They rented a Jeep and met up with us every couple of days.

We left Tampa International Airport and after a stop or two, we landed in Anchorage.  We assembled our bikes in the airport and pedaled to a house in Anchorage where we slept in someone's basement.  Over the next two weeks, we pedaled up to Fairbanks, through Denali Park, over Thompson's Pass and down to Valdez.  We boarded a fairy in Valdez that carried us to Whittier.  We left Whittier and pedaled back to Anchorage, boarded the plane and flew back to Florida.  When we arrived back in Tampa, I had and epiphany.  I finally realized what all of the glaciated northerners were talking about when they complained about humidity.  It was like breathing under water after coming from Alaska.

Had I not intended to get married soon after finishing college, I'd probably stayed in Alaska.  When we left, I said I'd never go back or else I would stay there.  There was so much there that appealed to me and the way I'm wired.  I was working part time doing hay work and other jobs in Florida which paid $3.35-10 an hour.  When I was in Alaska, folks were getting $19 an hour to wash oil off of rocks and ducks.  Places like Pizza Hut in Valdez had showers set up for use for $3 and the duck scrubbers had tents set up to stay in.  I had a hard time leaving.

We rode our bikes over 1000 miles in 10-12 days, with the longest day being 135 miles.  I've not had the urge to spend more than 30 minutes at a time on a bicycle since.  

[Magicman]

If you ever go to Alaska, you never come all of the way back home.  8)