Alaska-Part 1

In honor of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, as well as my folks who were just there last week, I wanted to talk a little about Alaska.  I usually talk about a single city, but in this case, I will group all Alaskan cities into a couple of posts about the 49th state of the U.S.

Memories of Alaska, for me, come in two flavors.  One flavor is pretty bitter...but the other is amazingly sweet.  I spent a good amount of time in Alaska from 1999-2002.  I saw some amazing things in that vast wilderness.  However, returning in 2006 was a much better experience - the sweet, if you will.

One city that I spent a great deal of time in, is located just outside Anchorage. It's called Eagle River.  In Alaska, you can see bald eagles quite easily. Eagle River has an abundance of eagles - you can see them flying in the air, perched in trees, hunting near the river. 

The view from just off the highway into Eagle River

For an American citizen, it's quite dramatic. The folks in Alaska are very used to having these majestic birds around - I think they laugh when someone like me stops in their tracks...and just stares in amazement. I'll never forget the day I was just driving down the road and could see at least 6 bald eagles in a tree...just to the side of the road. Amazing...

In Alaska, the economy was built on a lot of things before oil and gas exploration started. Fur trading was a big part of life up there (outside of the gold rush). You can still see remnants of that, as there are plenty of stores that carry fur - hats, coats, boots, gloves, etc. They still have a huge festival every year to celebrate that part of their culture.  It's called the Fur Rondy (Alaska Fur Rondevouz).  It even includes the Ms. Fur Rondy Pageant:

Fishing in Alaska is unlike anything you've ever experienced before. I'm not joking. I wouldn't call myself an avid fisherman...I've only been fishing a few times outside of Herrington's trout pond ; ) However, I've SEEN a lot of fish, particularly in Japan - and I've been deep-sea fishing in California. The size of the fish in Alaska can't be understated. They're HUGE. There's a very good reason that they call them King Salmon there. I was able to see these giant fish in two different settings. First, I watched some men fishing on the Kenai Peninsula (I spent a lot of time in Soldotna). They were pulling salmon out of a river. This picture will explain what I'm talking about:

Kenai River, Alaska

Second, I went to Homer, Alaksa and saw a great deal of deep-sea fishing there. The size of the halibut they were bringing in on the boats was astounding. Now I understand why King Crab is so large, coming from Alaska.

City of Homer, Alaska

A former relative regularly flies adventurous fishermen to hard-to-reach fishing spots in a single-engine plane. These small planes are actually used quite a bit in Alaska, due to the massive distances between cities/towns/settlements. If you want a real fishing adventure in Alaska, trust one of these "bush pilots" to take you to a fantastic fishing spot. They can even take you where the bears are grabbing fish in the rivers. A-M-A-A-Z-I-N-G.

Brown bear fishing for salmon at Katmai National Park

One of the biggest ski resorts in Alaska is about an hour outside Anchorage - it's called Alyeska. The resort there is as beautiful as any in Lake Tahoe or the Wasatch mountains. Aside from the skiing, it's fun to ride the gondola in the spring and summer, or just hike through the trails surrounding the resort.

No trip to Alaska would be complete without an encounter with a moose. Now, for those of us that think of these animals in a Bullwinkle-sort-of-way, you'll be surprised to learn just how dangerous they are. I always pictured them as "horses with antlers" - but I'm way off. You don't want to mess with moose. Particularly if there's a calf nearby. Female moose are the most dangerous when they perceive that their children are threatened (man, could I draw some analogies here). Outside of Anchorage and Juneau, most towns are right smack in the middle of wilderness, so you'll come into contact with wildlife on a regular basis.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Alaska...including glaciers, kayaking and tuxedos...oh, my!