Why would anyone want to live in Alaska? Good question, do I have a good answer, probably not. Do I have an answer, oh yes do I have an answer for you.
See I grew up all over the American mid-west. North Dakota, Montana, and Colorado for the most part. I hated everywhere that I lived. North Dakota was way way to flat for me. Now for those of you that love seeing for miles in every direction its a great place for that. There weren't enough trees or mountains for me. Colorado had the mountains but they aren't right there in your face. They hang off to the west of Denver taunting you about hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities. Eastern Montana was a repeat of North Dakota. Then my mother and step-father #2 had a great idea, let's move to Alaska. See that's where he was from, and he decided we would be better off there.
So packed up everything and stuffed it into an old school bus that we had to paint blue, apparently privately owned school buses can't stay yellow so we had to change its color, and then stuffed us into the Suburban and headed north. Let me tell you that trip was not exactly fun at points but I did learn something, I am not high maintenance. I was fine with the roughing it part. Sleeping in the car, cooking over a itty bitty hibachi grill and just enjoying the scenery. Mom wasn't to happy, she wanted a restaurant and hotel. Grilled steaks and the occasional mosquito was not bad really. Step-father #2 told me he thought I would fit in well in Alaska, I had the right mentality for it.
Now as we progressed to the state I was swept away by the mountains, and the forests, and all the wildlife. I saw my first bald eagle, Dall sheep, moose, bears, wolves and so many more on that trip. I remember walking on the very first glacier that I had ever seen. It was the Matanuska glacier and it was spectacular. There was this wildness to Alaska that I had never experienced before.
I also discovered that Alaska had oceans!!! Seriously I had never really seen the ocean before. The sound of waves breaking over that shale covered beach was something that has stayed with me always. So the trifecta of things I had to have near me in my environment to make me happy consisted of this: oceans, mountains, and forests. I am an unhappy camper when those things are not present.
I met my hubby when he was in the Air Force and I knew that we would eventually have to move, they were cruel. The Air Force moved us to San Antonio Texas. Those were the longest eight years of my life. Then we were moved to Utah, ok so it had mountains and kind of, sort of, forests (they are really sparse). After four years there the Air Force said how about going back to Alaska. YEAH!!! was the answer. My kids were even excited. So I got to come home and move back to Anchorage, my house is up against a huge wooded park and moose visit often, so do the bears but I can really do without their visits. Two blocks away is the trail head to a long trail that takes you right up into the mountains. We are not talking about some large trail that is paved or anything, this is bring water and gear type of trail, with streams to ford and moose to dodge and tons of birds and just once a wolverine skittered across the trail in front of us. I can drive less than twenty minutes and be in the wild.
I may be the only person you meet that is blase about seeing moose and bald eagles. Seriously, they are everywhere. I know that tourists go nuts to see them but after awhile up here they are somewhat common. I am more excited to see rarer animals. I have seen herds of caribou crossing the highway as I drive to Fairbanks, seen wolves, bears, but oddly enough the one animal I haven't seen, alive that is, is the porcupine. I see them tragically on the roads during the summer but just once I want to see one doing porcupiney things in the wild.
This morning though when our 2 year old decide five thirty was a great time to get up, I let the dog out and high above my house was a spectacular display of northern lights. They were green, pale pink, and a shimmering white. They darted across the sky, pulsing, creating elongated curtains of light that changed between one breath and the next. I was entranced, didn't have a coat on, didn't notice the snow that got into my slippers. I just stood there and watched in silence as nature gave me a celestial rock show. I told myself this is why I life here, this beauty in nature and the emotions it creates. Alaska has wormed its way into my soul.
Now mind you this is not to say we don't have weirdness up here but that is another story.
Atypical Life in AK
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