Alaska

     

      I am not sure where to start, so I will start with my experiences in Alaska. We were lucky to get stationed here for two years while Robert was in the army. We lived in North Pole Alaska, next to Fairbanks. Robert was stationed at Fort Wainwright. There were a few things that were … mmmm, different. For one thing you have to have a Car battery blanket for the winters there. So everytime you go to the store you have to plug in your car so it doesn’t freeze. Doesn't sound like a big deal until it 48 below zero and you need a gallon of milk.

       Another thing was the water. There is a lot of sulfur there so drinking the water is a big no. We would go once a week and fill our jugs in town at the water station. It only cost a quarter and you would fill them almost the same as your gas tank. I know there are other places in the state that have the same problem.  

 

      There are a lot of good things that are difference too. There is a law stating that if you see someone broke down or stuck on the side of the road you have to stop. Because of the cold, a person can be in serious danger very quickly. I don’t know if this is a law in any other state, but I can think of a few that it should be.

     I won’t say that Alaska has the best coffee in the states, but I have never drank coffee until we lived in Alaska. There was a coffee place in the North Pole called Mochalicious. They made a latte called the Denali that I still think about. They also made cream cheese brownies that I loved. 

    The food surprised me at how wonderful it was. In the summertime, the produce in the stores was always so good. The fresh salmon and other seafood were also really good all year long. I remember having birch beer, also being a popular drink. It was a lot like rootbeer but better in my opinion. Oh and the ‘reindeer’ sausage aka caribou is so good, we would have it on pizza from the Great Alaska Pizza Co. You could get it for breakfast at the Little Richard's Family Diner. They had pancakes so big they were served on pizza pans. I always order mine with wild blue berries taken locally. 

   One of my favorite things we got to do was go to Seward. We took a day cruise and saw the whales and so many other animals. My favorite was the whales and the sea otters.  We also got to go to Kenai Fjords National Park. We went with the kids and my in-laws. My father in law got sea sick so that wasn't fun for him. He did get a kick out of me slipping and falling in front of the park ranger, who then announced it to the whole boat! It’s still a favorite memory.

     Denali National Park and Preserve was a great park too. We went a few times. There were places you could pull over and make camp for free. We did that once. We picked wild blueberries. Then it got too cold and I ended up driving home in the middle of the night. While the kids slept. It is a beautiful park though and I would love to go back and rent a cabin again. 

   Every year in  Fairbanks they have the World Ice Art Championships. This was so much fun for the kids. Ethan and Leana were in middle school and Andrew was in grade school. We all had a great time! The art carvings were so cool to look at and they had an ice slide. Who wouldn’t love that! 

      We lived in a rental house next to a river the first year we lived in Alaska, When the river froze over, Robert took the kids to walk on the river. They were excited to see people on snow mobiles, cross country skiers and even dog sleds. Coming from Texas that was all new to them. The kids were so excited about Alaska, in Texas if there was even a chance of snow the whole town would shut down. So they thought there would be a lot of snow days… no snow days. Although, we once had a moose in our front yard and I called them out of school. It had a baby so we did not leave the house until it left our yard. Fun fact: moose kill more people than bears each year in the United States.

The last thing I want to share with you all is The Alaskan Highway. I have driven it four times now. This is one of the very best drives you can take. We love driving through the yukon of Canada. If you ever have a chance to go you will not regret it.

    Alaska is the largest of our 50 states. In fact you can put two and a half Texas size states inside of Alaska.  There are 18 national parks and two national forests in Alaska.  There are a whopping 126 state parks. I mean who wouldn’t want to visit this state! 

My Alaska bucket list 

1. Denali National Park and Preserve
2. Kenai Fjords National Park
3. The Matanuska Glacier
4. Lake Clark National Park
5. Glacier Bay National Park
6. Kodiak Island
7. Katmai National Park
8. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
9. Kennecott Mines National Historical Landmark
10. The Alaska Highway

Thank you for reading.