Back to Alaska

[Swamp Yankee]

Well the only thing that I ever hunted for in Alaska was a cold beer and a hot woman down on 4th st in Anchorage.......All kidding aside Alaska has to be one of the most incredible places I have ever been. I spent 2 years at Elmendorf [71&72] in Anchorage. I try to tell my friends about it but words can't truly describe the beautyof Alaska, you have to see it for yourself.  The glasiers, the northern lights, the ice fog, we have none of that down here in the New England. I truly envey you all.  I hope that sometime in my life I will have the chance to "Go back to Alaska"
With deepest respect,  Jim

[Sourdough]

The newest state matto is "B4UDIE"  They have that on a big state licsence plate, and are plastering them on billboards all over the lower 48.  Trouble is most folks tht visit only see 1/10th of the state, if that.  Mostly southeastern which we interior alaskians feel is a suburb of Seattle.  Then they make the round trip from Anchorage, to Fairbanks, then down the highway to Valdez, then back on the boat, or plane.  The real alaska is where you see Grizzlies, Caribou, Dall Sheep, Moose, Wolves, and catch Sheefish, Char, and Pike.  On wild rivers, with Beavers and muskrats swimming around.  And catching those fish, and seeing those animals, as you stay out all night and don't realise it till it's 4or5 AM, and you have spent the entire night out enjoying it and the all night daylite.  And the big thrill of finding out your quite fishing partner for the last 20 minutes, as you landed that big one, has been a big Brown or Grizzly bear.

[Daveinthebush]

What Sourdough has stated is all to correct.  You really have to be here for a while and experience the back country to get to know the real Alaska.  Actually there are two Alaska's.  The "road system" and "the bush".

I have met people that were life long Anchorage residents that have never been into a rural community.  I was blessed with starting my Alaskan love in the village of Elim, 97 miles southeast of Nome.  Then Shaktoolik south of there and in Nulato on the Yukon.  Now that is the real Alaska that hardly anyone ever sees.  The mighty Yukon freezing and heaving in the winter.  The wind swept Darby mountains on snowmachine in the middle of winter at -45 and a 50 mph breeze to keep the bugs down.  Eskimo's pulling beluga whales to shore to divide up amongst the community.  A seven year old giving you his first ptargiman kill as an Eskimo tradition.  

  Orca's playing in Prince William Sound.  
  Catching salmon in the streams with your hands because they are so thick.  
  Watching a sow black bear nurse her cubs under your treestand.  
  Eagles in your backyard catching Dolly Varden trout all winter long.  
  In the summer sitting in the yard sipping tea and watching the newborn kids on the mountain across the road from the house.
  Four foot waves crashing across the bow of your boat while returning to port form a deer hunt.  
  Sitting in a remote bay for four days waiting for a gale to stop so you can return home.  
  Stalking goats in the rain with sweat pouring through your clothes on a slope so slick one missed step and you might die.
  Pulling up five gallons of shrimp from your shrimp set.
  Admiring tiny flowers on a barren moutain slope apparently lifeless from a dsitance.
 

And I could go on and on........this is my Alaska.

[379 Peterbilt]

What you guys say is so true. The first time I visited Alaska, I did the Ancorage-Fairbanks-Valdez and back trip. Having never been there, it was a very, very neat trip.

But this last trip to Ak back in Sept was quite different. I flew to Galena and Ruby, then hunted solo for moose, boating up and downriver on the mighty Yukon in a canoe. Now THAT was Alaska at its best. Somehow I got alot more satisfaction in this trip where one actually has to worry about survival when visiting Alaska, as opposed to being shuttled safely via a cruiseliner from one port to another. I also must say that I met some of the nicest people in those remote villages. There was not one single instance of resentment as to me being there, contradictory to what others will warn you. This all added up to make the perfect trip.

Not saying there is anything wrong with folks wanting to do the normal tourist type sight seeing, but it sure aint my kind of trip. I prefer to do exactly what I wish and where I want to go in Ak.

Next year it gets even better for me, as I will likey be down in your old stomping grounds, Dave, --closer to Russia than Anchorage :grin:

[Swamp Yankee]

No I never did get to see the interior, [the true Alaska]  living on an Airman Seconds pay I didn't have the money or the means to get there. We had to settle for day trips or go hiking at Thunderbird Falls or down in Portage. We did manage to get down to Seward a couple of times , once for the silver salmon derby. I still consider myself a lucky individual to have the opportunity to experience Alaska in all of her four seasons.
With respect, Jim

[alaskacajun]

I was stationed at Elmendorf in '95-'97.. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy my stay as much as I should have. I drank all the time, and the most fun outdoors that I had envolved alcohol and 4X4's....

I met my wife here, she was a military brat and we moved back to Luziana... Then after about 4 years there she had an oppurtunity to come back for the summer and visit her Mom. She called me and invited me to take a stab at making Alaska our home... I fought it all the way, fortunately I got here and realized there was more to this place than what I had originally experienced!

Now I'm living the Alaskan Dream, I'm a trapper, hunter, survivalist, and all around Outdoorsman....  I'm doing things that my friends and family can only dream of.... and loving every minute of it!!!   :grin:

- Clint

[MT4XFore]

Daveinthebush, you and Sourdough sure do wax poetic!  My life dream has always been to get to Alaska.  Heck, I would even like the "tourist-trap" tour!
But being an avid hunter/fisherman, I'm sure I would prefer the bush too.  At my age however, I'm afraid I will have to continue to dream.  However, I did make it to the second best place!  After all I can and have experienced a lot of what you talk about here, but it still isn't Alaska.  Thanks to all of you who share a little bit of your life and experiences with us "po folk".  God Bless!

Jim

[Dand]

Hey Swamp Yankee you saw Alaska at a pretty exciting time.  The pipeline was not quite started but the activity and excitement was under way.  Especially on Anchorage's  4th ave at 2 am - plenty of wildlife of all kinds going on. I was finishing high school then and to top off an evening out, we'd usually cruise down 4th to see what was up.  We were afraid to get out of the car most nights but it was fun to watch for us 17-18 yrs olds.  The humiliating part was that , of our group, only my buddy's 15 yr old brother had enough beard and swagger to buy whisky from one of the liquor stores that used to be on 4th.  The rest of us would get booted out.

 If you came back now you'd see lots of changes - lots has built WAY up.  Especially up toward Palmer, Wasilla and on to Talkeetna.  Also down around Soldotna, Kenai and Homer. Even Glennallen has changed and the roads are better - mostly.  But there is still a lot of good country and the tourist industry has grown to help people get out in it. You really ought to come back and take a look.

[bulldurham]

i have always dreamed of living in Alaska the way a mans meant to live not by the clock i avoided that for as long as i could traveling around from this place to that now in my 30's i have let reality get ahold of me i now punch a clock with pay retirement benefits new car toys and lots of bs that we bust out butts to afford but the yearning will always be there but now with thoughts of you better get a good job with benefits and blah blah but underneath that voice off in the distance theres a small voice that says someday....... i just hope i dont wake up in my 60s wonderin what coulda been. life shore has a way of gettin complicated real fast on ya wife bills and other obligations

[williamlayton]

Bull-
Sounds as if mid life is closing in on you. Don't think that you are alone.
You wil never come to later life without some regrets of what you might have done--They are far better than regrets of what you may have done.
Take a deep breath and hold on.
Blessings

[Karl B. Andersen]

I just HAD! to put this in.
I've never been to Alaska, but have these dreams which must come from another lifetime. Anyway, I'm a custom knifemaker (and traditional bowhunter) down in Illinois and I just recently sold a nice one to a fellow who works in the Alaska DNR. He was so happy with it that over the last few months we have sort of become friends by means of the internet.
Each August he and a couple friends do a fly-in caribou hunt. Of course, stuff like this is out of financial range for a lot of poor people like me for when it comes to guides, planes, room and board, etc.
Well, my customer invited me to go along with his crew! All I have to do is show up! I can even stay at his home while in your beautiful state.
If not for his offer, I would never be able to do something like this.
I will return the favor by inviting him to my home for some whitetail hunting later in the year like November.
Sort of a hunt-swap.
(Think I'll give him another knife!)