Appreciating the Last Frontier

This post won't be about running. Fair warning. BUT. If you are at all interested about my time in Alaska, or if you are at all interested in ever taking a vacation to Alaska, this may be a good read. As I read through my past 10 or so posts, I've realized that I spent far too much blog time complaining about the crappy Alaska weather. And I rarely mentioned the awesomeness that Alaska has to offer.

So here it is. My (almost) two years in Alaska summed up in bullet points. And lots and lots of pictures. Feel free to skip to the bullet point of your choice! ;)

• Flying to a glacier in January in -13 degrees
• Sledding on the record-breaking snow fall
• Ice fishing in the back country
• Snowshoeing in the back country
• Cabin trips
• Camping in Homer for July 4
• Dog mushing
• Snowboarding on Christmas Day
• Fur Rondy
• Hiking is awesome
• Trout fishing in the summer time
• Downtown Anchorage shenanigans
• Alaska: Scenery so beautiful

Flying to a glacier was, by far, the coolest thing I did in Alaska. I got to fly the plane myself, which really wasn't all that scary. My pilot friend and I flew over Colony Glacier and Knik Glacier, and landed on the lake that was situated between the two. It was January, so the lake was frozen solid, and it was only -13 degrees that day. It got a bit chilly in the plane!

In February my friend Nicole and I spent a Saturday afternoon finding some of Anchorage's prime sledding spots. We had record-breaking snow fall (over 11 feet of snow) this past winter, so there was no better activity to do than enjoying that deep powder.

Last spring (2011) my friend Corey invited me and a few friends to go ice fishing in the Chugach mountains. Ice fishing in mid-april...I know, right?! Corey is a fishing guide, so he spends the entirety of the spring and summer months fishing in Chugach on the Kasilof and Kenai rivers. If you ever go to AK, spend the money to take a guided fishing tour. It's gorgeous scenery, and there's nothing like catching your first King Salmon.

Last winter I also had the chance to go snowshoeing in the back country. This was my first experience with the back country in the winter time. It was November 2010, and it was my first taste of shorter days. The sun didn't rise until 10 am, and it began setting at around 3 pm. The light in these pics really demonstrates how "high" the sun gets during the day. A good way to describe it always feels like dusk, 7 pm. 

I was fortunate enough to have friends with cabins. One of these cabins was only accessible via the Yetna River on snowmachine or boat, depending on the time of year. I spent this last New Year's snowmachining 30 miles in -35 degrees to get to this cabin. I can't ever remember a time in my life when I've felt so cold, and then so numb. But at least we warmed up in the cabin once we got there. The other cabin trips I've taken haven't been so extreme, and I've been able to get there in my Jeep. 

For the Fourth of July last year my friends and I drove to Homer, Alaska, located on the Kenai Peninsula about 4 hours south of Anchorage. There's basically no darkness during this time of year, so there were no fireworks. You wouldn't have been able to see them, if there were! Homer is a small fishing town, with lots of cute shops and home of the Salty Dawg Saloon and the port of Deadliest Catch's Time Bandit. This weekend trip was a blast. My friends and I enjoyed three straight days of camp fires, touring, drinking some beers, and cooking up some delicious food.

One of the last things I did before I moved away was a quintessential Alaska must-do! Nicole and I went dog mushing in Girdwood. We were taken on a tour by a veteran Iditarod dig musher. It was amazing to me that these dogs could do what they do. And the thing is, they liked doing it. When it was time to rest, or slow down, the dogs would start yelping and getting anxious to get to "work" again. And, again, the scenery was gorgeous.

I wasn't able to fly home to Utah for the holidays, so my friend Jessica and I decided to spend Christmas day snowboarding at Alyeska. I'm not the best boarder, but at least I've improved over the years. I can now at least carve down the mountain without fear of falling face first into the snow! Go me! Alyeska is beautiful. Once you get to the top of the mountain, the view of the Cook Inlet is breathtaking. Even in winter.

The Fur Rondy annual celebration marks the start of the Iditarod, and obviously celebrates Alaskan life -- hunting, fishing, fur trading, etc. I attended this festival both winters I was there, and always had a good time. 

Once the snow finally melts, usually in May, the trails open up, the bears come out of hibernation, and the days get longer. Summer will always be my favorite part of Alaska. In fact, there's no place I'd rather be in the summer than in Alaska. It's currently on my "I miss this sooo much" list. The friends and I hiked to a few places over the summer. We hiked the Butte, Archangel, Hatcher's Pass, and Flattop Mountain. 

My boss had a boat and during the summer months he'd take my department out fishing on Finger Lake in the Mat-Su Valley. I gutted my first fish here. It was gross.  But I actually really like fishing. Kind of awesome.

And last, but certainly not least, I spent a great deal of my time hanging out with some of the best people in the world -- usually in downtown Anchorage. I miss my Alaska friends terribly, and I miss getting into trouble with them as we hopped from bar to bar, or went to movies, or ate some delicious food, or whatever else we did. They made Alaska memorable.

And just to sum up this entire lengthy post, here are some of my favorite landscape shots of Alaska. Seriously so gorgeous.

Phew. That was long. So now I feel like I've paid tribute to Alaska. It's a big state, and demands appreciation. Now on to Washington, DC! Be looking for posts about this new city that I LOVE.