Alaska is BIG

I ran across this map of Alaska that has been around for a while.  I guess the first thing to note is how small the ANWR (Arctic Wildlife Reserve) percentage wise in the whole state.  It’s 17 million acres on the northeast portion, which is the Beaufort Sea, which is a drop in the bucket (sic- oil drop) . . . it’s hard to see here, but picture a pinhead jabbed in the area, and you’ll get an idea of how small an area it really is … no trees, no vegetation . . pretty desolate, and below zero most of the year . . . the feds won’t let us develop it altho’ it could relieve the drastic problems importing oil and there’s enough there to last longer than you or I will live . . …

I also ran across a cute magic trick, which I won’t duplicate here, but I like the image of the card, and hope to improve my magic skills on my forthcoming trip to San Francisco.  I’ll be offline for a while, but check back for some travel tips as I try to outwit the airlines.  Oh, yeah, I do have my ticket, but it takes more than that sometimes.

March goes out like a lamb

March did come in like a lion . . . after all, if I’m promoting travel to Alaska, the weather is a prime consideration. . . I am always asked what is the best month to visit . ..  it depends on your interests, but the shoulder season is definitely not too inviting.  Now as March is ending, the first spring flowers are appearing.  Construction is underway everywhere.  The image you see above is a ‘different’ kind of church, built with corrugated metal.  It’s a curiosity as I drive by it almost daily.  I don’t see any windows, so it’s not for me.

Our weather is also pleasant and sunny, altho’ we have yet to reach 50 degrees.  In order to keep the locales sane, there are so many options.  Today, Alaska Wild had a football game at Sullivan Arena.  This is our team in their second season, and they’re beginning to win!  This is definitely going to bloom in the future, and I have to brag that I won four tickets to the next game.  We had another meet-and-greet at the Petroleum Club and I dropped my name in the jar.  The opera is in full swing, with fund-raising trattorias and such.  Students have their piano recitals, and schools are busy with their last semester after spring break.

This is also the season for continuing funerals, which vary from wakes, parties, and church services. . . seems like there are more funerals in the springtime.

Obviously, I don’t have a lot to write about today, unless you want to hear about our digital television starting several months before the national switch.  I do have two TV’s working digital, and 3 DVD’s, 2 VHS’s, and no IPods.  So I guess I have no complaints, and life is good.  I’m going to be traveling now for a few weeks, so I hope my good luck continues.  . . that may be stretching it, tho’.

Food in Alaska

 I like this banana centerpiece, as anyone can make it . . . and the added peppercorn eyes make it come alive.  My title is a misnomer, since I’m not really writing about food, but since I wanted to send you to my recent addiction, foods seemed to be the best title.  I guess I should write about the great restaurants we have in Anchorage, as I’m pretty savvy on all of them, but that would take more band-width than they give me.  So jump into freerice website and improve your vocabulary instantly. I did work myself up to level 55 once, but it’s not easy.  At the same time, you’re doing a good deed, too!  You’ll see.

Between St. Patrick and the Easter Bunny

. . .

Spring is finally here, and the weather in Anchorage is quite beautiful with sunshine and clearing roads and trails.  We can start walking normally again, without check every step for ice and puddles. 

We had a great celebration for St. Patricks Day, and looking for more celebration when JC rises from the dead on Sunday.  The Petroleum Club has a great egg hunt this weekend, with lots of good kid’s food. . . like peanut butter and hamburgers and chips.  Also, I have some personal reasons to be happy this week, so I hope my pleasures will extend to you, the faithful reader of my ‘come visit Alaska before you die’ blog!

Break-up in Alaska

The ongoing joke about the weather here is that there are two seasons in Alaska, winter and construction.  Nowadays, they overlap.  Just when you think there’s no more that can be built in Anchorage, another new building spring up out of nowhere.  This week at the University of Alaska Anchorage (commonly known as UAA), a new building appeared behind the Administration Building.  I’ll admit I hadn’t been there for a while, but Jazz Week attracted me to the campus, and voila! a road closed sign appears on my usual route to the Arts Building.  This is to close off this ‘new building’ that I haven’t found out what it’s for anyhow.  I know that they will be placing the parking lot as far away from the front-door as possible, as they don’t know there will be visitors driving there.  The Arts Building did this.   Even the handicapped is some distance from the front door.  I try to obey the law, but I failed on Saturday, because as I parked in a legal spot some distance away, I started walking to the building and there were two huge moose munching on some frozen branches.  I am a real coward, so I returned to the car, and parked in a ’semi-legal’ space closer to the door and away from these moose.  I don’t have an image to post, but I’ll get a similar shot.  Oh, by the way, I was going to write about breakup and the messy streets, potholes, puddles, etc. and got off on this tangent.  Well, sorry about that, but I want you to know I still love Alaska, and think you SHOULD visit, but not right now!

Marchin’ Alaska

or should I say March in Alaska . . . doesn’t provide a good time to visit, unless you want to wait out the arrival of the Iditarod mushers in Nome. . .   there are a lot of these visitors, but usually have some involvement in the race. . . it’s time to re-group your winter activities . . . downtown Anchorage is a big mess of puddles, icy sidewalks melting, crowds, construction, and just not pleasant.  In order to have a new novelty and cheer things up, the city built a huge ice castle outside the Performing Arts Center.  It has big, heavy ice blocks and the usual turrets, plus two slides.  The kids are having a ball sitting on a mat to slide down on the ice, but I didn’t try it myself.   This is also Jazz Week at UAA (that’s the Universityof Alaska Anchorage, as opposed to UAF – guess where).   The Petroleum Club continues wine tasting, but in general, it’s a ho-hum month.  But it’ll be cut short by an early Easter, and then a new season is ushered in. 

Iditarod Races

They’re off!  Only 1024 miles to Nome, Alaska.  The races used to start in Anchorage, but lack of snow some recent years made the decision to leave from Willow, a small village about 60 miles north of Anchorage.  However, the ‘ceremonial start’ remains in Anchorage, and is a photo op, and also an opportunity for the well-heeled to ‘donate’ a fee to ride in the sled for the first 10 miles of the trail.

I hope to have some more pictures along the way, but if you want to follow closely online, see this site. Another missing slot are some images from the Miners and Trappers Ball, which was the last stage of our Fur Rendezvous Event. Not to give up on winter, the city put up a huge ‘igloo’ right in Town Square, made up on blocks of ice, with two slides for the kids, well, anyone, to enjoy. Yes, you should come to Alaska and visit the Great State. ..