Alaska 411

[EarlJam]

Okay, I need to know things about Alaska (living there).

Dead serious.

Who on this board is the residential Alaska Guru???

-EarlJam

[billybreen]

Will you be the new Alaskan Assassin (minus the assin)?

[EarlJam]

Will you be the new Alaskan Assassin (minus the assin)?

Your mother has an Assassin (minus the assin) the size of Alaska.

-EJ

[Shammrog]

Your mother has an Assassin (minus the assin) the size of Alaska.

-EJ

Well, I have been to Alaska...?

[Shammrog]

Your mother has an Assassin (minus the assin) the size of Alaska.

-EJ


Oh - this gives me the idea for a new thread...

[alteran]

Okay, I need to know things about Alaska (living there).

Dead serious.

Who on this board is the residential Alaska Guru???

-EarlJam

I might be what passes for the resident guru, but I'm just a frequent visitor. I have family in Anchorage and visit 1-2 times a year for several weeks (it's too d*** far to visit for less than that). In fact, I just got back from there last week. Obviously, this is the time to visit.

Absolutely totally beautiful state. You'll never think the air anywhere else is clean again once you've been there. I'm mostly familiar with Anchorage and the outdoorsy stuff that's within about a six-hour drive, which comprises about .5% of the state. The state bird, BTW, is the mosquito. It has the highest percentage of homebrewers per capita in the country. The river water is about 38 degrees in July. The mountains are stunning. The gas is five dollars. Moose are a significant driving hazard. The whole state is depressed in December because there's hardly any sun.

There are bald eagles EVERYWHERE. Dusk is at 11 pm in the summer. One week ago, a grizzly bear walked through my brother-in-law's backyard while I watched. He lives within the city limits. (My brother in law that is... and now that I think about it, the bear as well.) Half the world's glaciers are in Alaska.

I know you're a member of the Atlanta Mafia and hence a dazzling urbanite, you'll be glad to know you have a wide variety of choices in Alaska-- Anchorage, and, uh... Anchorage.

Did I mention the mosquitos?

What do you want to know about?

[ohioguy2]

Our son and daughter in law lived in Fairbanks for a year. We visited them on a few occasions for up to three weeks at a time. Once was in February. Alaska is a beautiful place that can NOT be described adequately by words. I would not choose to live there forever, but our son keeps taking about returning (they live in Boston now) If you have specific questions, I may be able to answer some.

[Jim3k]

The first time I went to Fairbanks, I was a callow sort just out of law school. I was told that if I went I should take the mosquito kit. "What's that?" I asked.

Answer: A foot-long 2x4 to hook off your belt. But it won't kill the mosquitoes, only stuns them.

Later that year, mid-November -- it was still light, but about 10 degrees -- I went up to Prudhoe Bay. I stood on the platform of Sag River Well No. 1 and looked north at the Beaufort Sea, several hundred yards away.

The waves, white-capped, had frozen in mid-flight. "Yup," said my host; "Happened over the weekend. Temps went down to 80 below and we had us a wind chill factor of -125. Froze 'em instantly."

I wasn't impressed. I knew about tidal action forming slushy waves as the seawater begins to freeze. I'd already done my greenhorn thing at age 15 and knew most of the tricks. Still a good story, though.

'Course, there's also that story about Sam McGee (http://dreamfire.com/bkc/Writings/Favorites/Robert_Service-The_Ballad_of_Sam_McGee.html)...

[Lavabe]

Okay, I need to know things about Alaska (living there).

Dead serious.

Who on this board is the residential Alaska Guru???

-EarlJam

Have you been watching too much Discovery Channel's DEADLIEST CATCH?:D

[hurleyfor3]

Rent Into The Wild. Or maybe you already have and that's where you're getting the idea.

[allenmurray]

I've only been to Alaska once. My impression is this - outside of Anchorage you hve incredibly beauty everywhere you look. In Anchorge you have incredible beauty everywhere you look AND you are in one of the nicest cities ofits size I can imagine. I was there in August (2001). I would love to go back, but only in June, July, or August.

[Windsor]

EarlJam....you might want to check the single men to single women ratio before you moved to Alaska! The odds would not be in you favor.

[alteran]

EarlJam....you might want to check the single men to single women ratio before you moved to Alaska! The odds would not be in you favor.

The womenfolk in Alaska have a joke about that-- "The odds are good... but the goods are odd."

[wilson]

The womenfolk in Alaska have a joke about that-- "The odds are good... but the goods are odd."

Women in lots of places unite behind that mantra. I have a friend who often repeats it in reference to her days as a GA Tech undergrad.