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Tuesday, 10 July 2012

North to Alaska

By Joanne Zimmermann

Recently I took a vacation to Alaska in early June and encountered some strange weather phenomena. The first part, a cruise, took me through seven days of rain and into lush jungle ferns and mosses. That was a surprise as I thought ferns died in freezes.

The next surprise was that all was brown just two weeks prior. The combination of rain and 20-plus hours of sun cause Alaska to burst forth with green trees, grasses, flowers of grand proportions and some of the world’s largest vegetables.

There followed a week of sunshine, longer sun-filled days leading up to the summer solstice that had a gorgeous, spectacular sunset at 1AM. Trying to sleep as a novice in this situation is tough but heavy curtains are in most hotels.

Also, remember the time difference. There is a four-hour lag from my Florida home. I adjusted pretty well going in but coming home – well, that was another freaky thing. We flew out of Anchorage at 8:30PM. I took a sleeping pill but it did not really work until I landed in Houston at 6AM which was really 7AM, then left there at 8AM which was really my Florida 9AM.

So I slept then and awoke to being in Orlando at noon. Renting a car and getting home to Daytona was another three hours. At this point, tropical depression Debby was flirting with the Gulf and it began to rain.

So now it is Monday, still raining 20-plus hours while Debby meanders closer and my Florida yard now looks like the Alaskan rain forest.

One other thing added to my disorientation. The hotel clerk told me that when he came to Alaska, he was confused for several days. He was told it was due to being close to the North Pole and magnetism had caused it. None of our group with metal parts got stuck to a mountainside, however.

Add all this to the fact that I am nearly 80.

But it was exhilarating beyond my expectations. Alaska is ginormous, beyond comprehension and the mountains and rivers and glaciers are all huge. It made me really appreciate those gold rush pioneers who went up in droves carrying 1,000 pound loads on horses.

So many men and animals died in the effort or arrived only to find all the gold had been already staked out.

The one thing that seemed constant is that there was the very low crime rate and the easy spirit of those who went to live in Alaska and stayed. Everyone went out of their way to be helpful. Frustrations were well tolerated; after all, many live without water or electricity.

Fairbanks temperatures fluctuate from minus 61 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 in the summer and if one goes higher up, it gets warmer, not colder.

And our tour included talks by Inuit teens who were in college with great future plans. They stressed the last hundred years for them to adapt to western culture has been amazing. Their grandfather still lives in his cabin with a sod roof, but he has Wi-Fi. And they are still capable of hunting a moose or caribou and preparing it to eat. Every single part is utilized, nothing is wasted.

If you have not gone, I would recommend it - the sooner the better. You want to go while you still are able and you hope Alaska will remain pristine.

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Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post