Posts in the “alaska” category

A moose at a coffee shop in Alaska. "I'd like a moo-latte please."

I don’t know the name of this glacier (or even this area), but I can tell you that this is a glacier and mountain range somewhere near Anchorage, Alaska. I took this photo in 2007, so there’s a chance that this glacier doesn’t exist any more.

Looks like they might get up to 50” of snow this week in Seward, though it also looks a little warm for that to happen.

When I lived in Alaska, people told me the only way you’d survive winter is if you love winter activities. I don’t ski, but I would enjoy cross-country skiing and snowmachine-ing (they don’t call them snowmobiles). Did I mention it’s March 10th? (Image from this wunderground.com page.)

If you can handle the weather in Boulder, Colorado this winter (2018-19) you can probably handle the weather in Alaska. Well, southern Alaska, anyway. This is the weather in Talkeetna, Alaska or Boulder, it doesn’t really matter because they’re about the same. Of course the huge difference is the darkness in the winter. (Image from wunderground.com).

From this story on adn.com, “An 85-mile connection to Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk) under construction will soon allow ordinary drivers to reach the Arctic Ocean for the first time ... when finished in late 2017, the road to Tuk will be accessible from the Dempster Highway, which begins in the Yukon Territory near Alaska and heads northeast across the Arctic Circle. Driving to Tuk from the United States will be an epic road trip. Starting where I live in Chicago, Tuk will be just over 3,700 miles away.”

A favorite gift from the last twelve years is the purple pencil sharpener shown at the top of this image. It may have only cost a dollar or two, but one of my sisters and her daughters gave it to me when I saw them right before I moved to Alaska, and it’s been with me ever since. I especially like it at times like this, when I’m editing a new book.

I think this white van has been parked in Talkeetna, Alaska, for as long as I've been living and visiting there.

This is one of the first black bears I saw in Canada on my drive to Alaska in May, 2007. By the time the trip ended, I had seen over 100 bears, both black and brown.

This is one of more than 100 bears I encountered on a trip through British Columbia, Canada, on the way to Alaska. I’m thinking about heading back up there at the end of September this year to see if I can find a few more.

Here’s a nice Alaska story from about 18 months ago about What it takes to keep Katmai’s famous bear cams running.

This photo of walking through a neighborhood in Wasilla, Alaska in the winter reminds me of a few walks I took here in Colorado in the last few days after our New Years snow.

If you ever wondered about winter in Alaska, sunrise in Talkeetna starts at 10:07am today (December 5th) and sets at 3:37pm. Talkeetna is actually very low in Alaska, latitude-wise. Meanwhile in Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow), the Sun neither rises nor sets today.

Phew, I’m glad to be back from the Land of the Dead. Just took some chocolates to the nurses who helped me recover. Looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.

~ A Facebook post from November 30, 2010. I was living in Wasilla, Alaska at the time, had my gallbladder removed, then got an infection that made for ten of the worst days of my life. But the nurses were very helpful.

Three moose running across my neighbors yard, Wasilla, Alaska, November 12, 2010. I still remember being surprised at how much noise they made, it was like a rolling thunder sound and the little apartment I was in was shaking pretty good.

I don’t look at website stats very often, but with a little free time tonight I was just curious how many people in Alaska visit this website. I was glad to see people have visited it from Utqiagvik, Kotzebue, Nome, Fairbanks, North Pole, Unalaska, Bethel, Kodiak Island, Ketchikan, and many other locations. Alaska holds a special place in my heart, and I hope the pages on this site have been useful to the people there.

Here’s the view of Denali from Talkeetna, Alaska, courtesy of Sheldon Air Service in Talkeetna.

September 26, 2010: I went down to Seward, Alaska for a short vacation this week, and woke up to a 5.5 magnitude earthquake one morning. True story: I was in the middle of a dream when I suddenly heard the song "Rock The Boat" playing as someone grabbed my left wrist. I then woke up to hear something rattling in the hotel room, and before I could think of who I was, where I was, or what to do, the earthquake stopped.

August 15, 2011, Palmer, Alaska: I just got a flush letter from a local hospital. I guess I shouldn’t have put “You have my gallbladder” and “Your nurses seem really nice” as my top reasons for wanting to work there.

Tomorrow (August 15th) is the last day in 2018 that the Sun will set after 10pm in Talkeetna, Alaska.

When you go to Alaska to get away from the heat and then need a break from eating fresh seafood all the time, ADN.com lists a few places where you can find a good burger in Anchorage.