The local parks people have created the best outdoor ice skating arena I’ve ever seen here on Wasilla Lake, night lights and all.
~ a note from December 11, 2010
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.
CBS is reportedly working on a reboot of the Northern Exposure television series. The series had more of an impact on my life than any other tv series — I ended up living in Alaska — so more power to them.
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.
Some day I might write a book called, Random Conversations with Strangers While Aimlessly Wandering Around, and it will include stories like this:
Many years ago I walked into a favorite bakery in Alaska. Nobody was there, no customers or employees, so I took a few minutes to look over the cookies and donuts to decide what I wanted.
Finally a young woman came out of the back room. I knew from previous donut/cookie runs that she was born in Ohio, moved here about five years ago, was nineteen years old, and would be twenty in a few months. As she brought out a tray of something new, she said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
I replied it was no problem, it gave me a chance to think about what I wanted. We chatted for another minute or two and then she looked around and said, “Can I be honest with you?”
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.
