Observations On My Life in Alaska

The first time I lived in Anchorage, I was acclimating to the very different environment of Alaska compared to the one that I had spent most of my life in. At the same time, I was a 40 year old single woman who was hoping to get married. I was fortunate at that time in the 80s to be able to work as a contract 'admin asst' and be able to have time off between jobs. The jobs at Standard Alaska and Arco Alaska paid well and I was fortunate at that time to look young and not have to grapple with age discrimination. After I went up there in late 85, I learned how to drive on snow and ice and how to react to moose and all the other things that were very different to my Texas/Oklahoma socialization. Fortune smiled on me and I always had jobs that paid well. At about the same time that I gave up on ever getting married, I met Greg. We kept each other at an arm's length for quite a while. He and I had both been single for 10 years.... My best and fondest hope for myself did come true as I got to know him and he became my sweetheart and husband.

When we returned to Alaska after he had retired from the Army while at Ft Huachuca, Arizona; I saw Alaska probably with more observant eyes. We saw many moose, some with full racks, come through our neighborhood. I have never been frightened of them; I just gave them a wide berth and left them alone. I've never had a bad experience with them. At the time that Greg and I came back to Alaska, the motive was pure economical (jobs $$). Additionally, during the years of being gone from Alaska; the weather climate had changed dramatically. In years before ~ when I visited in the 1970s & moved there in the 80s; there would be a solid snow pack during the winter months (late October - April).

The snow pack is essential for animals that burrow to sleep out the winter. Also, snow is much more stable to drive on than ice. I found early on that if I drove into thick snow (when going too fast) that it would slow me down, if it looked like I was going to slide through a light. The new weather pattern made the winters much bleaker (hoar frost on trees~ pitch black outside during winter). It would rain; then have an ice storm then snow which means that trying to walk in that kind of weather is difficult and on the road, you're more apt to slide. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the creatures that have to handle the dark winter with no shelter of insulating snow.

My husband has always been fond of taking our dog for a walk and living in Alaska was no different. One fall day he was walking through the dog park near the airport; and saw the hindquarters of a black bear leaning over; obviously eating berries. Mind you, this is in town. There are green belts all over Anchorage which make it ideal for the moose and bear to come right into the city limits and then travel to the parks that lie near the Turnagain Arm. In the fall, many kinds of berries grew all over the park areas inside the city limits.

Another time we encountered a bear was when we were walking up in the Chugach Mountains. People were mountain-biking all over the place. It was a beautiful summer day and there were lots of people out. Greg and I were walking on the trail with Little Bear. I kept seeing this huge brown rock but it was away from the mountain. As I got closer, I thought I was seeing movement. Closer still I clearly saw a sow grizzly on her back feeding a baby and the other baby was running to and fro toward its mama. We did an abrupt turnaround. We told everyone we could; including bikers who had just passed her. We walked back to the trailhead at a brisk pace.

There is a fascination of many people for Alaska. Hordes of people come up to check it out. The great thing about Anchorage is that it's a beautiful city situated around beautiful mountains and water (the Cook Inlet). It's a cosmopolitan city ~ has Nordstroms, many other shops ~ in fact it has alot more sophistication than Clovis. There were wonderful restaurants, bookstores, huge beautiful library, etc. I liked to stop by the large Oriental store (Sagaya's) on my way home from work to pick up the yummy vegetable rolls and at the grocery store (Carr's), there was plenty of salmon sushi. The fish was delicious. If Greg or neighbors had not been fishing ( and thus divvied up their fish ), we bought plentiful and fresh Alaskan salmon and halibut.

As winter falls over the state, the City of Anchorage encourages everyone to put Christmas lights all over the outside of their houses. Anchorage is a city of coffee drinkers ~ Starbucks on almost every corner. Being a winter city, you can always find a drive-in latte shop on your way to work in the morning. It seemed that it was almost an Alaskan custom to fly out to tropical environments during or after Christmas ~ many people did! After Christmas, there was not much to get jazzed about ..... snow, ice, cloudy skies, no sun, darkness ..... ugh. It seemed to me that most people who were born in winter cities/towns like Anchorage are the people who choose to live in Anchorage permanently. There was alot of transience. People come up to check AK out and either stay or go. Many go.

Alaska has its own vocabulary. One word comes to mind ~ 'outside'. If you are going out of state, you are going "Outside." I really got into the habit of saying that, so it was hard to shake. ....... More to come....