Visiting Alaska is not Folly

The Last Frontier

in the United States of America.

It’s true.

Nowhere else can you find the raw beauty of mountains and streams, glaciers and oceans, forests and wide open spaces like this place I’ve called ‘home’ for the last 44 years.

Also known as The Land of the Midnight Sun, it is mind-boggling to take it all in, especially in one visit, or one lifetime.

Even if you were born and raised in Alaska, as my children and grandchildren, the 570,665 sq. miles of mostly rugged wilderness is over-whelming.

But, don’t let that stop you.





Anchorage Museum

Musk Ox taxidermy 

It's not all wilderness. Contrary to popular belief, Alaska has museums and art galleries, hotels and shopping, theater and fast food chains. Maybe not on the grand scale of the Lower 48, but it's all here.

 

 

 

 






Anchorage Museum

Touring Mammoth Exhibit 












Anchorage Museum

Sewn seal gut strips - Raincoat

 

Alaska Botanical Gardens

 



We also boast about our wildlife, Fur Rondezvous, dog sled races, Denali National Park, record fishing, small and big game hunting, skiing and the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) that are like no place on earth.

There are people from all walks of life.

(I am partial to the many wonderful writers that live in Alaska, of course. Check the AKWRA web site & past blogs for info & books available, written by Alaskan authors:

http://www.akrwa.blogspot.com/2012/06/wonderful-akrwa-authors.html

When Vitus Bering,

a Dane working for the Russians, & Alexei Chirikov discovered the Alaskan mainland & Aleutian Islands in 1741, the huge land mass of Alaska—equal to 1/5 of the continental U.S.—was unexplored.

When Secretary of State William Seward arranged for its purchase from the Russians for $7,200,000 in 1867, they dubbed Alaska “Seward’s Folly”, despite only paying about 2 cents per acre.

Folly? I think not. 



Potter's Marsh - south of Anchorage

Aside from Alaska’s oil reserves, fisheries & wood industries Alaskans have preserved wetlands, such as Potter's Marsh south of Anchorage, and over 100 State Parks (3.5 million acres) for future generations to enjoy.

Portage Glacier Area

 

Places like Mendenhall Glacier in the North Tongass National Forest and Portage Glacier, south of Anchorage, are a tourist’s dream come true.



And with a population of only around 710,000, Alaska has lots of room to host visitors.

So, start planning your trip to Alaska, and check out our authors & books – we'd love to share our unique perspectives!
 

http://www.akrwa.blogspot.com/2012/06/wonderful-akrwa-authors.html

There is so much more to be said about Alaska, and our AKRWA authors can't wait to tell you!

Next turn, I’d like to tell you about a little place called Eagle River, just outside of Anchorage, where I live.
   
                    Interested?

          Keep checking us out!

    http://www.alaskawriters.com/membersites/akrwa/index.html  

--- Jae Awkins

 

FISH CAMP

 

I spend nine months of the year “Outside” and my summers commercial fishing in South Naknek Alaska. Recently, I was at my writers group and talking about getting ready for fish camp. There are a million things to do this time of year. Where we fish there are no markets, pharmacy, or Starbucks. It’s remote. But my group of fellow authors started to joke and giggle. Every time I mentioned fish camp they saw a tent and little cartoon fish roasting marshmallows over a campfire swapping stories on how they got off the ‘hook’.

So, I thought I’d share with you what our fish camp entails. A large portion of other fish camps around the State of Alaska operate this way.

First, no running water, electricity, cell phones, Internet, and the before mentioned Starbucks. Instead we deal with outhouses, generators, and what food you can’t catch, you eat out of a can. Second, bears, weather, and the ocean RULE. If you find yourself in a situation, and can’t get out of it on your own, you usually don’t make it. Every day is a challenge and a fight. They call it Bristol Bay combat fishing, and it’s a wild, unforgiving place.

There seems to be more reasons not to be out there fishing than in favor of it. Here are some pluses. No electricity, cell phones, or Internet; and wildlife, the ocean, and the opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. Most importantly, time to spend with family, unplugged from civilization.

We play card games, cook, have dinner together, target practice, beachcomb, work and joke around together. Bond. Reconnecting in this crazy, busy world and building relationships is the absolute best thing about fish camp. Though the money doesn’t hurt.






Here is one of my favorite salmon recipes, and I have some dandies.

 

 PESTO SALMON

A fillet or two of Wild Alaskan Salmon
Basil pesto - home-made or store-bought (I use a small jar of store-bought pesto)
Lemon juice
Parmesan cheese
Pine nuts - optional
Sliced tomatoes - optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the salmon fillet into serving sizes, and pull out the pin bones. This doesn't take very long and is easy to do. If you don't have a pin bone tool, pliers work great. Squeeze on lemon juice, coat on pesto as thick as you like, and top with parmesan cheese and pine nuts.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Test with a fork. When the flesh flakes, it's done. I usually serve this over rice. I start the rice before I slather on the pesto and they both are done about the same time.

Tasty and so good for you!

Tiffinie Helmer’s latest Romance Novel in her Edge Series, 'HOOKED', will be released May 13th.

Visit her website www.tiffiniehelmer.com for more information. 

Real Men of Alaska - April

Join us here each Friday for a new post. Especially on the first Friday of each month, when we're posting interviews with some of the rugged, intelligent, male specimens found in such abundance in the great State of Alaska.

Please Join us in Welcoming:

Wil, Mr. April 2013 - Real Man of Alaska

Wil with his 4 month old lab, Neo.

1: Were you born in Alaska, and if not, then how did you end up here? What do you do for a living, and what do you do for fun. Age, height, fav. food, and any other statistics you are willing to share. Just remember though, we are a PG 13 site and blush easily.

W: I was shoved kicking and screaming (at 4:15 AM) out of the womb into the middle of northern Anchorage. I currently subsist on scholarships and parental handouts while finishing my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Alaska Fairbanks. I like long walks on the beach (or, as they’re called in Anchorage, “mudflats”), fine wines, and long conversations about modern art (I made that last one up). I’m 21, 5’ 11”, and I love tacos. Then again, who doesn’t? (Editor's insert: Wil's 22nd birthday is later in April).

2: What kind of woman appeals to you, and who do you let make the first move, you or her? 

W: The living kind. You’d think that would be obvious, but with the growing zombie and vampire populations, it turns out you actually have to let people know that. And I’m fine with letting her make the first move, as long as it’s not for my blood or brains.

3: Where is your favorite place to take a girl on a first date, and why?

W: Laser tag. I don’t think I need to explain why.

4: What's the wildest thing you've ever done, other than, well you know, with a female companion since living in Alaska?

W: We went to UAF’s Starvation Gulch celebration, which had five massive bonfires. Things got pretty hot.

5: Winter can be long, dark, and very cold here in Alaska. What are your favorite frosty pastime activities? Not counting the obvious of course. Remember the PG 13 rating. And, what is the coldest temp you’ve seen/been in?

W: Hibernating ranks at the top spot, though sledding comes in as a close second. The coldest I’ve ever been in was -48 degrees, though I have walked outside without a coat at -36 degrees. I don’t plan on repeating that any time soon.

6: And, if we ask about winter then we simply must inquire about the too short, wonderful summers. What are your favorite things to do during all those long hours of sunshine?

W: Disc golf, tennis, bowling, barhopping, you name it! Anything at midnight with the sun out is fun. Except for taxes. Those are never fun.

7: Alaskan men take their vehicles very seriously. What is your favorite mode of transportation – car, truck, snow machine, four-wheeler, airplane, skis, snowboard, etc., and why?

W: My motorcycle’s definitely my favorite way to get around, as long as the roads aren’t covered in gravel and it isn’t icy or raining. Unfortunately, living in Anchorage, that leaves only about 15% of the year.

8: What is your favorite Alaskan animal – to see along the highway or on your dinner plate?

Polar bears. They’re pretty rad.

9: Have you ever wrestled a polar bear, mushed a dog team, panned for gold, eaten muktuk, done the polar bear plunge, climbed Denali, run the Mt. Marathon, or any of the other, found only in Alaska, activities?

W: I have been to Denali National Park, gone gold panning in Hope and at El Dorado Gold Mine in Fox, caught king salmon in the Kenai River, and caught halibut on a fishing charter out of Seward. I haven’t wrestled any polar bears, but I did see one at the zoo once. It was pretty small. I probably could have pinned it in 10 seconds.

10: In your opinion, what exactly is it that makes an Alaskan Male so wonderfully macho and appealing?

W: It must be something in the water. I’m not sure which has a greater effect: the glacial runoff or the bear steroids. 

11: What’s the biggest fish you’ve ever landed? And we mean the kind with scales and fins that swim in water, not the locker room bragging rights variety.

W: The largest fish I’ve ever caught was a 400-pound king salmon. I may have added an extra zero to that.

12: Other than making love under them, what is your favorite thing to do when the Northern Lights are out and putting on a show?

W: Two words -- interpretive dance. 

13: And last but certainly not least, in your opinion, what is the most romantic thing about Alaska, and why?

W: Mosquitoes, because nothing says “I love you” quite like a mosquito buzzing in your ear.

Join us next month when we feature another True Alaskan Man!