Alaskan berries

While in Denali last weekend we discovered that a variety of delicious edible berries grow wild across the state.

We were admonished, however, to never ever eat the white Eskimo berries, which John Krakauer (“Into the Wild”) theorized was the culprit in the tragic death of Christopher McKandless in 1992. 

The teenager wanted to check the veracity of what we were told about the infamous “white berries” so I did a quick Google check and stumbled across an article by Iris Brooks, entitled, Alaskan Berry Magic. 

Much of what Ms. Brooks wrote in that article captures the essence of what I have experienced while in Alaska, specifically…

Ø     Alaska resonates with stillness

Ø     Named after the Aleut word “Al-yes-ka,” meaning “the great land,” [Alaska] is a wide-open expanse with subtly shifting light

Ø     Traffic lights are rare but signs about moose are common

Ø     The feeling of endless space is exhilarating

Ø     One has to be a rugged individualist to survive in a place where snow mutes the land and schools close only when weather conditions are truly risky, with temperatures plummeting to more than 50 degrees below zero.

While I have yet to experience “winter in Alaska,” the last statement reminds me of when the teenager wanted to write a letter of complaint to the superintendent of the Laramie school district when he didn’t close schools the morning we experienced negative 50 some degree temperatures. 

The teenager said it was too dangerous for kids to attend school (and no, he just wasn’t whining about having to go to school).

He said many kids walk to school (and it was too cold and dangerous), and that others couldn’t make it because their parents could not start their cars.

The teenager also told us that almost half of his classmates were absent from school that day.

I guess he's feeling lucky he doesn't live in Alaska.

Tomorrow we leave for Seward, where we will fish and take a cruise, hopefully to see whales, sea lions and a glacier.

Quirky Sight....

I take a lot of photos, most of which are lousy and many end up discarded.

Sometimes when I look at what I shot I scratch my head and wonder: What was I thinking?

Mostly though, I take photos because in my whacky little mind, something about the scene makes me laugh, wonder or ponder.

Most of the photos usually only have significance to me and leave others wondering: "What?!"

Since, however, this is my online journal, I post away--regardless of the poor quality.

Hopefully, years from now, when I look back at these posts, I will have that same sense of "quirkiness" that induced me to take the photos in the first place,

That being said...

Took me a few seconds to realize why all the fire hydrants have these four to five foot red and white stripped poles attached to the top.  Anchorage averages 79 inches of snow annually.

Can't get enough of the views of the mountains, although I haven't yet figured out which range is which.

 

I realize part of the beauty of Wyoming’s flat, open landscape—there’s nothing to get in the way of the magnificent sky and mountains in the distance.

I remember the first time I drove out to the Wal-Mart in Laramie and saw the full range of the Snowies in the distance.  I still find it breathtaking, even after nearly two years.  This view--although it may not appear so--most definitely has that vista beat.

Wish that I could see the Northern Lights. Alas, I happen to be visiting Alaska during the wrong season, which can only mean one thing: a return trip! 

Temptation...

I walked to the Safeway today to purchase some laundry detergent.

It’s a quick, thirty-minute round trip.

I need the extra exercise to work off the delicious smoked salmon, Alaska brews and other comestibles tempting me these days.

I was feeling pretty good about getting in a second trek for the day and working off more calories.

That is, until I saw the free sample sitting at the in-store Starbuck’s counter.

While it may look full-sized, it’s only 2 inches tall.

For something so small, it sure packed a punch!

Too bad I’ll be sitting for 5 to 6 hours tomorrow as we make our way to Denali.

Who came up with these drinks anyway?  They're dangerous!

I hardly ever consume them, precisely for that reason (plus they're so darn expensive!). 

Good thing, in Laramie, the only Starbucks are in the two competing grocery stores and I'm always too occupied with groceries to think about fancy coffee drinks.  

Perhaps my future walks here in Anchorage should be in the opposite direction of the Safeway!  

In the still of the night…

Last night the Legal Dude and I decided to go for a walk.

It was after 10 p.m. when we left and nearly 10:30 when we took these shots.

I know.  I would find it hard to believe—if I hadn’t taken these myself—but it’s true, it was nearly 11 p.m. when this was taken.

It’s the neighbor’s and it looks like an underground passageway—or perhaps room—to the house.

Although traffic and people are out-and-about, not nearly as much as during the “daylight” hours, there is stillness, and a quietude, that belies the light.

It is, after all, nighttime—even if it the brain thinks otherwise.

Lions and tigers and Bears—oh my! (Or the irrational fears of a middle-aged woman)

For several decades now—blame Northern Exposure and the lure of the elusive (at least for those of us living in most of the lower 48) Northern lights—I periodically dream about living large in the wilds of Alaska. 

Call it a romanticized—and totally unrealistic—fantasy of living the life of a “fearless frontier woman.”

Perhaps it is the reason I have acclimated so well to Wyoming.

I can “pretend” to be ‘that frontier woman,’ braving the elements—in my cozy home and car­—learning to horseback ride and to go without (the malls, Whole Foods, etc.).

!Pura fantasia!

As much as I have wanted to visit Alaska, I have this abnormal and obsessive fear of bears, grizzlies in particular.

Alaska (as is Wyoming) is full of them.

Yes, my fear is over-the-top (and all who know me know this), in part, though, because I need to talk—work through—my fear(s) to help manage it, especially if I’m heading into grizzly country.

Grizzly country?

The travel books seem to indicate—or at least “my” reading of them—that bears abound in town, or at least in sections of town. 

This is, after all, Alaska.

I have been enlightened, however, that “No, there is no need for bear bells” while hiking the trails around town.

You laugh—and you’re right, I have an illness.  It’s called “irrational fear” of death by Grizzly.

Again, you laugh.

I will have you know that we all have this illness, in some form or another. 

Some of us, unfortunately, have it a bit worse—in “what” we actually fear—than others.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I am one of them.

“Living” here for four days now, I know bears don’t reside on the trails I walk.

It’s too populated and with too many people walking about.

I am not ashamed to admit, though, that when I enter a woodsy and more secluded area, I talk out-loud to myself.

Just in case, you know, a bear has come down from the mountain and I’m its snack list.

Walkabout

While staying in Anchorage we’re being housed in a little basement apartment in a quiet residential neighborhood not far from downtown.

Street in front of our house

Front of the house

From the backyard

Our apartment is the one with the sunroom jutting out. 

Downtown is close by, but I hadn’t realized how close.

From a little scenic lookout a few blocks from the house

Our first few days here, Saturday and Sunday, were spent meeting the outgoing Prof., getting acclimated to our living arrangements, stocking up on food and supplies and becoming familiar with what the city has to offer.

On Monday it rained.

The last two days, however, have been spent exploring the walk-ability of this city, from where we live.

So while the Legal Dude is working and the teenager—well, is being a teenager—I put on my walking shoes and go exploring.

The Sagaya Market we like so much, which is reminiscent of WF but may be owed by Dean and Deluca (carries their products) is a mere fifteen to twenty minute walk from the house.  

Downtown is between forty to fifty minutes

A walking trail to downtown

but it’s hard to tell because I stop to take photos

Walking trail alongside a main road--Northern Lights

Inlet from one of the walking trails

and chat with this gal...

I had seen her during one of our earlier drive-bys and stopped to discern why someone would keep such a large animal domesticated, i.e., caged.

I’m told she was a rescue and had bonded with people, versus her own species. 

I’m told she was a rescue and had bonded with people, versus her own species. 

I’m told the Reindeer farm is for raising meat (there’s a lot of reindeer on the menus here) and so Star (who has her own FB page) is ostensibly saved from  gracing someone’s plate.

Delany Park downtown

Delany Park--Fitness Wednesdays

One Fish—Two Fish—Red fish—Good fish!

The New Sagaya City Market is purported by Fodor’s to have the best fish counter in the city.

Look at that tuna! They make an awesome Tuna Carpaccio

King Salmon

Halibut

Stuff I can't eat

We can attest to the fact that it has some deliciously outstanding fish as it is where we have been getting our daily dose of fresh fish.

Man is it good!

Normally, I like my fish grilled¸ preferably on a cedar plank.

Last evening, however, we baked—yeah baked—a two pound red salmon.

Red Salmon

It was delish! 

With fish this fresh and tasty nothing but a sprinkling of a few seasonings need be done to it.

At a mere $7.99 lb—Yowza!

(That’s almost as cheap as tilapia, the cheapest fish out there).

Why eat red meat when red fish is on the table!

We’ll save the red meet for when we get back to our favorite butcher in Laramie.