As we walked through the Anchorage Airport, Becky and I both mentioned almost simultaneously how grateful we were that the long plane trips were over. We finally could stretch our legs.
Even though we were a bit weary, we were also eager to experience some of the sights and sounds of Alaska. In addition, we were content with the satisfaction of knowing we finally could scratch a major item off our Bucket Lists. For more than a year, our plan had been that the 49th State would be the final one on our goal to visit all 50 U.S. states.
Last September, we had signed up for a Smithsonian land tour figuring we might experience more of the state. Even so, we knew we would be seeing only a small portion of this huge state. Alaska covers as much area as California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah and Arizona combined. As we heard more than a few times on the tour, if you divided Alaska in half, you would still have the two largest states in the U.S.
We were shuttled to our hotel where we met Brady, our tour leader, as well as the other adventurers with whom we would be spending the next two weeks. One perk of a Smithsonian Journeys tour is the opportunity to have an additional guide, an “expert” with additional knowledge of the particular area. Allen Glazner, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was our expert. On this trip, Becky and I learned a lot of geology and other Alaska facts from two really knowledgeable and nice guys.
The vastness of Alaska was one of my takeaways from our trip. Traveling from one place to another usually took many hours and involved buses, trains and sometimes small aircraft. Alaska is the least densely populated state in the Union with 1.3 persons per square mile. We journeyed through wide stretches of wildness occasionally punctuated with small rustic buildings.
Becky says she came to Alaska looking for some adventures. We took a remote drive above the tree line on the mostly gravel road of the Denali Highway. This led us to Chitina (population under 126) where we boarded a small prop plane (six people including the pilot) and flew over glaciers toward Wrangle/St. Elias National Park, the biggest national park in the U.S. Becky claims that majestic flyover ranks right up there on her list of greatest Alaskan adventures.
During our stay, we managed to talk with several people who call Alaska home. It seems like many of them also came there looking for something they couldn’t find in other places: a sense of adventure, a connection to nature, a personal challenge. One of the guides on our glacier hike told us she spent her summers as a park guide and her winters in Utah as a ski instructor. We heard similar stories from a former Chicagoan whose summer job was manning the bike rental station as well as the young man who led the tour through a copper mine. Alaska has always seemed like a good place to try to find oneself.
On the other hand, there was Hillary, our bus driver for the two weeks. She was indigenous, of the Tlingit and Haida people. She and her extended family gather every year for fish camp where they spend the days catching and preserving salmon in preparation for the winter months. Hillary was in Alaska because she belonged there.
High mountains, thick forests, wide expanses, glaciers and rivers and oceans, wild animals and adventurous people. This is what I will carry with me when I recollect and reflect on the small piece of Alaska that Becky and I were blessed to experience.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].