Me in front of Mt. Denali, as Alaskans prefer to call Mt. McKinley,
the tallest mountain in North America.
|
 |
Two weeks in the Great Land-what a fascinating place! My family
and I did everything from bear-watching to whitewater rafting. It
would take pages and pages to describe it all so I'm just going
to mention the things about Alaska that struck me most. You'll also
get to see a few of the hundreds of photos I took: “Mom, how
many more pictures of mountains do you really need?”
Alaska is huge: one fifth the size of all the lower 48 states put
together. Yet only about 650,000 people live there, quite a contrast
to my home state of New Jersey, the most densely populated in the
Union. In Alaska, folks use airplanes like cars because the distances
are so vast and there are so few roads. If you live on the water,
there's most likely a floatplane tied up behind your house.
The flora and fauna are big too. With 20 hours of sunlight in the
summer, Fairbanks grows world-record-setting cabbages and gorgeous
flowers. Everyone knows grizzly bears are big but until you've seen
one in person, you can't understand that we're talking a furry mountain
with teeth. The cubs are adorable: in Denali National Park, we saw
twin cubs romping around their massive mama. Alaska is also home
to bald eagles, whales, black bears, caribou, moose and many other
especially grand wild creatures, most of which we saw soaring, ambling
and diving.
The frontier is alive and well in Alaska. People live life on their
own terms, making do with whatever materials are at hand, helping
each other when it's needed and leaving each other alone the rest
of the time. The cities and towns seem new, a bit unpolished, and
dwarfed by the magnificence of their natural surroundings. And Alaskans
like them that way.
The sound of a glacier "calving" is awe-inspiring. First,
you hear a crack sort of like the shot from a very large gun. Then
you hear the rumbling of thunder. If you're lucky, you're looking
in the right direction as this happens so you see the huge chunks
of ice crash into the water, sending up an enormous splash. Our
ship kept a very respectful distance from the glaciers we visited
so we didn't meet the Titanic's fate.
Being a sucker for large manmade objects, I found the Trans-Alaska
Oil Pipeline both impressive and surprisingly unassuming. Running
for 800 miles, it is patrolled but not guarded. No razor-wire fences
surround it. The pipeline just does its job, transporting millions
of barrels of oil every day. It's built to handle earthquakes, permafrost,
caribou crossings, and sabotage, and I think its builders are still
amazed at how well it has worked.
Alaska makes one feel that man is a pale, puny thing compared to
the power and beauty of the natural world. This Great Land dwarfs
the largest ship or grandest building with a mere shrug of one of
her many mountains' shoulders. A journey there can change one's
perspective forever.
|
A humpback whale waving goodbye as it dives.
