I lived in Anchorage (the largest city in Alaska) from 1982 until 1999. Anchorage has a population of 260,000, with an interesting mix of various ethnic communities...Koreans, Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese, Native American and Native Eskimos.
I believe Anchorage is the best kept secret as far as winter weather is concerned, having a moderate temperature during the long and dark nine months of winter. The Alaskan seasons revolve around what is called "break up"...winter melting away, with the ground becoming muddy. This occurs around the end of April. The summer solstice occurs on June 21, with daylight lasting 19-20 hours. During the summer months, temperatures reach an average of 65-70° F. During August, rain is almost a daily occurrence and, by the end of August, "Termination Dust" is experienced...fresh, new snow on the mountain tops signifying termination of the good times of summer. The winter solstice occurs December 21, with 3-4 hours of daylight. Snow fall during the winter months is usually 75-90 inches around Anchorage, with temperatures dropping in December for a week or two to between -10° F and -20° F. During January, temperatures can drop to between -20° F and -30° F. Not bad at all!
Two major community events take place during the winter months. Fur Rondy is a type of carnival with arts, crafts and dog sled racing. It occurs in late February. The famous Iditaron is the dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome. On "even years" it is run over 1,048 miles and on "odd years" it is run over 1,052 miles. The race can take ten days to complete.
For recreational activities, fishing is "the sport of sports"! King salmon (45-68 pounds), Reds (5-15 pounds), and Silvers (7-20 pounds) are the catches for the sports fisherman. Alaska imposes strict limits on sports fishermen for each of these species. Dog (or, humpy) salmon are fed to dog teams during the nine months of winter.
(Left)The water moves quite swiftly. About 10' of
line is used. The fun begins when a 30 pound salmon takes the bait and
tangles the line up with ten other fishermen's lines. A riot to watch!
(Right)56 pound King salmon.
I no longer hunt game, but have taken moose, caribou and deer. The deer were hunted on Kodiak Island.
I used to pan for gold, and tried two methods...a dredge (like an underwater vacuum cleaner) and the old method of shovel and gold pan. I never hit the mother lode!!! I also had a small garden in which I grew raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and, of course, the huge 85 pound Alaskan cabbages.
Alaska has a total population of approximately 650,000, and was made the 49th State of the United States in January, 1959. During the same year, Hawaii became the 50th State. The State Capital of Alaska is Juneau. It is only accessible by either aeroplane or boat, as there are no roads into Juneau. In fact, there are not many roads on which to drive in Alaska. However, one can drive 465 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks, or 227 miles south to Homer. There is also the opportunity to drive to Tok, enter Canada, and travel the 2,800 miles of the Alcan Highway.
