My foray into blogger land was suspended by the wonder of Beautiful Alaska. When people ask, "What was your favorite place/thing? I have to say all of it. But today I'd like to highlight some of the adventurous people I met along the way. This study of people began when we got off the plane in
Fairbanks at 10pm. The sun was hovering just above the mountains when we found our bags and got on the bus. Since we were there first, the driver began telling us about himself. He is a retired teacher from Idaho who now spends his summers in Fairbanks where he taught and then drives a bus in Florida during the winter. He said he thought Alaska was one of the most beautiful places on Earth but he wouldn't dream of living there in the winter now. Days are only a few hours long there but "I read a novel there other night at 4AM without artificial light! As we left the airport, he immediately began talking about Fairbanks - telling us about the white paper aspens & black spruce trees along the way. It seems that during World War II, Fairbanks main street became the runway for the great bomber planes headed for Europe and Russia. Today it is home for a large military base and two gold mines. It is also the end of the line as a city - the villages north of there must come to Fairbanks to buy anything that is needed for the 21st Century!
The next person of interest to me was Fran, our guide on the domed train to Anchorage after our trip to Denali ( that experience will be a blog theme on a later day. Fran was from California. She left home after college looking for adventure and became a hostess for Alaska Airlines during the early '80s. She fell in love with the land but also with an adventurer who also chose the Alaskan life. They lived in Anchorage where she became a teacher/counselor in the school system. She had been a "soccer mom" when raising her sons. The train was her mode of transporting the boys to their games as far away as Fairbanks. I had notice beautiful flowers everywhere we went and was surprised to hear her say that one of her hobbies is raising perennials. "Why go to all that work for 3 month? Because during that time they are bigger and more beautiful than anywhere in Calif. Why? because of the long days of sun and fertile soil. In Wasilla the people are proud of their huge vegetables & the Fair is the time to show off!!!
Stay tuned for more of my new friends next time.
