Alaskan Abundance

In recent weeks and months I have seen a plethora of Alaskan related media appear.  I never thought much about Alaska before but have always loved its beauty and would love to vacation there someday, either on a cruise or a trip inland to Denali National Park.

I watched Northern Exposure when it aired and love watching reruns on my local PBS station in the evenings.  You couldn't help but love and follow the lives of Maurice, Joel, Ruth and all the others.  I loved the stoic manner of Joel's secretary, Marilyn Whirlwind.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure....

Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, also authored Into the Wild, the story of a young man dissatisfied with cultered society.  It is the story of Christopher McCandlesss, who graduates from Emory University in 1990 and decides to travel to Alaska instead of starting a profitable career.  He gives all his money to charity, does odd jobs and hitchhikes to Alaska.  He adopts the nickname, Alexander Supertramp, and lives in a decrepit abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness.  He survived there approximately 112 days before succumbing to poisoning from the poisonous effects of eating the seeds of the Hedysarum alpinum otherwise known as wild potato.  A movie has been made based on the book by John Krakauer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild

The History Channel has been airing a show entitled Tougher in Alaska.  It follows the adventures of Geo Beach in Alaska and his profiles of the tough men and women who work and live in Alaska.

One episode dealt with life in Fairbanks in the winter.  Boy Scouts are shown in winter igloos testing their survival skills to earn 40 and 100 hour survival merit badges.  Termperatures routinely were 20-40 degrees below zero. 

This same episode shows the Fairbanks fire department and its efforts to keep themselves and their vehicles warm.  One statistic cited is that homes routinely burn in the winter as most residents use woodstoves and they are left on while the residents are gone.  Obviously the local chimney sweep was profiled who cleans these stoves and their chimneys to prevent fires.

Water is not readily available either so a business named The Water Wagon operates to deliver water to thirsty Fairbanks residents. 

Other episodes dealt with the Alaska State Patrol, the Haul Road, built thru the middle of Alaska, on which material is transported to Prudough Bay, the main oil producing area of Alaska.  Waste disposal and scavenger work were other subjects explored in this series.  http://www.history.com/minisites/tougher-in-alaska

Tonight I saw an Imax film, Alaska: Spirit of the Wild.  It showed the majestic beauty of Alaska's wild during all four seasons.  Humpback whales, tundra geese, polar bears, black bears, salmon, seals, and Innuit peoples were all profiles.  The quest for food and survival reigns supreme in Alaska.  Each species have developed ways to sustain life.  The Humpback whales work in a group to corral herring fish then they feed on the trapped fish caught in their circle. 

The Inupiat (Eskimos) hunt the same humpback whale and have special sanction to do this. The hunt is not only for survival but is spiritually significant to them.  They believe one humpback whale offers itself to them for survival each winter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inupiat

The circle of life never ends and neither does the abundance of Alaska related media. 

 Update to this blog:  The Alaskan quarter just came out, the 49th in the State quarters series.  It depicts a bear catching a salmon in its mouth with a roaring waterfall in the background.

 The Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, has been chosen to be John McCain's running mate on the Republican ticket for President and Vice President.