Alaska Answers

Q. What do you think is the least expensive way to see the major attractions of Alaska by RV? -Mike

A. Hmmmm….well, let’s think about this one for a moment. Off the top of my great brain; which by the way, might not be at its peak today, I’d say that with the price of gas and the way I’ve heard RV’s guzzle it, you would want to not do a lot of backtracking to see things. So I’d probably stop at the visitor’s center for each area and ask them to help me map out what to see and do. We love our tourists and the visitor’s centers have a wealth of information.

Another thing you might consider is finding a cheap place to park. I know some people park overnight at the edge of a parking lot of our overnight groceries, such as Carrs Quality Food Centers, and even Wal-Mart sometimes. I don’t think it is necessarily ‘encouraged’, but I don’t believe it is banned.

A couple years or so ago, the Anchorage School District started a program of letting motorhomes park on school grounds, as a deterrent to vandaliism.They found just the presence of a motor home sitting there was enough to discourage those rascals who think it is fun to vandalize a school. You can get a permit from the school district for doing this. Then you use that as a base for your motorhome, going off on day trips in the car you’ve towed behind, or one you have rented, or at least just come back to that spot for overnight.

This program is call the Summer Host Program. They ask for a commitment of a month if possible, as you come and go from the Anchorage area. So you don’t have to just be there all the time. The parking is free, as is utilities for your RV. They provice power, water and even once a week holding tank pumping. It’s a pretty good deal. If you are interested, you can find out more about it by calling the Anchorage School District Security Office at (907) 348-5170. There are 40 some locations for this, and the season is from June 10th to September 5, 2006.

I’m not familiar with whether the Fairbanks School District has such a program, but think it’s possible. Hope this helps. Take care, -B. Jennings

Q. Does the Alaskan government really pay you to live there at first? Also, I’d like to know what kind of crops do you raise there? Thanks! -Otis

A. Otis, I’d like you to look in my archives for a listing posted May 17, 2006 which will fully answer your question about what we call the Permanent Fund Dividend. You will also find many references to the weather in the archives also, either under ‘Weather’ or ‘Temperatures’ Please look there, so I won’t be accused of repeating myself incessently! I can’t help but do a ‘bit’ of that, but like to keep it to a minimum.

Now, about crops, lots of things grow really well here because of the long, light days of summer. Root crops especially do well. We raise great potatoes for instance. There are large potato fields near me, and an industrious person who doesn’t mind getting ‘down and dirty’ can go thtu the fields, gleaning what the potato picking machines have missed. It is expected and even encouraged. Back in ‘ought seven’ when I had ‘legs’, I would take the kids and go gleaning and often picked up enough potatoes to last us all winter. Fun!

Members of the cabbage family do well, also. Cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli,, cauliflower, carrots, all do great. I guess you would say the only things that don’t do well are things that need really hot sun and soil; things like green beans,, melons, okra, etc. You can grow tomatoes here if you have a greenhouse. Well, there are a few varieties of far north tomatoes which can be grown outdoors, but don’t believe they are big producers. I do have a friend who has raised canteloups in her greenhouse!

Corn can be grown, but not on any big scale, and then ONLY if you plant it under black plastic, cutting little slits for the corn plants to come thru. This keeps the soil warm enough that there are a couple varieities, bred for the northland, which do ‘okay’.

Hay is a good crop here and there are several hayfields nearby. Up by Delta Junction, there are some big barley fields also.

Weather can be different from year to year. You just can’t make a ‘blanket statement’ about it. For instance, this year, at Delta Junction, near Fairbanks, they had the coldest weather in 115 years on June 1st, when our daughter in law Susan lost her greenhouse full of tomatoes to a hard frost. It even snowed a bit in Fairbanks that day. Totally crazy weather, but makes for a good topic of conversation.

Hope this answers your questions. If not, write me again please. -BJ

Q. Was William Seward ever in Alaskan history? Thanks. -T. Seward

A. Well, Mr. Seward, I can only think you are enquiring because perhaps he is an ancestor of yours? I’m happy to report that, yes, William Seward certainly did figure into the history of Alaska. Who knows? We might not even be a state today except for his efforts.

William Seward was born in New York in 1801. He was a lawyer first and then served as both a state senator and as governor of New York. He was a member of the Whig political party.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, he wanted Seward for Secretary of State. He accepted, and served in that position both during Lincoln’s presidency, and following his assassination, as Secretary of State for Andrew Johnson. History tells us he had a lot of influence over Lincoln.

In 1867, Seward was very instrumental in buying Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000.00 Some people thought he was crazy, but time has proved them wrong…..and William Seward right! If he is your ancestor, you can be rightly proud of him. -BJ

Q. Where can I see a picture of your state bird, flower, flag and your capitol building? -Rudy

A. Our state flower is the Forget-Me-Not; state bird is the Willow Ptarmigan; the flag, which is a blue background with the Dipper and North State on it was adopted for use in 1959.

Alaska is one of the most beautiful of states, I think, but I will admit we probably have the ugliest capitol building of any state. Ours is a very utilitarian looking ‘box’. You can see it by going to a website called www.cupola.com and then clicking on the square that says something about Cupolas of Capitalism. Then click on Alaska. See what I mean? A box!!

I’ve found a good site for the other things you’d like to know is one called www.enchantedlearning.com Scroll down and click on US States Info & Printouts. Then find Alaska in the list and click on that. I think you’ll find what you need by doing these things. Write me again sometime. -Bonnie J.

Q. What are some interesting stories or folklore from Alaska? – Coco

A. The one which comes immediately to mind, Coco, is the legend of The Sleeping Lady. We refer to Mt. Susitna as the Sleeping Lady. Mt. Susitna lies directly across Cook Inlet from Anchorage and is readily visible for miles around. The outline of the mountain looks exactly like a lady lying on her back, covered by a blanket. Here is the story, which has been told by word of mouth since the 1930’s.

Long ago in Alaska there lived a race of giant people along the shores of Cook Inlet. The land was warm then and fruit trees of every kind covered the land. Wooly mammoths and saber toothed tigers roamed the forests, but they did not hurt the gentle people who lived there, because peace ruled the land.

A young man named Nekatla and a fair maiden named Susitna were very happy as they were soon to be married. The wedding day was approaching when suddenly a stranger burst into the village and cried out that warriors were coming from the north who would kill their people and burn their homes.

The stranger was asked how he knew? He said that he knew because it had happened in his village,and only he was still alive.

The village elders began discussing what to do and how to fight them. They didn’t even have weapons in their village because they had always been a people of peace. Nekatla and Susitna listened with alarm; then Nekatla had an idea. He stepped forward, and said, “Look, I have an idea. I will not fight these people because we gave up the ways of war long ago. We are a people of peace. Neither will I run away because then they would just kill others. Le’s go forward to meet them, bearing gifts, and when they see we have no weapons, but only gifts, they will see there is no reason to attack us. Who will go with me? Immediately all the men of the village began preparing to go north.

By morning they were ready to leave. Nekatla and Susitna said goodbye on top the hill where they had spent so many happy hours. Nekatla tenderly held her close and whispered, “We’ll be married as soon as I return.” She replied, “I shall wait for your return, right here.” Then she sadly watched as the line of men disappeared into the forested mountains.

Susitna hurried back to the village and gathered up her basket making materials, needles, knife and baskets for gathering seeds and berries. She busied herself upon the hill, awaiting Nekatla’s return. She kept thinking that he would return any moment.

Days and then weeks passed by, slowly, and still Susitna waited. She told herself one day, “I will lie down for just a moment. I am so tired.” She fell fast asleep.

While Susitna slept, word of a terrible battle reached the village by a boy who came running to report that Nekatla’s idea of going in peace with gifts had not worked. Although Nekatla and the others approached in peace with gifts outstretched, the warriors from the north threw spears and set upon them fiercely. Nekatla and many others were killed by the spears of the enemy. The women wept to hear of the fathers, brothers and sons they had lost.

When the women of the village went to wake Susitna they found her sleeping so peacefully they hated to wake her. “Let her rest in peace some more. Why break her heart sooner than we must”, they said. So they wove a blanket of soft grasses and wildflowers and gently laid it across the sleeping Susitna. “May Susitna always dream of her lover”, they said.

That night all warmth and joy left the village. It grew colder and colder. Susitna settled more deeply into sleep. The fruit trees froze and began dying like men in battle. The tears of the villagers gathered into clouds that rose into the air, falling back to earth as Alaska’s first snowfall.

For seven days and nights the snow fell, until Susitna and all her people lay beneath a shimmering blanket of white. Days passed into weeks and weeks into months.Months became years and years became hundreds of years. For a few months each summer, warmth returned to the land allowing birch and willow and spruce to grow. Grizzly bears and moose and other animals came to replace the old animals; and eventually a new race of people, smaller than the first came to stay in this land.

Today, Susitna still sleeps peacefully. You can look across Cook Inlet from Anchorage and see her lying gracefully and peacefully asleep. In the winter she is covered by a lovely blanket of white snow. In the summer, her blanket is soft grasses and wildflowers.

It is said when people of war change their ways, peace will rule the earth. Then Nekatla will return. Then, Susitna, the Sleeping Lady will awaken!

Don’t you like this story? I do. It is a slightly shortened version of the retelling of this folklore, by Ann Dixon, librarian at Willow, Alaska. I will find some more stories and folklore to bring you really soon, so keep watching. -B. Jennings

Q. Does Alaska have a state nut? Thanks. Laurie

A. Oh, you bet we do! That’s gotta be my Uncle Artie. One time we were having a birthday party and he was lighting the candles on the cake. He went to blow out the match, but he was distracted by something Aunt Inez was saying and he looked away just at the crucial time – and set his mustache on fire! Boy, was that exciting! He was so vain about that mustache, so we thought it was totally hilarious. But then, it doesn’t take much to amuse this tribe.

Another time, on a crisp sub-zero winter day, Artie had a fine idea. He would scare the you-know-what out of Inez. They were visiting us while we were still living in a primitive cabin out in the ‘bush’. We had an outhouse but had, what we thought, was a good way of handling the problem of ‘frozen buns’. We would keep a toilet seat hanging on a nail behind the woodstove. When nature called, you would grab the warm toilet seat, shove it inside your parka and run like the dickens for the two-holer, before it had much time to cool off. Inez announced that she was going to make a trip down the path and while she was getting her boots, mittens and parka on, Artie slipped out and hid behind a big hump of snow near the path to the outhouse. When Inez came alongside, Artie gave a mighty convincing growl. Aunt Inez, who was paranoid of bears didn’t even stop to think there couldn’t be a bear outside this time of year. She was terrified and giving a loud scream, she threw out both arms, flinging the toilet seat high and wide as she slipped on the icy path. The toilet seat landed on the windshield of Artie’s pickup, shattering it royally, which we thought was good enough for him! He was pretty subdued for awhile after that.

Yes, I’m sure that Uncle Artie is our State Nut!

P.S. Seriously, Laurie, we don’t have a state nut, as in pecan, walnut, hazel, etc. Sadly, nuts you can eat don’t grow here. -BJ

Q. We’re coming up to Anchorage on June 9th to fly out of Merrill Field for a week of fishing. We’ll need an overnight there. It occurred to me you could probably suggest a bed and breakfast. Something close to Merrill Field would be great. Thanks, Mel

A. Sure, I can help you, Mel. It isn’t a Bed & Breakfast really, but there is a motel called the Merrill Field Inn and it is located right across from Merrill Field, so I can’t get you much closer than that! I’ve never stayed there myself; however, I did call the Anchorage Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to make sure it was on their list of approved places to stay. It was. They serve a continental breakfast in the lobby each morning. Here is their info:

Merrill Field Inn
420 Sitka Street
Telephone is (907) 276-4547
There is a # for out of state also – 1-800-898-4547 With tax, rooms are 128.80 a night, and I believe that is with a 10% discount if you tell them a local resident, Bonnie Jennings, at Wasilla, recommended them. You can check them out at www.merrillfieldinn.com

The other thing you can do, Mel, is to look up www.anchorage.net on the web. That is the convention and visitor’s bureau site. You can click on Anchorage lodging and get a list of bed and breakfasts. I believe some of them have site maps so you can pick something close to where you want to be.

Hope this helps and that you have a wonderful, wonderful time and catch a fish so big you’ll need proof to make the folks back home believe you! -Bonnie J.

Q. Does Alaska have any organic, or natural foods groceries, delis or restaurants? What are their names and where are they located? Thanks, Cynthia

A. We certainly do. A lot of them in fact. In the Anchorage area, you’ll find, among others, Organic Alaska is at 118 E. International. Their phone # (907) 770-2779.

You’ll find the Organic Oasis Health Foods and Juice Bar, which is a restaurant, at 2610 Spenard Road. Phone them at
(907) 277-7882.

Our main supermarkets are called Carrs (but owned by Safeway). They have wonderful health food sections and organic produce areas.

Alaska Nutrition Store is at 7900 E. 6th. Phone # is (907) 332-3446. The Natural Pantry is at 3801 Old Seward Hwy. Phone:
(907) 770-1444. General Nutrition Center has several locations; one of them 5th Avenue Mall, (907) 274-1800.

Fairbanks has similar places too, but I’m just not as familiar with them as I am with those in this area. I know there is one called Sunshine Health in Fairbanks. It is located at 410 Trainer Gate Road and their phone is (907) 456-5433.

Out here in the Matanuska Valley, there are two big U Pick Farms which are organically run, where you can go and have the fun of roaming the wide aisled fields with a wheelbarrow and a tool or two and you can enjoy the harvesting of your own organic veggies…and you didn’t even do any of the hard work of growing! We also have a couple farms where you can get organically raised beef and chickens. And just think of all the wonderful wild meat and fish up here. That is for sure ‘organically’ raised. By God Himself, no less.

So, Yes! You can eat organically in Alaska, thereby improving your health so that you will live many years, God willing, in this wonderful land. =Bonnie J.

Q. What is considered the most breathtaking place in Alaska? I really need to know. Thanks, Megan

A. What a question this is, Megan! I say that because there are so many, I hardly know how to answer. Also, every person is different as to what thrills them. You know that old saying, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. So I guess I’ll just have to answer for myself.

My personal favorite, (although you understand there are about 500 that are a close second), is the Arrigetch Peaks region of the Brooks Range of mountains, which stretch across Alaska above the Arctic Circle. My son, Nick, was killed tragically in 1990, but when he was alive he and his wife Susan, and daughters had a sports fishing lodge in the Brooks Range at Walker Lake. Walker Lake is the biggest freshwater lake north of the Arctic Circle. I helped cook at Gates of the Arctic Lodge several summers. Oh, what wonderful memories I have of that magical time.

Nick delighted in taking guests on a swing around the Arritetch Peaks as he brought them by floatplane from Bettles, Alaska.
There was never a person who wasn’t just blown away by the beauty and vastness of that wonderful area. Arrigetch is an Eskimo word which means ‘fingers of the hand outstretched’ and that pretty well describes those majestic sharp peaks reaching for the sky. There was one particularly wonderful area to fly thru. One of the mountains has what looks like two towers on top. You can fly the plane between them. Nick would tell the guest to look down as they passed between the towers. Immediately thru them, the ‘ground’ plunged away from you for what I believe was a couple thousand feet! Oh, my, your stomach sort of followed your eyes right down! I don’t think any man made amusement park could give you such a thrill. Spread out below were vast valleys, with twisty ‘braided’ looking rivers winding off into ‘forever’.

That area was set aside by the federal government as a national park and preserve in December of 1980; but because our son’s lodge was already there, and had ‘grandfather rights’ it was allowed to stay. When he was killed, the lodge was done away with; even removed totally by the Park Service. You can still visit Walker Lake of course if you have the funds to be flown in, but there is no longer a nice lodge in which to stay. Sad, I think. The Arrigetch Peaks are still there though, eternal for all time. I think of them often. -BJ

Q. I will be taking a cruise in May. Can you tell me what the weather conditions will be like? -Anonymous

A. It varies from year to year, but generally speaking. probably a bit chllly. We always tell visitors to bring clothing they can ‘layer’. And be sure and bring a lightweight rain jacket, as along the coastal route you’ll probably get a bit of rain also. I can tell you what is normal for May around the Juneau area, which you’ll be cruisin’ by. You can expect days of around 55 degrees and nights of maybe 40 degrees. For May they usually have about 17 days of rain. It stays light over 17 hours a day.

In spite of the possibly chilly drizzle, it will all be worth it as you pass by majestic mountains, misty bays, islands covered with towering spruce, and watch the antics of bears, whales, and eagles. Yes, indeed, you’ll be happy you came. Bon Voyage! -Bonnie