Hello, Alaska

I hopped off the plane in Fairbanks looking like a zombie after leaving the apartment in NJ 12 hrs earlier. I got to watch the sunset in Anchorage, and rise and set again on my way up to Fairbanks at 11PM, that was pretty neat. Julie picked me up and we headed out to her cabin. My first impression of Fairbanks? This looks an awful lot like my hometown. Fairbanks is mountainous by East coast standards—the rolling hills I’m used to seeing in NY and PA (and to some extent, NJ). 2 lane highways, lined with trees. For those familiar with it, a whole lot like Sullivan County, NY. Just different trees. Julie even has a driveway similar to the puddle-ridden driveway at my mom’s house; if you’ve been, you know what a treat that is.

Julie's driveway @ 11PM

Slept very well that first night, even with the start of 24-hr twilight that first day I arrived. Friday we ran around University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) and Fairbanks meeting people and setting up a yard sale for Julie’s Relay for Life team (which was pretty successful!) Julie gave me a refresher on driving stick (it had been 7 years since my mom’s lesson in the HS parking lot) on her Subaru, Suruba.

While Julie was taking a bear shotgun class (seriously), I hopped over on the trail behind her house to the Large Animal Research Station and said hi to the caribou and muskoxen. Beautiful sunshine streaming through the birch trees, too.


And, I’ll get it over with now… yes, Julie lives in a dry cabin. That means an outhouse and no running water. She picks up water from the water station (like a gas station) to do dishes, drink, etc. No shower, no toilet. Yep, I used her outhouse. Lucky for me the temperature didn’t get below freezing at any point during my trip.