Alaska Factoids

1. You all know how educational travel is and I have been hungry to learn about every place I have visited. Sometimes I pick up facts on a tour, from a chatty taxi driver or accommodation host, by reading the displays in a museum or a gallery or by asking a question. The following have been gleaned from a range of sources over the last three weeks.

   
   

                              

   
   

   Alaska - US State
2. Alaska, northwest of Canada, is the largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state. It's known for its dramatic, diverse terrain of wide-open spaces, mountains and forests, with abundant wildlife and many small towns. It is a popular destination for many outdoor activities from kayaking to whale watching, fishing to mountain climbing.
4. Capital: Juneau
5. Area: 1,717,854 km²
6. Population: 736,732 (2014)

           

          

   
   

   • In 1867 Russia sold 'Russian America' and the vessels of the Russian American Company to the U.S. for $7,200,000 (2cents an acre). The territory was then named Alaska.
   • Alaska is less than 50 miles from Russia.
   • Whilst Juneau is the state capital, Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 278,000. It was established 100 years ago in 1915 with the development of the railway.
   • While it is legal to shoot bears in Alaska, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is against the law!
   • The highest temperature recorded in Alaska was 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Fort Yukon in 1915.
   • The lowest temperature recorded in Alaska was -80 degrees Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.
   • Alaska accounts for 25 percent of the oil produced in the United States.

                               

   • Of the 20 highest peaks in the United States, 17 are in Alaska, including the highest peak in North America (20,320 ft. above sea level), Mt. McKinley.
   • Alaska contains more than 100 volcanoes and volcanic fields which have been active within the last two million years. 80% of the world's active volcanoes are in Alaska.
   • The Aurora Borealis (northern lights) can be seen an average of 243 days a year in Fairbanks.
   • The fishing and seafood industry is Alaska’s largest private industry employer.
   • The largest salmon ever caught was in the Kenai River. It weighed in at 97.5 pounds.
   • There are more than 3,000 rivers and 3 million lakes in Alaska.

                               

   • Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined (34,000+ miles).
   • Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on three different bodies of water: the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.
   • The last gold rush in America was in 1897 on the Klondike River. A Seattle newspaper of the day reported that a steamer had docked "carrying a number of prospectors and one ton of gold."
   • The only battle during World War II fought on American soil took place in 1943 after the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands.
   • The state sport in Alaska is dog mushing, once the primary mode of transportation. The Iditarod dog sledding race is Alaska's largest sporting event.
   • More than half the world’s glaciers can be found in Alaska (over 1000).

                          

   • Alaska has the lowest population density in the U.S. at one person per square mile.
   • If New York City had the same population density as Alaska, only 25 people would live in Manhattan.
   • Bennie Benson designed Alaska’s flag in 1926 at the age of 13. It became the official state flag upon Alaska’s adoption into the Union in 1959 - the 49th State. It depicts the Big Dipper constellation (the Plough) and the North Star.

                               

    

   • Outsiders first discovered Alaska in 1741 when Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering sighted it on a voyage from Siberia.
   • There are over a dozen native tribes in Alaska, from the Athabascans to the Yup'iks. 
   • The town of Barrow, 800 miles south of the North Pole, has both the longest and shortest day. When the sun rises on May 10, it doesn’t set for nearly three months. When it sets on November 18, Barrow residents do not see the sun again for nearly two months.
   • Each year Alaska has about 5,000 earthquakes including 1,000 that measure above 3.5 on the Richter scale. Of the 10 strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the world, three have occurred in Alaska.

                          

   • Alaskan, Kodiak and Polar Bears can grow to 1,400 pounds and 11 feet tall. Moose can grow to 1,350 pounds with antlers spanning up to 6 feet wide.
   • The Trans-Alaska Pipeline moves up to 88,000 barrels of oil per hour on an 800-mile journey across the state.
   • When the Exxon Valdez ran aground, ripping open it's hull - 11,000,000 gallons of crude oil leaked out and polluted the crystal clear waters of the Prince William Sound, killing hundreds of thousands of fish, birds and mammals. 

   Fascinating eh? I've had to stop myself from adding more - but this place is epic.

   Paul 

My Dog Sledding Delight

      

As soon as I got into my car to drive away from my amazing dog sled experience, I wanted to record my thoughts. They came out in a jumble of enthusiasm and energy. Again, if I could simply include that audio recording into my blog, I would, but as it is beyond me - you will have to make do with this transcript and imagine the laughter and vibrancy in my voice...

"Well it is 10.00am. I had to arrive here at 8 so I have only been here two hours, but I have just had the most wonderful experience dog sledding. I mean it's addictive, it's phenomenal, it's such fun. It couples two of my loves as well, as I have always loved dogs and the sense of speed as you are riding a sled is just unbelievable. It is like riding a motorbike, but a little bit more extreme as you are standing on the two ski plates, one on either side of the sled and you lean significantly into every bend and turn, keeping your centre of gravity low to make sure you can make it round. There is obviously a lot of skill and training required to get the dogs to do the right thing upon command, but it is just unbelievable."

      

                                 Nita, giving me a basic run down on how the sleds work.

"I met a lovely woman who is looking after these animals and she is REALLY looking after them. I had been worried that I would go somewhere and find the dogs being abused or badly looked after, dogs that did not enjoy the job. But I have just met a whole kennel full of dogs...and we chose seven to take us out...and the ones we didn't choose were disappointed, they were upset, they were barking and whining and the ones that did get to go out were bouncing. (Laughter) I mean, one dog was called Bean and he literally just jumped - 'boing, boing' on the spot with excitement.

She had different breeds and different types of dogs. She chose a mix of male and female dogs for our ride and we probably did a six mile run."

      

     

                                 

                                               Two of the lucky dogs chosen to join us.

"Nita, the owner - she is just such the right person for this activity. Can you believe that she quit her life in Colorado in 2008 because she became addicted to life in Alaska, husky dogs and mushing? She moved out here lock, stock and barrel. And now she lives in this isolated log cabin up this steep snow and ice covered driveway, which is not easy to get to and is miles from the city of Fairbanks - it must be 20 to 30 miles away. She doesn't have a TV, though will watch occasional things on Netflix on her laptop, she no longer listens to the news on the radio, just radio music and she hasn't read a newspaper since arriving - yet she is a well with-it woman. She has had two lives and is therefore able to communicate so well with the people she meets and she is enthusiastic and open-minded, but basically loves her new life. That's it - this is the one she wants and she's been doing it since 2008 and she has no regrets. 

She does the mushing, the dog sled lessons and the...oh...it's called dog mushing, though they never use that word as a command...she does the lessons and the tours purely to help finance things because each dog costs between $1200 and $1500 a year in food and care. And she must have 25 dogs here. So my 150 bucks today will go towards feeding those animals. Actually, she said to me as we were riding, that my trip today would probably be the last one of the season. The snow is going, it is icy in patches and we even hit a couple of muddy areas. There was one point where we both jumped off our ski runners and we ran alongside the sleds so as not to burden the dogs too much and then, when we hit the snow and ice again, we jumped back on again!" 

                              

 

"I think she was impressed with my skills handling it around the corners and bends because at first I was on the rear sled, which was attached to the front one. But then she asked me to take over the front sled - which was the main sled, the main steerer, though she kept control of the main brake. 

I didn't know what to expect when I booked. I imagined I might end up sitting in the front reclined seat of the sled - just a passenger as she took me out for a ride. But instead, she gave me a quick lesson about mushing, braking and steering and then we set off! I was happy riding the back sled, with the snow and ice spraying up at me as we went along, but I was ecstatic on the front sled.

I had a small injury. We hit a tree and stopped dead in our tracks on a tight bend. (Clearly my steering skills were not perfect!) Unfortunately the big anchor, which is a huge grappling hook, got trapped between the tree, my finger and the main rail that I was holding! I couldn't do anything about it. I just felt the pressure through my glove. I wondered if it would have cut or broken my finger, but it just squashed it. I've now got a nice black nail and and bruise on the other side, but it is not throbbing too much. 

Anyway, what an experience."

                                

     

                                                                              Tell-tale tracks from an Arctic Hare.

"Of course it helped that the weather was absolutely perfect. The sun was just coming up through the trees casting long shadows. There was even an arctic hare which ran out in front of us at one point. This dappled white rabbit skittered across the tracks, looked at the dogs and then legged it into the trees and the dogs all sped up because they just love chasing anything. At one point I got off and ran ahead of the sled and crouched down to take some pictures as Nita mushed them past me and dogs were whining and barking because they didn't like the thought that I was ahead of them and they were excited and eager to catch up and retake the lead."

                                           

 

"Truly these animals want to do what they are doing. Truly she looks after them like members of the family and she loves each one of them. She sees them as unique. I was asking questions about them but really it's...how can you ask questions when it's like talking about your children? Of course you love them and care for them. Of course you would not see them damaged or harmed. They are not your livelihood, they are parts of your family. Nita is so in the right job. She even trains other people's dogs. She takes their dogs and puts them with her teams so that they can be broken in, given much needed experience and taught to behave." 

             
 

"She even takes on interns, which was really interesting. She's just had a girl from New Zealand over for the whole of March and basically let her stay for free in the house, giving her board and accommodation and dog mushing training in return for hard work, cleaning up after the dogs, fixing things and whatever else needed doing. And I thought, if I wanted a month here, with free accommodation and food in exchange for some hard work and company - I would be in touch with her and say please can I come and work for you for a month? I'd love it. She had two girls from Ireland and she had a girl from England do the same at different times in the last year. I would end up a fully trained musher! Something to consider for the future. Hmmmm?"  (End of audio recording.)

      

     Sookii with the different colour eyes

When we returned to the lodge we unclipped the dogs and returned them to the yard after first making a fuss of each of them individually for giving us such a lovely ride. We chatted some more and I told Nita how blessed I felt to have met her and her dogs and to have experienced such a wonderful ride at the end of the winter season. I didn't need to spell it out, as the smile on my face stretched from ear to ear. She liked me, knew I was good with animals and trusted me with her babies. When I told her I had worked in a kennels when I was a teenager and had spent the last 23 years in education working with primary aged children, she felt totally relaxed with me in her home. Of course, the fact that the dogs were all over me helped! I sincerely hope that we do meet up again and I may just pursue that intern position for a month one winter - as it sounds like my kind of working holiday!

Thank you Nita and thank you Sookii, Ursa, Spook, Isolde, Spirit, Bella and Bean.

I absolutely recommend Sirius Sled Dogs if you are ever out this way in Alaska. You can't choose better.              Call - 907 - 687- 6656           or email - www.siriussleddogs.com  

          "friendly huskies to pet and photograph, full kennel tour, mushing school, rides and more"

                               

       

A Run-in at the Laundromat

Well, in the interests of balanced journalism, I feel I need to share the following incident. For my travel, whilst exciting and wonderful and populated by hundreds of beautiful people, also has a small percentage of less savoury characters to deal with. Please be assured that the following has in no way lessened my love of travel, knocked my absolute belief that there is infinitely more good in the world than bad, nor dampened my enthusiasm for Alaska - which is quite frankly amazing. 

                                

                      As I am in the US, I will use the term 'laundromat' as opposed to 'laundrette'

My accommodation had no laundry facilities and whilst walking into Anchorage I spotted a couple of laundromats on Arctic Boulevard. I memorised their location and decided a visit later in the week was sensible. Being quite organised, when I subsequently hired a mountain bike for a few days, and I chanced to pass Arctic Boulevard again, I decided to briefly stop and check out the facilities. Washing machines - check, driers - check, powder for sale - check, change machine - check and the place was clean, spacious and empty. I decided I would return later that evening on route to a bar for a late supper and a pint.

Arriving at 7.00pm (please note that the sun doesn't set here in Anchorage until 9.15pm at this time of year) I was greeted by two men, who were sat inside chatting by the door, wrapped up in coats, hats and scarves. I said hello. I noticed a mother and daughter near the rear of the shop sorting their laundry. I bought some powder, changed a $5.00 bill into quarters and loaded a machine. The two men attempted to include me in their banter. "Do you like to party?" asked one, "do you like the ladies?" asked the other. I smiled, mumbled an inoffensive answer and decided to go and find a place to have a quiet drink whilst my wash completed it's cycle. I ignored the offer of marajuana or crack as I left.

                                

I returned 20 minutes later to find the two men bickering with each other. Their language had deteriorated with regards to swear words and their subject matter was far more provocative. The mother and daughter had left and apparently they were the topic of conversation. "Samoan women stink," argued one, "yeah, especially their....." replied the other (making a reference to intimate parts.) "What do you think?" they asked. 'I wouldn't know,' was my conservative answer as I transferred my wet clothes into a tumble drier on the far side of the room. I figured I would be here another 20 minutes and would have to stay to keep the machine topped up, as it would only allow me to insert 25 cents at a time.

                                

I sat down with a newspaper and made a point of looking busy. The topics across the room became increasingly offensive. They discussed drugs, fights and confrontations with the police with growing volume and steadily became more racist and more rude about women They kept trying to draw me into their conversation and I noticed they were falling out with each other more and more. I resisted their efforts, but did not ignore them completely.

It was at this point that the main guy shouted over to me and said "Hey, you! You need a _____" and he said a word I didn't catch. I looked non-plussed and he pulled out a large bladed knife. "One of these," he said, "the blunter the better, so they can feel it when you stab them. Anything too sharp and they don't feel it - they don't know they've been stabbed." 'Not for me thank you,' I replied, pretending to focus on reading the paper, whilst I was actually concentrating on making sure my hands weren't shaking. I contemplated all my options. I couldn't make a quick escape, as my bike was locked to the railings on the window outside. I gauged relative distances to the the door. I knew the guy with the knife was the main person to be concerned with, as his friend was in less good and less coherent shape. I noticed that the laundromat had a few large trolleys on wheels which could be useful for blocking aisles or keeping someone beyond arms length. I knew there was no other way out of the building, as the less sober guy had already gone looking for a back door and a toilet, before eventually going out the front door to urinate against the wall.

I willed my laundry to finish and I prayed that the guys would leave or that someone else would arrive. 

And, just as it was about to.... literally a minute before the drier beeped it's alarm...the two guys got up and left. Just like that. I packed my clothes into my rucksack, put on my coat and left as quickly as I could before they could return.

I think I handled myself well, though I really had to resist a very strong desire to ask them to tone their bad language down. They offended me and angered me with their macho attempts to intimidate, but I knew that the best thing I could do was appear nonchalant, unconcerned and uninterested. Thinking back, I cannot picture either of the two men, except to say they were older, greyer, unshaven and well wrapped up. However, I can clearly picture the knife. I am confident that they did not intend to hurt me, but simply saw me as potential 'sport' with which they could while away an hour in the warmth. I must have been a disappointment to them.

In the future, I will do my laundry earleir in the day - though by the time I left it was only 8.00pm and still light outside. I have done my laundry more than once a week since I set off traveling. 30+ occasions I reckon, without incident - so I am not going to become paranoid now.

A friend said afterwards that there are aggressive people everywhere. Another called them 'nutters' and told me not to worry. Certainly, whilst they were down and out and rather rough, they are not representative of the people I am meeting in Alaska. I told the landlady at my accommodation about it later and asked her to add a section about not using that particular laundromat to her info-pack. She acknowledged that it was in a rougher part of town and was not one that she had ever used. I suggested that as it was only 5 minutes from her home, perhaps she should consider reporting it to the authorities on my behalf? I told her she could say that one of her guests had been intimidated by two guys loitering in there, one of which displayed an knife? I left the ball in her court.

I am no worse for wear from the experience, and it certainly didn't put me off my clam chowder, fries and two pints of Alaskan cider, which I treated myself to later that night. However, I must admit to  cycling away from the laundromat at a far greater speed than the pace at which I arrived!

Paul x

Belated Happy Easter Everyone - From A Simply Awesome New Zealand

Well I trust everyone has had a wonderful Easter? Mine was superb. One of my best friends and his lovely wife Hazel were visiting New Zealand for a wedding and when they discovered they would be over here at the same time as me, they invited me to join them as they caught up with friends in New Zealand. We stayed in a bach (a Kiwi term for a holiday cottage) and had the most excellent long weekend.

                                     

                                                               James and Hazel

The location was stunning, the weather was fantastic and the company was excellent. I was very warmly welcomed by James and Hazel's friends and we spent our time actively exploring the sea and the coast, eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. 

                                

     

On Friday, once everyone had arrived, we wandered down to Kaiteriteri beach and had a swim, sunbathe and game of frisbee before looking into kayak hire for Sunday. We then had our first barbecue of the weekend.

On Saturday we caught the water taxi up the coast, via a few tourist spots, to a point high up the Abel Tasman route and then proceeded to walk 25 kilometres back. The weather was beautiful, but as we were walking in the shade of the bushland coastal track, we avoided getting burnt, whilst savouring all the remarkable views and colours of the sea, the sand and forest. We had a packed lunch on the beach, contemplated fording one of the bays as the tide went out (and thought better of it) and made it back to base 8 hours after we set off. That night we had a rather quieter meal and early bedtime, but still found the energy to have a quick disco where everyone had to choose (and dance to) a favourite disco track. No one appreciated my "It's Raining Men" selection - I wonder why?

                                         

                                                       Walking the Abel Tasman trail

On Sunday we hired sea kayaks for our group and buddied up as we planned a four hour exploration of the local coastline. Yet again we were blessed with great weather and calm seas as we set off. Before we knew it we had reached our destination so we decided to explore a few sea caves, swam to a prominent rock outcrop in the bay and had a picnic before heading back to Kaiteriteri. That night we enjoyed another barbecue and I found myself rather inebriated after drinking two litres of local scrumpy! I do not remember going to bed, but I do recall getting up in the middle of the night to have a shave and then again two hours later to take some neurofen!

                                  

        

This was such a great time and such a welcome dose of company and friendship. It actually coincided with the sixth month anniversary of my departure from the UK and was therefore particularly timely, as my travel stamina needed a boost. What a remarkable coincidence that James and Hazel should travel to New Zealand at the same time as me?

        

    

                                                   Sea Kayaking at 'Split Apple' rock

        

Thank you: James, Hazel, Simon, Una, Ian, Helen and Betty - I had a wonderful Easter. 

And thank you New Zealand. Six weeks is the longest I have spent in any one country during my travels so far. It has seen me drive 1500kms in the North Island, ride a motorcycle 1000kms in the Northland, fly from Auckland to Wellington, ferry across the straits to Picton, drive 2000kms in the South Island, ferry back across the straits and then fly back to Auckland from Wellington. I have jumped from the Skytower, paraglided in Queenstown, sea kayaked in Kaiteriteri, dived the wreck of the Lermontov, watched Orca and Hectors dolphins in the wild, swam with a seal, had a mud wrap in Rotorua, visited Hobbiton and the Weta studios, toured countless museums and galleries, walked coastal paths and mountain tracks, mountain biked at Wanaka, climbed volcanoes, watched the locals battle the world at cricket, visited Parliament and lots, lots more.

Who knows what my next chapter will bring me as I travel to Alaska?

Keep in touch everyone, it means a lot to me.

Paul x

Swimming With Dolphins...Nearly!

Dolphins have always fascinated me. Such intelligent and attractive mammals. The desire to see them, swim with them and ultimately give one a hug dates back as far as I can remember. Perhaps it was due to watching 'Flipper' as a boy?

Can you believe that in all my years of diving and swimming in seas and oceans around the world - I have never actually seen a dolphin? After diving the Lermontov, as we drove away, I could make out a pattern of fast moving splashes crossing the bay. How cruel? To see dolphins jumping where I had been swimming just hours earlier - now no more than specks in the distance.

But never say never. I knew that dolphin sightings were possible in New Zealand waters and I had heard that there were opportunities to swim with them in the wild. I went searching.

 

                                         

At Picton I found a reputable nature and wildlife company and I went in to find out more. What I learned was this: I could go out with the boat the next morning. We would go dolphin hunting and when we found them, I would be allowed to enter the water to interact with them. Perfect. There were just two provisos. 1. If we encounter killer whales (Orca), actually the largest dolphin species in the world, we would not be allowed to enter the water. 2. If we encountered Hectors Dolphins, the smallest dolphin species in the world, indigenous to South New Zealand waters and critically endangered - we would not be allowed into the water. 

Whilst I was in the booking office paying to go the next day a radio message came in from the two boats operating that morning "we are in the water. Repeat we are in the water. Hundreds of bottle-nosed dolphins. Over."

I paid, I left and I dreamed of dolphins.

The next morning I was due to arrive for 8.15am. By 7.30 I was stood outside the dolphin centre looking at my watch. I went to look at the vessel we would be using. I wandered the harbour watching the fishing boats heading out and eventually it was time to go in and get kitted out. Yet another wetsuit (though have you noticed how much slimmer I am looking in them!?) and then a briefing. Our guide would be Larissa and she explained about the five different dolphin species we could encounter this morning and reiterated the 'no swim' policy if we saw Orca or Hectors. She finished by adding that all week long they had had successful dolphin swimming encounters and reassured us that Orca are actually pretty rare in New Zealand waters.

                    

Eventually we set off and immediately everyone went into dolphin spotting mode. I could not have physically looked any harder. I scanned the horizon as our catamaran zoomed out into the Queen Charlotte Sounds. Yes - the scenery was stunning (if a little overcast to begin with) but I was watching the water. After 30 minutes we saw them, the distinctive black dorsal fins of ...Orca - a whole pod of them. Larissa jumped and squealed with excitement and the captain changed course. I smiled. It looked like I wouldn't be swimming with dolphins - but hey - this was a group of killer whales!

                                 

We approached slowly, observing nationally agreed dolphin encounter policies and everyone stood on the front decking and snapped pictures.

                                

                                 

                                 

The Orca were beautiful. It was a pod of 7, including some juveniles and a lead male. My they were large. Every so often they would surface and blast a spray of air from their blow holes and then submerge again. And they were fast. At one point, two of the younger males came over to our boat. One proceeded to swim under us and the other approached, did a barrel roll as it examined us from the side and then it went under. I was speechless. 

          

                                 

By this point I had changed out of my wetsuit, as we knew we would not be getting into the water. Seeing Orca is a double edged sword - on the one hand, who would ever complain about seeing such majestic creatures, whilst on the other - all the other dolphin species vanish when the Orca are about!

                                 

After enjoying our Orca encounter we set off to a sheltered bay where the crew knew we had a chance of seeing Hectors dolphins. Again, it would mean we would not be going into the water, but we did not mind. Leaving the Orca well in our wake we set off and resumed dolphin watching duties. 

                                 

                                 

                                 

It was worth it. Hectors Dolphins are so unbelievably cute. A fully grown adult will only reach 1.5m in length and the babies are like little bullets, immensely fast, and practically attached to their their mums as they swim along. They buzzed our boat repeatedly to have a good look at us all on the deck and we clapped, smiled and cheered. What a contrast! Orca measuring 8 metres+ and baby Hectors no bigger than a rugby ball! Amazing! 

                             

My thanks go to Dolphin Watch & Nature Tours, Picton. They were so professional, informative and enthusiastic. I had a wonderful time and really recommend them to everyone.