Alaska

North to Alaska! North to the Future! The Last Frontier! The Great Land! 

Alaska holds many lures for people from around the globe and the reasons that entice these people to this great land are countless. Some come to visit while others come to make this place their home. I have found that those who come to visit leave with a grand feeling of amazement, even though most only get to see a tiny fraction of the state’s wilderness. The common visitor travels the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska, to Anchorage, and then to Denali National Park, which would geographically be like a visit to Atlanta Georgia, Springfield Missouri, and then Des Moines Iowa. Which I suppose does not sound very exceptional but if you think of it in terms of the variation of scenery you might have visited New Zealand, minus the sheep, Bergen Norway, minus the cute houses, and Denali National Park, there are no comparisons that I would hazard to guess could be placed up against Denali.

Visiting Alaska is like any other vacation; you get a glimpse of new sights, eat the local gastronomy, and enjoy vistas that are different from where you call home. But making the choice to live here is a standalone story of extremes.

The population of Alaska in the 2010 census was 710,231 of which only 14.8% are American Indian or Alaska Native which leaves 85.2% of the population, what I call, transplants. These transplanted persons arrived in bulk between 1940 and 1970 with some of us now being second generation Alaskans, which by the way is a big deal around the state for the non-Alaska Native population. There are some who can claim the title of third generation Alaskan but granted they are few and far between at this point, but in time I can see their numbers growing in the generations that follow.

Even though our population numbers have grown at a rate of 13.3% in this new century I can tell you that there have been plenty of old timers, Sourdoughs, who have left the state for warmer sunnier climates. They are moving to places where the physical demands of the daily living conditions are not so harsh, leaving room for Cheechakos to make this state their new home.

These Cheechakos (or if we were talking about the wild-west of the Southwest United States they would be called Greenhorns) always show up with wide eyes and grand dreams of the Last Frontier. Most of them arrive with their heads filled with falsehoods and myths about what it takes to survive their first winter in Alaska. In truth this unforgiving land will chew you up and spit you out like an old piece of leather if you are not careful. Most Cheechakos do not and cannot fathom the psychological reactions that are induced by the lack of daylight. The effects that the darkness has on a person’s wellbeing can change the thought processes that control their daily life choices. They in turn make decisions that they would not otherwise have made, causing a chain reaction of mayhem and dysfunction. The darkness coupled with bad choices is one of the largest contributing factors for an unsuccessful transition to living in Alaska.

Likewise the summer with its seemingly endless supply of sunshine and never ending days swings the pendulum to the other side of the extreme. There is an abundance of joy and laughter, life is good again, until the crash. Winter will be back, and the dark of night will rule our behavior.

I recently read a survey that pegs those that live in Alaska among the happiest in the nation. If this survey was conducted in the summer months I could completely believe its outcome. However, ask any Alaskan the same survey questions in the deep of winter, or if they truly enjoy living here, if they are happy, and you will most assuredly receive a different result.

As Alaska comes out of its winter stupor and the daylight returns I can tell you, I for one, am happy to be Alaskan. Bring on the summer!