Neighbor John
We were renting a house on Mirror Lake - out in Peter's Creek (about a 45 min. drive north of Anchorage). Our family had just settled in, when our next door neighbor, John Pex and his wife, Patty stopped in to welcome us to the "lake" community.
Now, Patty looked like any other housewife in America, but John was - as I had pictured in my verdant imagination, what an Alaskan man should look like - a cross between Grizzly Adams and a Lynryd Skynrd band member! A burly, intimidating looking fellow with a long red beard. I must admit, I was a bit fearful of him at first, but he proved to have the temperament of a big ol' teddy bear. Both our neighbors were friendly and welcoming, but Patty was more lively, John was on the laid bk side and more quiet in nature.
Since we were new to Alaska, John and Patty were helpful in answering questions we had regarding our new home. One of the topics that most fascinated our children(and us adults as well) were stories/facts about bears and bear attacks. My husband and I wanted to be thoroughly informed before we ventured out into the back country and the kids just wanted all the hair raising, gooseflesh-making horror stories !
At the time, John was the head surveyor with the State of Alaska, and it was his job to survey 150 acre native tracks of land out in the bush. He regaled us with many stories of his adventures including bear encounters. One day, as we sat on the Pexs' deck overlooking the lake/drinking one of John's homemade brews, Patty mentioned that John had won a medal/citation from the Department of the Interior for bravery. We asked her to tell the story and this is what we learned about our sweet and laid bk friend:
John was out surverying for the summer. I believe it was over in the Lake Clark Nat'l Pk area. Anyway, he was accompanied by two other surveyors/survey assistants - one male and one female. Evidently, the two had hiked up the trail ahead of John. (Most bear attacks occurr when a bear is surprised - either when it is feeding on a moose kill, or traveling along with young cubs). In this case, the two unfortunate surveyors surprised a brown bear- maybe they weren't making enough noise, or this could have just been a more aggressive bear - the bear proceeded to grab the man by the head. The woman, seeing this play out before her started screaming in terror and shock. The bear dropped the guy and honed in on the woman. He attacked. John, hearing their screams came running...he pulled up his rifle - took aim and the bear charged at him. I was so caught up in Patty's story, can't remember if it was three shots or four - before that bear fell. Patty said when it did, its massive body lay very close to wear John was standing! Patty made that statement and matter of factly added the info that John had fired his last round/bullet! He then in turn, carried each one of those surveyors out to a pt where they could be picked up by helicopter and airlifted to the hospital.
This trek was of some distance and made more difficult by the bush terrain. The ground is hard to traverse, due to frost heaves and vegetation. As John carried the badly injured hikers, he had to tend/apply pressure to their wounds to prevent severe bleeding! Can you imagine the physical and mental fortitude this task required? I believe they both survived - at least the woman did for sure.
After hearing this story, we looked at John in a whole new way. This unassuming man had the strength/bravery to stand his ground and save his friends/coworkers. In all the time he had been regaling us with stories of the bush and bear encounters he never mentioned his amazing act of courage! He was flown to Washington D.C., where he was cited for his bravery.
Advise for handling our harsh winter...
Many of you ask me how we put up with the harsh and lightless winters back home. You liken Alaskans to the pioneers of the Old West - hardy, full of endurance and grit. You picture us in -45 degree temps - bundled in layers of furs, snowshoed/bunny booted, beard adorned....icicles hanging from those same beards/nose hairs frozen - and when we speak it is garbled - unintelligible for aren't we crazy with the cabin fever? Oh, naive outsider, this is not the case! See photo above.
Not that Weed!
In many photos of Alaska, you will notice an abundance of the flowering herb known as fireweed. When I first saw a field of this pink petaled beauty - it took my breath away! I asked one of my friends who was a long time Alaskan, how it got the name fireweed - since it was covered with those lovely pink petals....she responded that it gets its name because it grows easily at the sites of forest fires.
The plant does like slightly acidic soil. It colonizes quickly as long as their is plenty of light (which we have in summer!) and open space (another thing we have plenty of!). The plant, besides it beauty is useful as a source of Vitamin C and A. The native Alaskans use the plant as a food source and for medicinal purposes as well. I have used it to make jam and jelly it is of a sweet/spicy delicate flavor. Delicious!
Fireweed has the pink flowers during the summer months. The petals start out blooming at the middle of the stalk and continue to bloom up the stalk as the summer progresses, it is said that you know summer is over when the flowers reach the top!" One of the other reasons it may have been tagged "Fireweed" is once the flowers are done blooming, the stalk turns a reddish colour.
Changes
Break-up v. to separate into parts with suddenness; to collapse or give way, to change suddenly
A friend of mine from Arkansas was visiting one winter/early spring. Took her to one local hotspot where we sourdoughs shake the cabin fever by dance, dance, dancing the night away. She overheard Jim talking about a "break-up" and remarked it was too bad he was having girlfriend troubles...I explained that break-up had a different significance in the Last Frontier:
Webster's Dictionary cites the above definition of break-up. The second portion of the above is the most appropriate: " to collapse or give way, to change suddenly". Our breakup is nature's melting process: snow and ice melt fairly rapidly - usually within several wks. anywhere from late March - April...even May some years! Many Alaskans would argue the point that breakup does not come quickly enough - after months of shoveling driveways, dodging potholes and darkness to/from work....When I was new to Alaska and still a cheechatko (a newcomer to the ak), break up could be a little unsettling...the sound of ice "cracking" on a lake is frightening when you are boring a fishing hole with your trusty auger - once firm ice - now softened into a top layer of slush! Fortunately that slush covers another two feet of good ol' ice pack. It is amazing how quickly this, too, will disappear. You drive by Jewel Lake on your regular work commute and it is blanketed with its winter ice coat...then take your usual glance one afternoon and voila! the ice is just a memory!
One of my favorite break up activities is betting the Nenana Ice Classic/Breakup Lottery. It has been going on since 1917. A bunch of really smart folks in Nenana, (or maybe they were just bored out of their light deprived minds) - anyway, these sun starved hustlers got the idea to set a tripod up on the Tanana River come January. They set up the tripod, attached a rope and then tied the rope to a clock on the river bank. When the ice gives way sometime in April or May, the tripod falls down tripping the rope and this records the exact time the ice gave way! Last year, the ice let go on April 27 at 3:47 pm -Alaskan Time. 22 people split $303,272.00 - and that is no bullchitna (ak for BS - Chitna is a town on the Copper River).
Ok, the best part about breakup is it signals the end of winter and the beginning of ...no, not spring/summer - you guessed it construction season! (We only have two seasons winter and construction - whoever thought up gold stars on a field of blue for our state flag was way off...our standard/banner should have been those orange pennants the flaggers use).
An "Outside Perspective"
When I was about eight years old, some friends of my parents sold us an Alaskan Malamute puppy. Mom asked us to name it and when we couldn't come up with anything, she suggested we pull out a map of Alaska and choose a moniker for our new family member. Scrunching my eyes shut, I pointed my finger downward and pressed it firmly onto the map. It landed on a strange sounding place called Sitka.
We named our puppy "Sitka" and from that moment on, I was fascinated with the state that had such strange sounding town names like: Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Kenai, Talkeetna, Ninilchik -mountains named Denali and Chugach - people named Yupik, Innuit and Tlingit... I dreamed of one day visiting/living in this faraway place - it appealed to my adventurous spirit and when we were given that opportunity years later - I was so excited! I remember driving the Alaska Hwy - through Canada and its beautiful Yukon Territory - traveling through Alaska and arriving in southcentral...You know how sometimes you have this feeling of belonging and you don't know why? I knew right away that this magnificent and awe inspiring country was for me! We settled in to our new home and never left - raised four children there.
A few years ago, I moved to Florida to spend time with my elderly parents. When I mention that I am from Alaska, people comment "why would you want to live there?" and "bet you are glad to get away from the cold". But a life on the beach isn't for everyone! Don't think I will ever make a beach bunny. The summer sun can be harsh, the humidity stifling at times and the sand is unforgiving in its relentless seeking out of body cracks and crevices - it is also a long drive from one end of Front Beach Rd. to the other in a seemingly endless caravan of tourist conveyances!
Oh, I am not whining. I can hear you light deprived Alaskans now: "why complain when you are enjoying 70-80 degree temps in January and Feb.? Sure, I am human and do enjoy the $1.00 daquiris, warm Gulf waters, and balmy nights and i don't miss our icy Alaska roads, snow plowings that don't occur on time and the dark winter days.
I guess I truly am an Alaskan woman at heart! I prefer the wilderness/woods - pine for that first Alaska snowfall (when you wake up one morning and your whole world is clean and pure), that rosy Alpenglow above my beloved Chugach Mtns, the fireweed blooming in summer, stopping your car in the middle of Minnesota to watch a moose saunter across, the friendly, helpful nature of our people - all the sights sounds/smells and happenings of life "up top"? I feel so lucky to have called Alaska home! I will never take for granted the unspoiled beauty or quality of live we are blessed with on the last frontier!