05/29/2006   English German
  Edition # 61  
San Francisco, 05-29-2006

Alaska

Michael People have repeatedly raved to us about Alaska. In May, the time finally came, and we went there for almost two weeks. However, Alaska is huge, and since the terrain is partially very rough, we focused on a tiny area near Anchorage.

How large Alaska is and what fraction we covered in two weeks is shown on the map below. We flew into Anchorage (A), drove to Kenai (K), down to Homer (H), and over to Seward (S). In no time, there were 700 miles on the rental car's odometer.
Figure [1]: Satellite image of Alaska and the places we visited.

Angelika Already during the approach to Anchorage, we realized how sparsely populated Alaska is. Looking out the window, we saw nothing but endless expanse to the right: no houses or roads in sight. To the left was Anchorage with its 260,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in Alaska, home to a whopping 40 percent of the total population.

All of Alaska has a mere 660,000 inhabitants and--by my calculation--at least as many bears. Since Alaska is separated from the other U.S. states by Canada, true locals refer to the "Lower 48" when they talk about the continental USA. Hawaii, the 50th state located far out in the ocean, is also left out by this reference.

Figure [2]: Frozen lake on the route from Anchorage to Homer

Alaska, unlike California, for example, did not come to the USA as a conquest prize, but was sold by the Russians in 1867 to the Americans like a piece of real estate for 7.2 million dollars. The poor American Secretary of State, William Seward, who sealed the deal, received harsh criticism at the time. It must have been a lot of money back then, which people would have preferred to spend on "more sensible" things. From today's perspective, the amount is, of course, ridiculous; there are houses in San Francisco that cost that much. The purchase was, as Michael noted several times during our vacation, worth every cent.

Figure [3]: Private planes in Anchorage

Large parts of the country are only accessible by plane. That's why Anchorage has the largest seaplane base in the world. You can book fishing tours to areas where you fly in by seaplane, fish for a few hours, and then hopefully fly back with a big catch.

In a country where winter temperatures prevail for an average of 7 months a year, combined with only a few hours of daylight, tourism is concentrated during the summer months of June to August. This leads to a flood of tourists in the more easily accessible areas of Alaska, which as a tourist you generally want to avoid.

The Kenai Peninsula we visited is said to be totally overwhelmed by RVs in the summer. However, since the area is already accessible in May, we decided to brave the perhaps slightly more unpredictable weather. A golden decision. There were hardly any tourists around, and everyone was delighted to see us, engaging in many a long chat with us. The weather initially showed its cooler side, which actually led Michael to buy a hat, probably his first since childhood. But then the sun even shone from the sky. Hooray!

Figure [4]: Motorhome in Homer

Michael Due to the long and harsh winter, Alaskans are overjoyed in the spring and run around in T-shirts and shorts at the first ray of sunshine (even though it's still 40 degrees Fahrenheit). The best time to travel in many areas is in May or September. During these months, it might still be (or already be) a bit cold, but there are neither swarms of mosquitoes nor tourists.

Figure [5]: Not a worldly city, but people go out until late at night: Anchorage

In May, the sun rises in Alaska at 5:30 AM and doesn't set until 10:30 PM. And after that, it stays light for at least another hour. This is great for tourists because you can hike until late in the evening without the fear of not being able to finish the trail due to encroaching darkness. People in Alaska also tend to eat dinner very late. It's not uncommon to see full restaurants in Anchorage at ten o'clock in the evening, whereas this is more of an exception in San Francisco.

Angelika Anchorage is a typical American city that sprang up from the ground. In addition to its beautiful location and some really good restaurants, the city boasts a great bike path, named the "Tony Knowles Coastal Trail." It is 11 miles long (about 17 kilometers), runs along the water, and is well shielded from any car traffic. Tony Knowles is, by the way, not, as Michael had assumed, a famous skateboarder (compare Tony Hawk), but a former governor of Alaska.

Figure [6]: Angelika on the bicycle on the Coastal Trail in Anchorage

Michael and I rented two bicycles and pedaled away. The bike shop guy also described a route to us, which made it a longer loop, and on the way back, we passed by a huge airfield for small planes. Hats off to this surprisingly good network of bike paths, which we found not only in Anchorage but also later in the much smaller town of Homer. Who would have expected that of Alaska?

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