You can sample Alaska, but in the end it is only that.  A small part of the Alaskan experience. We travelled on most of the highways - Parks, Richardson, Glenn, Denali, Steese and Seward, but didn't go to the Southeastern Coast at all. We laughed at highway signs for dog sled crossings, moose, caribou and shoe shoers.  We puzzled over the difference between the white spruce and the black spruce. We expanded our glacial vocabulary, and we wondered if the knoll beside the Richardson highway is a palsa.

The Tiaga Photo by Kevin McBryde

Alaskan Sampler - Parting Thoughts

Nenana River from the Parks Highway Photo by Kevin McBryde

The Tiaga Photo by Kevin McBryde

Photo by Kevin McBryde

Sketches of the Alaskan Violet, low bush cranberry, red bearberry, soap berry and two unknowns (clockwise beginning at the top left). R. McMullan

You can sample Alaska, but in the end it is only that.  A small part of the Alaskan experience. We travelled on most of the highways - Parks, Richardson, Glenn, Denali, Steese and Seward, but didn't go to the Southeastern Coast at all. We laughed at highway signs for dog sled crossings, moose, caribou and shoe shoers.  We puzzled over the difference between the white spruce and the black spruce. We expanded our glacial vocabulary, and we wondered if the knoll beside the Richardson highway is a palsa.

We wore head nets and read the Milepost. We had some disappointments: wildlife viewing on the Denali Highway,  fishing in Valdez, too many clouds for the best views, cutting short of the Kenai Fjords Tour and we still don't know who Spenard is. We found crowds on the Kenai and solitude hiking outside Fairbanks and backpacking on the Denali Highway. We take home with us more knowledge of the wildlife, more respect for the Alaska Natives and better understanding of what it must be like to live in this strange land, at least during the summer.

© Regina M. McMullan, 2000