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the beauty and majesty of ALASKA

scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
edited May 2006 in General Discussion

Comments

  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Agreed! I've got so many photos from AK I've
    only seen the majority of them once! Most
    photogentically awesome place on Earth![:D]

    ... and, of course, there are other spots that
    are equally as awesome - in different ways!

    bc25bbd8.jpg
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    Agreed! I've got so many photos from AK I've
    only seen the majority of them once! Most
    photogentically awesome place on Earth![:D]

    ... and, of course, there are other spots that
    are equally as awesome - in different ways!

    bc25bbd8.jpg

    Thats an awesome picture[:)]
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Not taken by me ... but I have many that are close!

    We live in a MAGNIFICENT country ... and Alaska IS
    the gem in her Crown of Glory![:D][:D][:D]
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    did you do the inside passage?
    remember this one?
    6589307-R1-015-6.jpg
  • 1911a1-fan1911a1-fan Member Posts: 51,193 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I do not believe that is Alaska, looks more like nova scotia or Russia, i see no proof those pictures where taken in Alaska













    nice pics just razzen ya scott
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by 1911a1fan
    I do not believe that is Alaska, looks more like nova scotia or Russia, i see no proof those pictures where taken in Alaska

    I think youre right...and we all know the photographer is a whackjob













    nice pics just razzen ya scott
  • cussedemguncussedemgun Member Posts: 985 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Scott,

    Don't forget to tell the nice people about the;

    Rain, day in & day out, all you get is rain

    Bugs, even the Alaska state bird is a "mosquito"

    COLD, all that ice & snow

    Isolation, you can go for miles, even days without seeing another person

    Darkness, night is 6 months long

    Did I mention rain?

    Please tell it like it is, we're up to our hip pockets in tourists already. Do you realize how many of them will want to stay? If this keeps up the "Last Frontier" is gonna' fill up fast.

    Really, trust me, you would'nt like it here!

    P.S.
    The lighthouse pictured is Dryad Point, B.C. (near Bella Bella)

    http://www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights/dryad/

    Canada still maintains "manned" light houses as opposed to U.S. method of automating them.
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    I'm thinking of getting a small place near Talkeetna
    - three months of the year it's paradise ... the other
    nine months it's a White Hell (to me) ... anyone
    interested in going in as a 3/4:1/4 pardoner, let me
    know![:D][:D][:D]

    http://media.putfile.com/ravenstoke

    (It's not Talkeetna but has it's interesting points, too![:D][:D][:D])
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by cussedemgun
    Scott,

    Don't forget to tell the nice people about the;

    Rain, day in & day out, all you get is rain

    Bugs, even the Alaska state bird is a "mosquito"

    COLD, all that ice & snow

    Isolation, you can go for miles, even days without seeing another person

    Darkness, night is 6 months long

    Did I mention rain?

    Please tell it like it is, we're up to our hip pockets in tourists already. Do you realize how many of them will want to stay? If this keeps up the "Last Frontier" is gonna' fill up fast.

    Really, trust me, you would'nt like it here!

    P.S.
    The lighthouse pictured is Dryad Point, B.C. (near Bella Bella)

    http://www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights/dryad/

    Canada still maintains "manned" light houses as opposed to U.S. method of automating them.

    thats why I asked zip if he went the inside passege...the only way to see it
    yes the weather can be miserable and so can tourists
    6589306-R1-040-18A.jpg
    6589306-R1-050-23A.jpg
    these cruise ships nearly ran me over the night before


    Do you recognize this lighthouse?
    6589307-R1-017-7.jpg
  • Bill CostikBill Costik Member Posts: 1,845 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I loved Alaska, when i was up there. I'm moving up there when I'm out of school.
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    quote:scottm21166:
    thats why I asked zip if he went the inside passege...the only way to see it yes the weather can be miserable and so can tourists

    Sorry, Scott - I missed that question, somehow, I guess. The answer is, YES!

    4db8a77e.jpg
    139aa9b8.jpg
    ae534a54.jpg
    435fac83.jpg
    20dd8861.jpg

    Last summer Zippette talked me into taking another cruise - the Inland Passage -
    and I fought tooth and nail - BUT - she won! Actually, it was one of the most
    enjoyable trips to Alaska! Also, flew up to the Taku Glacier Lodge next to the
    glacier - AWESOME!

    One of the very best things about Alaska is that no matter where you go it's
    totally different than any other part that you've seen! Every time we say, "We've
    finally seen Alaska!" ... nope - next trip we see another totally different part -
    the state's so darned HUGE I'm getting to the point that one can never see it all!

    Zipette's sitting here - just glanced over and watched me working with some of
    the photos and has informed me it's time to go again!

    OK![:D][:D][:D]

    Yeah - I highly recommend it to anyone/everyone who appreciates a thing of
    ultimate natural untouched beauty!

    ... and the eagles fly around up there like sparrows!

    Always take at least two cameras and you'll always wonder why you didn't
    take more photos. We' got a few thousand photos, I'd imagine - and still
    not enough![:D]
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    I made most trips without even bringing a camera...bummed a picture or two from one of the crew if they got one of something great....now I take a video camera. 35 mm and 2 digital with extra batteries film and tape...you just never know when the last time you get there will be....there is a spot I sit and watch for Elk in the rimrock lk area near Yakima from my vantage I am alone. no other hunters and there is a perfect view of Mt Ranier like I could reach out and touch it.
    I have never taken a camera there....I hope someday to have that as my final resting spot
  • surekillsurekill Member Posts: 1,926 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    And here I thought you were going to have MISS ALASAKA.[;)]
    nice pic guys.
  • cruzie27cruzie27 Member Posts: 1,267 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    I'm thinking of getting a small place near Talkeetna
    - three months of the year it's paradise ... the other
    nine months it's a White Hell (to me) ... anyone
    interested in going in as a 3/4:1/4 pardoner, let me
    know![:D][:D][:D]

    http://media.putfile.com/ravenstoke

    (It's not Talkeetna but has it's interesting points, too![:D][:D][:D])


    if i had the money to move back to Alaska i would do so in a heartbeat! when i first got stationed there i use to say i would never forgive the Army for sending me there,... now i say i can not thank them enough
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Here's a HOT ALASKAN TIP!

    IF you really want to get the BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK ... take
    the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks! STOP in Talkeetna, and take a
    jet boat up the river and watch the eagles - as numerous as sparrows!

    Stop again in Denali - do some white water rafting on the Nenana. They
    will outfit you with all you need - a white knuckle river - dry suits and all.

    There are some guys up in Healy that rent horses or will guide you into the
    bush - I forget the outfit's name - they're a 10 on a scale of 10! Healy a few
    miles north of Denali. Also, don't forget the tours of Denali Park - the size of CT!

    When you get to Fairbanks, check out the museum there at the university -
    awesome! Catch a hop (737) up to Point Barrow ... for a day trip up in
    Barrow - while there eat at Pepe's and chat with Fran (the owner) - best
    Mexican food outside the Southwest! She's usually there to chat with - an
    ex-oil engineer (North Slope) who reinvested her $$$ into Alaskan
    enterprises - sucessfully! Some say she's richer than God!

    There's a local tour there that is run by one of the town's high school teachers -
    uses an old school bus - forget his name - EXCELLENT TOUR of Barrow and
    vicinity! ... ask to see the Barrow National Forrest! He'll surprise you!

    IF you do those things you will have gotten a taste of Alaska! ... and you'll
    remain FOREVER HOOKED!

    ZIP & ZIPPETTE can attest to THAT!

    We're both addicted - lifers![:D][:D][:D]

    PS - if you are a pilot there are rentals all over the state - but - be prepared
    to pay for the hours.
  • cussedemguncussedemgun Member Posts: 985 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Alaska's most memorable sight!

    The "Norwegian Street Lights" in Petersburg, Alaska

    Petersburg is known as Alaska's "Little Norway"

    The street lights were'nt really made in Norway,
    they just call them that because they're
    "square & not too bright"
  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    I'm thinking of getting a small place near Talkeetna
    - three months of the year it's paradise ... the other
    nine months it's a White Hell (to me) ... anyone
    interested in going in as a 3/4:1/4 pardoner, let me
    know![:D][:D][:D]

    http://media.putfile.com/ravenstoke

    (It's not Talkeetna but has it's interesting points, too![:D][:D][:D])



    No thanks, I just bought 5 acres on a lake 70 miles NW of Fairbanks.[:D]
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    What's 5 acres cost up there? I have no sense of land value there.
    Just innocent curiosity - not planning to buy that far north.[:D]
  • KSUmarksmanKSUmarksman Member Posts: 10,705 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by cussedemgun

    Please tell it like it is, we're up to our hip pockets in tourists already. Do you realize how many of them will want to stay? If this keeps up the "Last Frontier" is gonna' fill up fast.

    Really, trust me, you would'nt like it here!




    I wouldn't worry too much unless its folks from the northern states.
    Just from my observations most Kansans (especially the students) are not prepared to survive in a cold winter. I walk to class properly equipped and feel no cold, most others resemble German troops at Moscow (ill dressed and freezing their cans off [:D])

    I doubt that most Americans are any better prepared unless they live in the states bordering Canada.

    Just tell them its so cold that when you park you need to plug your car into an electric socket or it'll freeze and not start
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    LOL .. we'll, during the 'Winter of '54' - I was a 9 year old kid -
    we wintered through a '100 year winter,' in Lake Orion, MI!
    The wind chill there has been estimated at -40? F for extended
    periods of days/maybe even weeks! It was enough to send us
    on our way to San Diego!

    I have absolutely NO desire to remain in the Big Lonely after
    the end of September, thank you. I'll hang here in the Lower
    Lats during the winter!



    ... for me, it's a matter of survival LOL [:D]
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    [
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    No thanks, I just bought 5 acres on a lake 70 miles NW of Fairbanks.[:D]

    Moose country....

    I was gonna tell a story about a nativve fellow in katzabue turns out he discovered his wife was havin an affair so he decides she needs to die for this betrayal. he kills her and hangs her dead body on the fish drying racks outside the village...in plain sight of the tour busses that pass by there daily in the summer...needless to say there were some very upset folks from the lower 48. A ak state trooper told me that ans d swears it's true.....
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Speaking of AK Troopers, one time we flew into Anchorage -
    Alaskan Airlines, out of LA - and there was a nasty looking,
    tattooed gang banger aboard! The second we walked into the
    terminal, two GIANT AK troopers walked up to the guy - actually,
    met him at the plane exit doorway - picked him up by the
    elbows and carried him quickly off into a small room, nearby,
    slamming the door behind them!

    I commented to a nearby skycap, "Wow, I wonder what THAT GUY did!?"

    He smiled and matter of factly replied, "Probably nuthin."

    He went on to say that if the crew saw a 'potential problem' for Alaska
    onboard, they'd inform the captain and he'd radio ahead to the
    troopers, who'd be there waiting for him/them to deplane.

    So, I asked him what they were going to do with the guy?

    The skycap assured me he'd be on the next plane south!

    I was kinda caught by surprise, so I said, "You can't do that!", along
    with a little nervous laugh!

    He kinda squinted up his eyes, leaned into me - about six inches
    from my face - and said, "THIS is OUR STATE and we can do DAMN
    WELL what we PLEASE!?"

    ... he left NO question in MY mind![:D][:D][:D]

    That just sums up Alaska to me! Common sense and the will to
    exercise it! I've always liked that!

    I've seen the Canadian border guards do that up in Yale, BC, but
    never figured anybody in the US had the guts to do such a (neat)
    thing![:D]
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    funny how racial profiling and good police work can be used in a single sentance[:D]
    Alaska troopers are tasked to cover huge expanses often only able to investigate crimes...they prevent them with such actions
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Yeah - it's also amazing that Alaska is relatively graffiti
    free ... coincidence?

    I think not![:D]
  • civiliansoldierciviliansoldier Member Posts: 430 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Anyone here done a hunting trip to Alaska, and how much for the trip? I figured on going there as a tourist, but if I could get in a hunt while I'm up there, why not?
  • civiliansoldierciviliansoldier Member Posts: 430 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Anyone here done a hunting trip to Alaska, and how much for the trip? I figured on going there as a tourist, but if I could get in a hunt while I'm up there, why not?
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Yes, I've hunted around Talkeetna with my friend, Jeff Sawyer.
    I have never hunted elsewhere with anyone else, but there
    are guides and outfitters in just about every town I've been in.

    The tourist season is short there - there aren't an abundance
    of places to stay - you have to make reservations ahead for
    lodgings and hunts - you can't just fly up and wing it.
    Reservations are very important!

    As far as touristing around is concerned, we've had a great
    time tour hopping. If planned well you can join one and then
    slide off onto another one for a specific place. Greyline Tours
    is quite popular and we hook up with them quite a bit.

    Like I said before, if you get to Fairbanks, take the 737 hop up
    to Barrow. It'll cost (used to, anyway) you around $250 without
    lodgings up in Barrow. You really don't need more than a day to
    see it ... unless you go out to the dump and follow the polar
    bears around. I highly recommend that side trip.

    That train trip up to Fairbanks has lured us in twice - get the
    observation cars (glass domed) if possible. You know, when
    you are in the High Rockies or the Canadian Rockies you can
    generally see two, three, maybe once I saw four ranges off in the
    distance! In Alaska you often will see seven, eight, etc. melting
    right into the distant horizon. Also in the train, don't really expect
    to sit down much - it's about 11 hours (as I recall) from Anch. to
    Frbnks. and just about all of it has been spent running around on
    the observation platforms between the cars shooting video and
    photos (digital & 35mm.) if you are still a 35mm guy, take all the film
    you can carry with you - it's expensive up there - as is almost
    everything. Food is quite pricey, too, everything has to be shipped up
    from the Lower 48.

    As far as wildlife - you will see LOTS - all over the place, everywhere.
    Summers are short and the wildlife is busy - especially the bears after
    the salmon start their runs.

    I get pretty wordy about Alaska because there is nothing like it - anywhere
    - well, maybe Eastern Siberia, but that's one place I haven't been. If you've
    ever been up through the Canadian Rockies in Alberta - up near Jasper -
    you will have a taste of what it's like up in the Big Lonely! Just multiply
    everything by about a factor of ten or fifteen!

    Everyone here should be required to go up at least once in their lifetime!
    ... but, then again there is that addiction thing - hard to do only once![:D]
  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    What's 5 acres cost up there? I have no sense of land value there.
    Just innocent curiosity - not planning to buy that far north.[:D]



    It was State land. I paid $4,000 for it and that is before I got the $268 per acre veterans discount. The State DNR is selling lot's of property in different sections of the State. Here is a link to the OTC Land Sales at the DNR office.

    http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/otc/index.cfm#region


    quote:I was gonna tell a story about a nativve fellow in katzabue turns out he discovered his wife was havin an affair so he decides she needs to die for this betrayal. he kills her and hangs her dead body on the fish drying racks outside the village...in plain sight of the tour busses that pass by there daily in the summer...needless to say there were some very upset folks from the lower 48. A ak state trooper told me that ans d swears it's true.....


    Can't be true as Kotzebue does not get tour busses. It's 500 miles NW of Anchorage, has a population of about 2500 people and no tourist trade other than out of state hunters.
  • dcon12dcon12 Member Posts: 32,036 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by aglore
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    What's 5 acres cost up there? I have no sense of land value there.
    Just innocent curiosity - not planning to buy that far north.[:D]



    It was State land. I paid $4,000 for it and that is before I got the $268 per acre veterans discount. The State DNR is selling lot's of property in different sections of the State. Here is a link to the OTC Land Sales at the DNR office.

    http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/otc/index.cfm#region


    quote:I was gonna tell a story about a nativve fellow in katzabue turns out he discovered his wife was havin an affair so he decides she needs to die for this betrayal. he kills her and hangs her dead body on the fish drying racks outside the village...in plain sight of the tour busses that pass by there daily in the summer...needless to say there were some very upset folks from the lower 48. A ak state trooper told me that ans d swears it's true.....


    Can't be true as Kotzebue does not get tour busses. It's 500 miles NW of Anchorage, has a population of about 2500 people and no tourist trade other than out of state hunters.


    Should we just call you Snopes? (Good to see you posting. How ya doing?) Don
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    Ive hunted on kodiak and afognak it was cheap six deer tags for 25 dollars...I wanted to shoot a brown bear with my pistol(657 41 mag) but that would cost 10 k for a non resident...non-residents have to have a guide for bears and shouldn't be without one for moose and caribou unless you are really good in the bush (re grizzley man)
    look up the alaske dept of fish and wildlife and they will send you a packet with current regs prices and an application. be careful to see where non residents can hunt and when...
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    quote:aglore:
    It was State land. I paid $4,000 for it and that is before I got the $268 per acre veterans discount. The State DNR is selling lot's of property in different sections of the State. Here is a link to the OTC Land Sales at the DNR office.

    Good price! I talked to my friend, Jeff, and he said that sounded good to him, too!

    Nice to know that there are still places that one can find/buy land at a reasonable price!

    Gonna put a cabin on it?[:D]
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    maybe it was katchemac and they were on a train?
  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    Gonna put a cabin on it?[:D]


    20X28 Cabin already in the works. These people on this web site specialize in remote cabin building at a very good price.

    www.friesenscustomcabins.com
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