Talk About Town

              It's been a month since I've arrived in Alaska..land of the midnight sun. It has been very sunny, hasn't rained since I got here actually. The sun "dims/sets" around 12ish I guess and brightens back up around 5:30ish. Don't know exactly cause I'm never awake during those hours, but it always looks like dusk. June 21st is the summer solstice and apparently it's a big deal up here. It's the day where the sun just skims along the horizon then comes back up. The day with the longest amount of light. From then on out we lose some everyday. Then I hear that by Agust and September it will be dark like back home.

Ah back home. What I'm missing most this week:

Chic-fil-a

The moon

Easy places to tap mac (people look at me weird when I say tap mac, no clue what it means)

HUGS..haven't had a good hug in a while

A cozy couch

   Spring is in full bloom here. All the daisies are up and these cool purple flowers are popping up all over. I haven't been into town for a while but there isn't much to do there so don't miss it too much.

    It's actually kind of interesting how the different towns in Alaska vary. Talkeetna is super small with a few gift shops, places to eat, a tiny WAYYYYY over priced food store and that's about it. The main strip is dusty and rather run down looking. Town has a great mix of the tourist walking around, the town dogs wandering all over the place, shoeless, dirty hoola hooping people..guess they would be the free spirits, I'd thought I'd find a little more of around here. I'm a little let down now that I come to think about that part. I had hopes of coming here and finding these awesome free spirit tree huggers who would help me express myself but I haven't. At least not yet. And people are referring to me as the hippie one. And another thing, since town and the surrounding area is so small EVERYONE knows each other and their business...

    Talkeetna is a cute little town with an awesome view of McKinley and The River and a few hiking trails and lakes to canoe on. Many of the locals live in cabins way off the road a few miles from town. Quite a few have no running water or use a well to get it. The others have to drive to haul their water. To do laundry and take a shower they go to a restaurant in town that offers all that plus lodging on the cheap. And for a bathroom they have an outhouse. I'm still so intrigued by this and want to go with a local coworker to check out their house and how they live. In the winter many collect unemployment or find side jobs haul wood or doing things like that. Also by being a resident in Alaska every year you get $1-3,000 just for living here from the oil companies.

    So while I love Talkeetna and this entire experience living here once is enough....I   think..haha

      But Seward on the other hand...

   Seward is a coastal town maybe four hours south of here. I went there for four days last week for an adventure. Seward has a huge port and major fishing there along with a main street that has much more and looks way more modern. The landscape is different there. It is a bit more mountainous but more rounded not so jagged like Talkeetna. There is a larger variety of things to do in Seward. Many more hikes are available, places to go, things to do and see. But gas is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I'd say around here and heading down south average right now is $4.16 but in Seward $4.56...crazy!!  And along with Talkeetna I hear that in Seward everyone knows each other and their business. I actually overheard a guy talking about Chester County when I was there. Went over to him and he is from Coatseville! Small word, that is crazy. Many people in Alaska are from Michigan, Minnesota and one other state I can't remember right now. I enjoyed my time is Seward but it rains a lot and there are many other places I want to get to before I go back.

 I'm loving my adventure up here and wouldn't change it for a minute. It's nice to be a bit more relaxed and not have the east coast hustle bustle all the time. Still no bears....

I also counted how many days I have let here. It's around 102 days. I count for two reasons:

1. To know how long it will be till I see my family

2. To be aware of my time here to make EVERY DAY COUNT