Alaskan Winter Ale: It's Brewed with Spruce Tips, You Know!

Dear Alaskan Brewing Co;

When are you going to start exporting to Japan?

XO,

Kirsten

What an Experience

Two of my former students will be travelling from Kosovo to Alaska for jobs this summer. Culture shock indeed.

Can't view today's video postcard? Click here: http://yfrog.us/9hmarch62010z

Alaska + Alcohol

From the BBC...

Alaska alcohol: Bootleg bounty?

Ketchikan in 16 Pictures

I just returned from my trip up to Alaska. This is how I experienced Ketchikan:

The destination of that infamous "Bridge to Nowhere": Ketchikan Airport

Bears crawling down one of the totem poles at Saxman

Interested in buying this shack? It'll set you back $100,000

Bludgeoned fish

A spare chair (which is probably smelly and constantly damp from being outside)

An arriving cruise ship

Flight 1: To the Misty Fjords (inside the plane)

I was not in need of a barf bag (I hear that sometimes they get filled up and shoved under the seats...eww)

It was a brilliant day to fly

There's nothing quite like this sort of view

Flight #2: The mail run to Craig and Thorne Bay. The pilot is a guy I grew up with.

Aerobatics including spins are not approved

This time around, it was a grey and rainy day to fly, but it was still awesome

Sometimes I really miss Alaska

I ate halibut fish and chips all over Ketchikan looking for the best ones. The little shack on the cruise ship dock downtown not only has the best, but they're the cheapest as well. All those folks who eat only on the ships don't know what they're missing!

Had the "Bridge to Nowhere" been built, my dad would have had a nice, clear view of it.

To Hyder

...Well, almost. It's getting close to that time of year again, time for(what's been the last two years, at least) the yearly pilgramage north. I mean, how could anyone resist going to Alaska, especially when these mountains await?

As a first step in my preparations (besides buying the vehicle, of course), I took Skeena to the vet today to ensure that I will be able to import my domestic dog into Canada. Poor thing, she had shots, an exam, and a thermometer insertion that we had to put a muzzle on her to do. She is now a doggie fit to travel. I can't wait!