Alaska
The Great Land
Hello, and welcome to Alaska!
Alaska is a great place to live. I was born here in the interior and grew up here my whole life. As I’ve gotten older I’ve become attached to it and really couldn't call any other place home. Alaska is great because of the many things it has to offer ~ beautiful nature, wildlife, lots of space and privacy, plus much much more.
The Land and People
As most people know, Alaska is the largest state and the least populated. There are a total of 634,000 people living in Alaska, spread over 571,000 square miles, which equals roughly 1/5 the size of the rest of the USA.
That means there is an average of only 1 person per square mile!
Although that is a lot of space, people are mostly concentrated in cities. There are only about 5 or 6 major cities in Alaska, including Anchorage, the largest city, Fairbanks, the second largest city, and Juneau, the capitol. The Fairbanks North Star Borough in the interior of Alaska, which includes Fairbanks, North Pole, Eilson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright Army Base, is home to 83,000 people.
The rest of Alaska's population live in what are known here as villages. These people are mostly Alaska Natives or Alaskan Indians. There are countless villages all around the state, usually far away from the cities. They generally contain very small populations, and there are several different tribes.
The natives in the villages lead a subsistance lifestyle by hunting and fishing off the land.
I live in North Pole, 10 miles outside Fairbanks. A lot of people are confused and think it is THE North Pole at the top of the globe, but it isn't. However, it is a small town, and most people who live in North Pole commute to Fairbanks for work. It was originally founded to be a perpetual Christmas year round, hence the name, but it never really took. We have street names like Holiday Road and Santa Claus Lane. There is also a huge 30 foot Santa next to The Santa Claus House, which is a large store that attracts tourists. There are even some street lights in the town shaped like candy canes.
Activities and Recreation
Nearby the town of North Pole is Chena Lakes, a large recreation area with a man made lake. The Chena River is also nearby, and my family frequently makes trips out on our boat in the summer time. The Chena goes right through the heart of Fairbanks.
The Tanana River is also nearby, and it is known for its gray cloudy water, which looks that way because of the high amounts of sand and silt in the river.
Outdoor activities are common here in the interior and all throughout the state. People enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, kayaking and four-wheeling in the summer. "Mudding" is also common. For those who aren't sure what it is, mudding is an activity that mostly young people participate in, and it involves driving vehicles through huge mud bogs or having races in these bogs. In the fall and winter, hunting, snowboarding, skiing and snow machining are prevalent.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline here in the state is 800 miles long and goes from Valdez to Prudoe Bay, carrying oil. Every Alaskan resident receives a yearly dividend of about $1500 to $2000 from the oil. Free money is always a nice perk to have!
Weather and Daylight
Most people associate Alaska with freezing temperatures. This is only partially true. Winter temperatures are about 0 to -50 degrees,
although the past couple of winters have been extremely mild, not dropping below -10 for the most part. Winter usually lasts from about October to March. April is known as break-up when the snow starts to get mushy and the weather starts to warm up. Summer temperatures in the interior range around 60 to 85 degrees, and it can get very hot. Summer usually lasts from about May to August or early September. We do have all the seasons here, winter, spring, summer and fall, though fall and spring don’t last long.
Alaska has several nicknames including The Great Land, and Land of the Midnight Sun.
It is called this because in the summer we get almost 24 hours of sunlight making it light out at all hours of the night. But in the winter, it is reversed. There are only about 3 hours of sunlight on December 21, the shortest day of the year. After December 21, we slowly 'gain back' light a little bit each day until the longest day of the year, June 21. Then we begin to 'lose' light a little bit until the shortest day again, so it is a year long cycle that most people don't quite understand until they have experienced it.
In the winter we have the northern lights or aurora borealis. They are waves of colors and light in the sky caused by electrons colliding with the Earth's magnetic field. They are very beautiful, and the most common colors are blue, green and red.
Wildlife and Nature
Alaska has a large variety of wildlife, including some of the biggest game on the continent.
We are home to Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, moose, caribou, mountain goats and bighorn sheep to name a few. My father hunts moose every year and we eat it all year round. This may sound strange to some people but it tastes very similar to beef. Some of the smaller animals that live here are foxes, rabbits, squirrels and porcupines. 
Alaska also is home to many large birds, such as ptarmigan, grouse, and numerous species of hawks and eagles, including bald eagles.
Most of Alaska is covered by forests, marshy tundra or mountains. Glaciers can also be found here. Alaska is home to Mt. McKinley, also called Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Some of the common trees here are birch, spruce and willow. Common wild flowers are fireweed, daisies and irises. Rivers and lakes are very abundant. Salmon fishing is extremely popular, and other fish native to Alaska include grayling, trout, pike and burbot. Common insects include 'pincher bugs' or longhorn beetles, carpenter ants, dragonflies, and tiger swallowtail butterflies.
Traditions and Customs
The interior of Alaska is a very friendly community. The people are down to earth and welcoming of others. Every year,
there are traditional events we have in North Pole and Fairbanks. One is the World Ice Art exhibits. People from different countries come and compete by creating artwork from huge slabs of ice. These can be anything, from animals to abstract. Some even make slides, mazes and playgrounds of ice for children to enjoy.
In the summer, Alaskaland, or Pioneer Park is open to the public. It is a large public park with a lot of old houses of the pioneers. Many have been made into shops for people to browse in and visit.
There is a little train that you can ride in, as well as the Pioneer Museum, containing tons of interesting old artifacts.
In July, we have Golden Days, which is a week long celebration of the Gold Rush days of the 1800's in Alaska. There is a parade and a huge ducky race on the Chena River among other activities. People can dress up in period garb such as corsets and can can skirts for women, or old timey suits and hats for the men.
In August is the Tanana Valley State Fair. The fair has been a fun tradition for decades. People enter exhibits of all types to compete for ribbons and cash prizes. These are on display for all fair patrons to enjoy. There are also animal and livestock competitions and shows, concerts and events, games and carnival rides, not to mention many booths of delicious fair food.
Fireworks are legal here, and around the 4th of July and New Years, they are sold at stands around town. A lot of people buy fireworks and use them all throughout the year. They look very pretty against the blackness of a winter sky.
Fun Facts
Admission to Statehood: January 3, 1959
State Bird: Willow ptarmagin
State Flower: Forget-me-not
State Tree: Sitka spruce
State Nickname: The Last Frontier
State Motto: North to the Future
Below are a few Alaskan links, some to places mentioned above. I hope this page has enlightened you on life in The Great Land.
City of North Pole Home Page
North Pole High School
Fairbanks Visitors Bureau
Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce
Fairbanks North Star Borough
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)
Tanana Valley State Fair
Iditarod Dog Sled Race