Alaska?!

Walking Mileage: 4.64
November Miles Walked: 37.78
Temperature upon departure: 52* (this morning)
Humidity: 73%

Alaska stays in your blood, no matter where you go or how long since you've been in the 49th State it's there. The frozen north takes hold of your soul and you become part of it. It's almost as though setting foot in Alaska the land grows a root in your inner being. I meet people everyday here in Georgia that have visited or perhaps knew someone that lived there, or can't believe that they are meeting someone from Alaska. Those that have been all have a story, and tell it like it was yesterday. I'm always surprised when it was over 15 years ago! They tell the stories like Alaska is as foreign as visiting the moon. To them it was quite the accomplishment to have visited during what I call 'tourist season' and they are impressed if they knew someone that lived there. They always seem impressed with meeting me too. It goes like this:

Them-"Hey where you from? You don't seem like ya're from 'round here."

Me-"Oh I'm from Alaska."

Them- "Alaska?! What part?"

Me- "I claim Anchorage, I was born there." (I'm always surprised when they know any other city/town name.)

Them- A. "Wow! I never met anyone from Alaska before. My wife wants to go to Alaska, maybe next year in November (or some other absurd statement or question.) ...or...

B. "I went to Alaska once, it was beautiful. (Enter trip details here- such as I went on a dog sled, or walked on a glacier. Followed by trying to figure out where along the panhandle they stopped on the cruise ship because they don't remember names.)"...or...

C. "My cousin's husband (or Whomever) lived there back in the 70's (or when ever), he was in the Air Force (or whatever) in Fairbanks/Anchorage."

Questions such as "how long did it take you to drive here?" or "have you ever seen a Polar Bear?" or "Did you live in an igloo?" are among my favorites. I always imagine them going home and telling their families about meeting me, this "girl from Alaska." My friend Gary is Athabaskan Indian, he looks like an Indian with his long black ponytail and smiling face. He does a hilarious sterotypical "how" too! His "white" granddaughter took him to show and tell at school one day to show her classmates that her Grandpa was a 'Real Indian'. I guess I know a little how he feels now that I am the anomaly of a 'Real Alaskan' in the Lower 48.

I've been reading blogs from Alaskans, some living in Alaska and some living elsewhere in the world. They all seem to have a very different perspective on things, on life. They notice the changes in the weather, they report the changes in facts and write about it like it is part of them. They write about conversations, or observations of people that they don't actually know. A two second conversation with an Alaskan has a lot of meaning to those that spend most of the year in the dark. Alaskans blogs often have undertones about a drive within themselves, a tangible drive that compares to endurance athletes. Alaskans want to see how far they can go, how far they can push themselves, they look for new challenges. Real Alaskans feel the changes in themselves, and they enjoy the journey every step of the way!