Into the Wild!

Joseph and I are off to the big blue yonder, the land of the midnight sun....Alaska!

It has been a long time coming.  A place that I have always wanted to see.  One of many on my list of things to accomplish in life.  Joseph wants to see bears.  I want to see a touch a glacier.

Saturday is the summer solstice, the time when the sun doesn't even set in Alaska.  Be sure to bring your sleep mask, your black curtains, whatever.  It will be hard to fall asleep, but who would want to in a place like that.  Start in Anchorage, drive to Whittier where we jump in a cruise boat on the Prince William Sound to view tidewater glaciers: the kind that creak and groan as they inch towards the water, breaking off chunks of ice the size of a car.  Next, on the most beautiful drive in all of America, down the Kenai peninsula; destination, Homer, AK.  It is the end of the road at the end of all land on the peninsula.  An artist's community.  I expect it will be hard to leave.  Joseph will judge the place based on the quality of it's pottery, me, I base it on the quality of good cookin' and pristine landscapes.  We will spend three days there, visit an isolated island community, with floating art studios and coffee shop, via the mail delivery boat (aka "water taxi").  One of our days will be spent kayaking around the estuary, viewing sea life, rock formations, and volcanoes in the distance.  Next, we head up to Palmer, spending the whole day driving.  This the Matanuska Valley where you can find giant cabbages and zucchini squash the size of your head.  All due to the midnight sun and fertile soil.  From there, we traverse the lone Denali highway, preparing for our journey the following day into the Denali National Park.  We will hop onto a bus and ride into the park, 4 hours in one direction.  At any point can you get off the bus to hike around.  Soak in the landscape without a trace of human disturbance, view the wildlife: mountain goats, all sorts of birds, eagles, bear, moose.

A friend told me today that you are supposed to wear a bell for black bears and carry pepper spray for  grizzly bears.  And if you come across bear poop, you can tell the difference between the two bears.  The poop of the grizzly bear will have bells in it and smell like pepper spray.

At the end of our day of bus-riding and hiking, I'm sure we will be thrilled to be sitting by the river, relaxing.  The next day we travel south again to the small community of Talkeetna.  That night, we hop onto a small plane to take a sight-seeing flight around Mt. McKinley (known as Denali to the natives - which is it's original name) and then land on a glacier half way up the mountain.  It will be thrilling to say the least.  I'm quite nervous about that portion of the trip, but I'm sure it is well worth the stress.  A night in Talkeetna, and then back down to Anchorage where we spend two nights, riding bicycle around the coastal trail, a vigorous hike to the top of Flat Top Mountain to view the sun before going to bed, and then a tour around the Heritage Center where we will see totem poles and learn about Alaskan history and it's people.

It is one trip (of many) of a lifetime.  So amazing.  We won't get to see all of Alaska.  It's just another reason to go back.  

It's no fun being sick

For some reason, I got sick.  Don't know how, who/where it came from, or what it even was.  At first I thought it was the flu (cold-like, not stomach).  It didn't pass for two days.  I rarely get sick and when I do, it is rough.  It knocks me down and kicks me hard.  Not fun.  After it didn't go away for a few weeks, naturally, I was concerned.  I thought it had morphed into a cold, and then moved onto a full-blown sinus infection.  Although, the timing was a bit coincidental in that this time in NC is when the dreaded yellow pine pollen rains from the sky.  You have to use your windshield wipers to disperse the distinct granules from your front window in order to begin your drive.  It covers everything in sight, so don't forgot to bring in your clothes from the drying line as they will all be a lovely shade of yellow.

Allergies run in my family.  I previously had not shown any symptoms.  This was my fear.  I am allergic to North Carolina.  

Support Your Local Farmers!

Pre-reading instructions:  This post contains interactive links to some websites.  Please feel free to click and discover!  This will be a common occurrence in future blogs as well, for how do we learn if we do not share ? 

On a weekly basis I get an email summary from the Climate Crisis Coalition (I know, a lot of doom and gloom business, but how are we going to change the world if we are ignorant?)

This posting below really rang true with mine and Joseph's passions right now. It should be a focus for all of us. The only way to make change is to support local foods, local farms, buy organic when possible, and plant your own garden. One of the most patriotic things you can do is to have your own garden and provide some of your own food. Eating from your own garden also lessens the crunch on your bank account. You also know exactly what sort of chemicals or additives you use on your produce (I recommend not using any, just some manure, vermicompost(the website isn't mine, although it's coming!), and a good organic leaf mulch). Count how many fruits, vegetables, and other daily staples (and unnecessary calories added to our bodies) are from a different country. Herbicides, pesticides and fungicides that have been banned for decades (remember DDT?) are still being used in these countries. Join a Community Supported Agriculture program/farm in your area. They will deliver a box of fruits and veggies that are in season to your doorstep. Join the Slow Food Movement. Shop at your local farmer's market. Eat in season and eat a diverse range of foods and food groups. Your body is a temple. Eat to Live, not Live to Eat.

Take Note, Rome: Loss of Biodiversity and Sustainable Farming Practices Are Big Contributors to Hunger. Commentary by Gonzalo Oviedo, BBC News, June 2, 2008.

"We have a global food crisis... Unsustainable agricultural policies and technologies, inequitable trade rules, agricultural subsidies that distort the markets, and the systematic marginalization of small producers lie at the heart of [it]... [along with] chronic under-investment in agriculture in developing countries, and a real neglect of the basic premise that ecosystems have to be in good shape... The... massive expansion of agriculture [over the past 50 years]... has left us with 60% of all ecosystem services degraded, accelerated species extinction, and huge loss in genetic diversity. Currently, four plant species -- wheat, maize, rice and potato -- provide more than half of the plant-based calories in the human diet, while about a dozen animal species provide 90% of animal protein consumed globally. We have already lost three-quarters of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops. As the agricultural frontier has expanded, those farmers previously dependent on [more diverse crops] have converted to cash crops. As traditional varieties and breeds die out, so too do the traditional knowledge and practices of local farmers. Those same practices could now be critical in adapting to climate change." Gonzalo Oviedo is senior advisor on social policy with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (formerly the World Conservation Union).

My boss has just published his second book and it talks about just this concept. It is called "Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy." Check it out here. Amazing. Inspiring.

We live the way we want to, in hopes that someone else will notice and ask why we are so happy. It is, then, that we will tell them.