Alaska is Huge and Possibly Not

 I recently returned from Alaska and because I often refuse to believe that Time Management is an actual Thing, please accept this travelogue in place of your regularly scheduled content.

3:36 p.m. Arrived. Safe and sound. Flew Alaska Airlines because I figured they would know the way. Also thought they might be the only airline flying into Fairbanks. They did, and they aren’t. There. Saved you a google search. You’re welcome.

3:53 p.m. Have located baggage, secured my suitcase, and found my guide, all of that is less than 20 minutes. This is due more to the size of the airport—tiny—than to the efficacy of my actions.

4:00 p.m. No polar bears or moose in sight. It is still daylight. I feel I have been misled. There is some snow on the ground but it’s what I would call a “skiff.” I’m wondering if Alaska is mostly made up of hyperbole. The sun is shining and it’s 46*. I don’t know if this is due to the afore mentioned hyperbole, climate change, or if Mother Nature is simply trying to lull me into a false sense of security. I keep my parka on, just in case.

4:05 p.m. Still daylight. Just sayin’.

6:06 p.m. There. The sun (finally) set. I know, I watched it to make certain. They seem to have an abnormally amount of sky here, but I don’t see any mountains. We are having dinner at a Thai restaurant, in Alaska. As one does. There seems to also be a large number of Thai restaurants here. The curry at this restaurant—Lemongrass Thai-- is amazing. It does not have salmon in it.

3:00 a.m. Out searching for the Northern Lights. They remain elusive.

8:30 a.m. We have secured the Best Donuts in the World and are headed east to watch the sunrise. There is time to stop and secure caffeine as well, because the sunrise happens at a very civilized hour.

9:08 a.m. Sunrise. Frozen Tundra. Caffeine. A bacon covered maple bar the size of your daily allotment of calories. Snow is in the forecast, as is a trip to the North Pole. Still no moose or bear sightings but I am assured that I will see Santa, so I will reserve judgement as to the veracity of the Alaskan tales I have been told. 

Like the Biblical Thomas, I will be the judge of that with my own two eyes.

Santa's Address

The North Pole

Santa