My Experience of Alaska
 Forthcoming from DeeAnn Pederson
The Nature of Alaska
By Bradford Glass
Alaska is overload for the senses. Wildlife beyond measure, mountain vistas. On the coastline, majestic fjords, active glaciers and ice fields, salmon-filled rivers and abundant marine life -- whales, seals, sea otter. Denali, highest peak in North America presides over this land, and has found the same home in native American legend, worship and myth as well. In the Athabaskan language, the name means "The High One." The explosion of wildflowers in the spring and the equally spectacular explosion of fall colors seem to occur only a few weeks apart.
Protected by a number of national and state parks, Alaska hopes to retain its scenic grandeur, despite heavy pressure from "resource managers" and government to use the oil, gas and minerals hidden beneath its splendid surface.
A bull moose in the middle of a field of fall color tells the story - of life, abundance, cycles of nature, beauty, strength. The North American Moose can weigh up to 1600 pounds, with a mature bull showcasing a rack of antlers up to five feet wide. Standing seven feet at the shoulders, a bull Moose can corral a harem of up to fifteen females. One would have to conclude this makes his dance card rather full, leaving little time for rest.
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"Monarch Of The Tundra"
"Saph-Fire"
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Alaska’s state bird, the Willow Ptarmigan, performs a unique wardrobe change in spring and fall, allowing them to blend in with their surroundings. Mottled like dirt in the summer, and pure white in the winter, they are perfectly camouflaged year-round, unless, of course, there is a particularly early snow, or perhaps no snow! Preyed upon by fox and owls, ptarmigan needs all the cryptic coloration it can find, for the availability of hiding places is often slim.
Alaska is also home to our national symbol, the bald eagle. 30,000 strong in the state, eagles congregate by the thousands in early winter to feed on late runs of salmon in thermally warmed rivers.
Glaciers, with their 3000-year old "blue ice," calving icebergs into misty fjords, create a thunderous roar that breaks the silence of the serene coast. Still active, although receding, Alaskan glaciers are still hard at work, sculpturing the land into what one day will perhaps be another Yosemite.
"Seward’s Folly," Alaska’s nickname after its purchase from Russia in the 1800s, was indeed no folly. Riches for the senses outweigh even its considerable riches of resources. Can we protect that which we need and care about so deeply? Our deep connection with the land, specifically with wilderness, is the best antidote we have to the frenzied life we are so sadly accustomed to.
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