Well I’m back from Alaska. I’ve loaded all my photos from the trip onto www.flickr.com/photos/seancarr54 …from there just click the Alaska folder and you can see all of them. It was a beautiful and awe inspiring place in every sense of the world. So much natural beauty is hard to take in sometimes when you aren’t used to it. I saw moose, black bear, brown bear, golden eagle, bald eagle and even a few squirrels. There’s something about Alaska that appeals the the primitive side in me. It awakens the spirit inside that doesn’t need to feed off TV and technological junk. Instead it gets revitalized by a walk in the woods or an encounter with a bear or even the simple view of mountains that reach toward the sky that never sleeps. Alaska is a place of wonder and a place of discovery. I can’t imagine what the first settlers after the natives must have thought. If it was anything like what I thought it probably went a little something like, “holy shit.” The holy shit phase didn’t end until about a week into the trip when I started getting used to the scenery. Then, towards the last days of our trip we hiked out to echo bend on Eagle River and saw the most beautiful view I’ve seen yet. The combination of mountains and river got me good, it always does. They seem to go together well. Whether it’s towering mountains of rock, or rolling hills of dirt and sediment a river or lake always compliments the colossal natural structures well. Today I went for a brief hike/walk through the hills in the area. After Alaska I feel like I could run up and down the hills all day. Alaska taught me to be observant to the world around me though. I had lost that living in Wilmington, NC. So today when I walked through the woods I just took it real slow and listened and watched. I saw three deer, heard a hawk call out from way above me; saw bear scat; four tree stands, all of which I climbed. Last but not least I found a ton of those little red newts on my trail. It’s amazing what you can see if you slow down and take a look around.
Paris Hilton isn’t news, and I’m glad this lady did what she did. We have soldiers dying in Iraq and the news wants to cover some rich, skank who’s done nothing to further the progress and development of this nation. In fact I think we’re worse off for her being alive or at least alive and well.
I did alot of hiking today. It was a good day, spent outdoors for the most part. I saw a hawk, bald eagle and a black bear when I was hiking alone down by the Eagle River Nature Center. I was too busy staring at it to remember to take a photo. Anyway, I just wanted to post that Into The Wild now has a trailer online and I gotta say the movie looks pretty good as far as I can tell. If you haven’t read the book do so. Here’s the link to the trailer….CLICK
So here I am, back in Eagle River, Alaska. I’m about 20 minutes from downtown Anchorage and surround by mountains that rise so high towards the heavens it hurts your neck to look at them. I’m really starting to dread going back to the lower 48. It isn’t even so much that. Even in Anchorage you are getting back to the “mainstream.” Life in Denali and farther north was really something. I’ve never met more interesting people in my life, or good natured for that matter. Usually you think Alaska is a place where people come to get lost. They’ve had it with life as usual and Alaska is about as far away from life as usual as you can get. However, on occasion people find themselves here. I’m not saying I have, but this place, the mountains, the vast wilderness, the pace of life, has caused me to look deeper within than I ever have before. Maybe it’s the lack of daily communications junk that were fed. My t.v. watching has been kept to almost zero. I have a phone and it works, sometimes. I’ve been able to get onto the internet long enough to upload my photos. I’ve actually had to deal with people, face to face everyday. Thankfully, 9 out of 10 of them have been some of the most inviting and outgoing people I’ve ever met. I’ve said this in a previous post, but I think the mountains humble you. That is if you don’t see them as a potential for profit, like alot of people here. The resources in Alaska abound, and therefore people who would like to make money off them also abound. That’s just the way the world works, hopefully, if there are enough grizzly bears, the population of those profit minded people will be kept to a “healthy and sustainable level.” On the way back from Fairbanks to Eagle River, we stopped in Denali again and picked up some people for the trip south. They were 4 guys who had summited Denali. That itself isn’t a huge feat by climbing standards. However, the freedom and sense of purpose must soar with the elevation. I myself dont wan’t to climb anything that high, I’m girlishly afrad of heights(any feminists can kiss my butt, yes I said girlishly). Though, being in the mountains takes your spirit to places it’s never been. Suddenly though, it gets body slammed by a 800 pound sumo wrestler who after pushing your face into the dirt says, ” get a job you fucking hippy.” So it goes…I’m off to Wilmington to get a job for a year. Yaayy! I’ve learned that you don’t need much. People up here get by on a lot less because they’re resourceful and creative. Something most of the country lacks. Returning to a place where people drive huge SUVS a mile down the road to get groceries or a paper, or drive Mercerdes just for the status symbol, well that’s going to be a hard transition. I can only see myself getting more hardlined “hippy.” Not that I like hippies, because I don’t, but the usual way of the world just ain’t working for me anymore. I don’t know if I’ll get by from riding my bike more or starting a recycling center at the apt. complex, but somethings going to give. I have a feeling it’s going to be my temperment towards the less accepting. Ya, I know that’s a hypocritical statement, especially coming from me. I’ve learned a lot about myself in Alaska though, I’ve been able to deal with old things, start thinking about new things and overall just coming to a place in life that I really like. Will it stay after I leave? I doubt it. I’ll probably be bogged down in the same old miserable crap John Doe is, driving his kids from the housing development called “Willow Woods” to his kids soccer practice. I’ve started reading Into The Wild again too. Maybe Mccandles was a little out there, and ill prepared to take on the Alaskan wilderness, but his views on the world and his frustration with it I can easily relate too. Dude.
Today is our last day in the city of Fairbanks. It was also the last day we rented the car so we kicked around town as much as possible. We went to the ice museum, regular museum and the large animal research center which does research on musk oxen and Caribou. It was a pretty fun day but for the life of me I can’t get our time in Denali out of my head. Maybe it is the fact that Fairbanks compared to denali is like Steel Reserve compared to a fine Labatt Blue. Or maybe Denali was really that great. Being surrounded by mountains and somewhat isolated takes all the cares of the modern day right out of you. Internet and phone is nice to have, but when it doesn’t work you can’t fret you’re in the middle of some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. There’s something haunting about the mountains there. Maybe it’s the light that constantly is above your head. Maybe it’s the vastness of the land or the sheer danger of it all. I’m not sure, but whatever it is I want more. I want that feeling again where the only thing you are worried about is when you are going to eat and if your farts are from the beer or the pizza. Seriously though, I’ve never seen anything like that place. I can only hope development doesn’t take the reigns and lead that into an eventual destiny of disneyland like attractions where children can ride moose for $10. It’s too special for that. If anyone had gotten off their tour buses maybe they would have noticed. I hope after I graduate from grad school I take a summer off to go work up there. Just bum around and hike and hang out with good people. Cynical as I am, I can’t really say anything bad about the people there. Everyone was really laid back and friendly. You don’t see that everyday. I think Denali has that effect on everybody. It’s so humbling being in the presence of something that great you realized that you are just a speck on the dot, a blip on the radar, if at all. In a week I have to return to Wilmington, NC. Once there I need to find a job for a year until grad school, and that is assuming that I get in. On the other hand there’s something inside me that makes we want to drop everything empty my bank account and move up here. Maybe go even farther north past the Brooks Range. Just me and my camera and a case of beer(for emergencies). I wish I had more time to properly articulate how I feel, but under the choppy internet and stressful days in Fairbanks this is all I can seem to muster up.
Well Jeremy and I have been in Fairbanks now for 2 days. It is not a very nice city. There’s alot of crime and it’s really run down. So after leaving our hippy commune like hostel in the heart of Denali country this is like a rude awakening. We tried to get over it though and rented a car for two days so we could get around easy and not be stuck in the city entirely. Today we went to Chena hot springs which is a 60 mile road that dead ends at a hotsprings resort. It wasn’t that great and you had to pay to get in the over touristy pool so we didn’t stay. However, out there we met a man who lives in the bush about 20 miles in by a river. He uses a dogsled to get around and lives in a tent all year including winter which can get up to 50 below. Apparently, this man has a car he uses to get around and it’s the most photographed car in Alaska. On top of that he was in the movie White Fang. We also saw a bunch of moose out there which are all on my flickr account. We went to an old gold dredge today too. I panned for gold and got approximately twenty dollars worth. Overall it was a pretty good day but it still doesn’t compare to where we were in Denali. That place had such a good vibe and you’d walk out your front door and look straight up into the mountains. In Fairbanks you walk outside and don’t see anything of the sort. The last night we were in Denali I met some guys who do the flying tours around there. One of them owned his own plane and told me that they flew over Chris Mccandles bus to find a good place to hike to it. If you don’t know who that is read the book Into The Wild. Sean Penn was up right where we were last year filming for the movie version of the book. Apparently, the film and Sean Penn still owe the bar we frequented acrossed the road over 10 grand. To hear first hand knowledge about not only the place where it took place but where the film was shot was a nice surprise because I had no idea until I started talking witht the locals. Tomorrow Jeremy and I are heading into Fairbanks to see the museum and such but like I’ve said we already spent time in Denali so it’s all downhill from here.
Today we went into Denali National Park. Instead of doing the usual tourist trap stuff we decided to rent bikes and go straight for it. I noticed afterward that the buses that take you deep into the park to see the wildlife were full of old, southern fat people. I don’t know how to explain this phenomenon, but it was perplexing nonetheless. Jeremy and I rented the bikes for 40 bucks for the whole day. I figured it would be an easy ride though the mountains and we’d see a ton of wildlife. Well, it turned out that for 20 miles from the start of the only road goes uphill. Literally, the whole way was uphill. Needless to say we walked a good portion of the Tour De Denali. We didn’t see any animals on our bike ride either except some really fat rabbits. When we got back to the main lodge there was a mother moose walking through the brush with her two kids. All of the fat, southerners I referenced couldn’t contain themselves and had to rush over towards the moose at the dismay of the lodge staff who specifically advised them not to. Apparently, a moose, possibly that very one has been charging campers. It’s kind of funny. Well anyway like I said the ride was completely uphill. So, the ride back was alot more fun than the ride in. Downhill the whole way. So I took my $3000 video camera and grabbed it in one hand and held on to my handle bar with the other. Was this a smart decision? No, probably not, but it was pretty fun and the footage is pretty sweet. The fact that I sang stupid songs in an Irish accent the majority of the way down hill probably had something to do with it. Tomorrow we head for Fairbanks. Although I love the hostel and all the people, especially Steve the pirate, it will be good to see some civilization. We’ve basically been keeping the bar acrossed the street in business and hanging out in the hostel common room chatting with all the fellow travelers for almost every country and state you could think of. It’s been a really good experience so far. Although, Jeremy complains because he says my farts are rancid. I really can’t argue with him.
We’ve been kicking around outside Denali at our hostel mostly. Last night we went across the street to the pub. Beer is expensive but nevertheless we cowboyed up and started a tab. It was a pretty good time. We met people from all over, Poland, Wales and even Alaska. The bartender/owner/kid our age was real cool. He started it up with his own money even though his family owns all the cabins and restaurants in the area, which is not very big. He was fresh out of college too I think. Real cool guy that gave us free leather beer coasters and keychains, hats etc. Today we went on a flight tour of Mount Denali, or Mckinnley as most people know it. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. The sheer enormity of it is hard to take in, or describe for that matter. We were flying over mountains and tundra for about 20 minutes which were still pretty tall. Then out of no where this huge white, pointed mass came out of the clouds and into view. From far it was obviously the largest mountain around, but still not that impressive. Then I looked at the GPS and we were still a good 20 miles from it. When we had actually flown pretty close to the mountain it was humbling. Something that big can have that effect, you feel completely insignificant. Alaska has that effect though. Were it not for the internet I would have no idea of wars going on overseas or troubles here in America. You are completely cut off at times, and it makes you think what it would have been like 50 years ago up here. This land is so vast and open it’s just impossible to imagine. I look at a map after driving for 4 hours and I’ve only cover the distance of maby the first knuckle of my pointer finger. Anyway, don’t want to get too “filisofikal,” but it is absolutely unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The best part about it is that everyone we’ve met has been SUPER friendly. I don’t know if it’s just a run of luck or if Alaska makes people like that, but it’d be nice if it was like that everywhere. Nothing but wilderness and friendly people, and moose shit - cause there’s a ton. Ok this here’s Mooseturd McGee signing off. See ya in Fairbanks!
I write this from a hostel at the edge of Denali, not a bad view. We left Anchorage today and took a bus at 7am up to just a couple miles shy of the main Denali park entrance. I’ts absolutely beautiful up here. Everywhere you look its nothing but mountains so high you have to strain your neck to look at and pine trees that stretch on and on like it was out of a movie. I saw my first moose yesterday. I got a photo or two of it before it wandered back off into the woods. I also saw a bald eagle towards the top of the mountain I hiked with Jeremy, Conrad and Tristen. The “walk” Conrad told us about wasn’t just a walk by the way it was a 6000 foot mountain with no clear path. There was nothing but elders and long grass the entire time. It was a hard hike for me and Jeremy, Conrad and Tristen didn’t seem to mind it too much. I don’t think Conrad even got out of breath actually and for the slope of the climb that’s pretty amazing. He is old enough to be my grandfather. Anyway towards the top I got scared because I’m deathly afraid of heights so we turned back and headed down the mountain. We were in my defense, pretty high up. You can see all the photos on my flickr page. This morning we woke up and Conrad was nice enough to drive us down to Anchorage to the bus stop. We got on board a shuttle bus with a trailer hitch that had a large cargo trailer attached for all our bags and headed up north to Denali. The hostel is really cool. The bunk we have is pretty small but enough to accomodate us. There is a large fire pit and a large common area with wireless internet and kitchen/bathroom/shower etc. It’s right by a creek too which is really nice to have as a view. The hostel office is also a store. They sell groceries and what not. Almost all of it is organic foods which is kinda neat, kinda. Anyway my computer battery is pretty low and I have to take a dump. Catch ya later!
Well I just wrote this post but the internet crapped out and it didn’t send so I have to write it all over. Today me and Jeremy spent all our time in the city of Anchorage. It’s a nice city of 500,000 or so. You wouldn’t think it because it is so spread out. We stopped and a brewhouse for lunch and had a really good meal. Then we walked down the street because they had a bunch of touristy shops with gifts and things like that. We also went to the museum of natural history and got a guided tour. It was really cool because the lady explained how Alaska used to be and came to be what it is today. She also expressed her concern about what global warming will do to it. Alaska is a very conservative state and many people don’t have time for that because they ‘re too busy praying to Jesus(literally, I’ve never seen more churches, and I live in the south!). However, global warming effects Alaska much more than other places because they’re so far north. So things are changing, drastically, the warming is happening, in fact Alaska has warmed over 5 degrees in the last 40 years(source: Conrad the biology teacher and housekeeper). So global warming is happening and things are changing…man made or not. Tomorrow, or today for you in eastern time(we’re 4 hours behind you) Conrad is taking us on a “walk” up Cumulus mountain. Let me say after being in Alaska for only a few days I’ve learned that walk is not just a walk. Instead its a trek up a steep face for 4 hours to the top. Although, Conrad ran his own professional climbing business for a few years so for him it’s just a stroll in the park, although for me and Jeremy it might seem like a life and death climb up Everest. Yesterday as we were stopped at a roadside gold panning place we met two people from Salamanca. They were indians here in Anchorage for so national tribal council meeting. Who’da known that you could come all this way and still meet people from nearly the same town as you. Let me tell you this place is HUUGGEEE so it’s quite unlikely, I’d say neary impossible. Anyway that’s all for now, I’m tired and the internet is sketchy, so be sure to check the flickr photos at the bottom of the sidebar. I’ll update them with descriptions and titles when I get a mouse and more motivation, but enjoy for now, it’s beautiful scenery.
Ok I’ve got a bunch of photos up on my flickr account from the first day of the Alaska trip. The link is www.flickr.com/photos/seancarr54 and if that doesn’t work just go to the links in the sidebar at the bottom. Ok it’s midnight and still sunny, but I must get some sleep.
I’m finally here in Alaska. Yesterday wasn’t the most fun. We took off from Buffalo around noon. From there we flew down to Atlanta to get on our connecting flight to anchorage. Seems real smart to fly all the way south before flying all the way north. Anyway we finally got here at almost 8pm Alaska time which is midnight back east. I just woke up at 7am and it’s almost lunch time for you guys. Anyway Conrad and Lyde, the folks were staying with, are really nice people, and smart too. So staying with them for a few days is going to work out really good. Conrad asked me and jeremy if we want to hike a mountain around here. It’dbe 4 or 5 hours up and then a few hours back down. We’re not sure yet, but I think it’d be stupid to pass up the opportunity. I just thought I should mention I got stuck in front of an old irishman and a rich construction company owner from Alaska on the way here. For 7 hours it was nothing but republican politics(from the Alaska man), family stories and a good irish accent. They didn’t shut up once. However, The guy from Alaska knew alot and therefore was my own personal travel guide after I secretly intruded on their converstion. Today Jeremy and I have to go down to Whittier to catch our day cruise ship. Conrad and Lyde are letting us use their older car which is awesome because otherwise we’d be completely out of luck since it’s over an hour drive. Though, I mention to Jeremy that we could ride a moose. Ok that’s all for now, I have to take alot of photos today.
I just got back from my trip to Rochester, NY to visit my brother. It’s only about two hours from my hometown and is a nice drive through the countryside for the most part. I hadn’t been to Rochester since I was a little kid. My uncle lives there and I used to go up every now and then to visit but not in a good couple of years. I was surprised too, because I don’t remember liking Rochester, but it is a great little city. Of course like all of western NY it is having economy problems. A perfect example of it is if you drive downtown. You will see a new building and right next to it a vacant building that is huge. It’s like that throughout this entire region. I guess the big downfall for Rochester has been the recent dying off of Eastman-Kodak. The factory and offices themselves take up enough space to fill a small town. Everything is going digital though and once film switches over like still photography has, I imagine that’ll be the nail in the coffin. The trip was fun though, my brother had the day off so he showed me around. We drove all over and stopped down near the waterfront of Lake Ontario which is really pretty. We ended up cooking out with a few of his friends and burnt the shit out of our chicken. It still tasted half way decent though because we cooked it using Chiavetta’s marinade. After his friends came over we drank some beer and playing Bocce and some beer pong. Since everyone else had work the next morning only me and my brother went out to the bar, where I proceeded to kick his ass in darts and pool. After a few pints of Labatt Light we stopped at Country Sweet chicken down the street and got our fill of the best chicken wings on the planet. Then we went home and proceeded to stink up his house with horrible gas. Yep, we’re real winners. I have the photos on my new flickr account if you want to check them out.
Newly added photos to a newly updated flickr…Here they are…. CLICK
And away we go. I’ve been home for just over a week now and haven’t done too much. I mean I have, mostly seeing the family and relaxing. I’ve yet to get out to allegany state park and do some hiking and riding, although when I mentioned it to my dad today he seemed half interested in going. I really do love the area here. It’s beautiful. Nothing but small towns peppered throughout rolling green hills mired in early morning fog and afternoon haze causing the hills to disappear after only a few miles. I drove out to Salamanca the other day which is on the Indian reservation. The state park is adjacent to the reservation and right near the Allegany River. It just astounds me how much natural beauty we have in this are. What pisses me off about the whole thing is that people complain about how it sucks here and there’s nothing to do. I guess I can only say, appreciate while it lasts. Although to be fair, I was saying how much I hated it before I left for college. It’s one of those situations where you have to get out and see the world and realized how things are away from our quite rural section of the state before you can really learn to love it. I know one day this area like the rest of the country will turn into the overdeveloped south. With the population of America booming and the natural resources and land being used up, it’s only a matter of time. My point being, I wish the people around here would start appreciating the land while they have it, instead of putting the area down all the time. Sometimes the simple life is the better life. You don’t need a huge house and SUV to be happy. I can understand the economic situation though, but that’s a societal problem and not so much a local problem. People need to put more emphasis on collective growing and local foods. As my friend Beau over at Jack Burns Lives.com says, “bioregionalism.” In other words work within the land and ecosystem you have locally. It’s a great idea, and I think that could spur not only environmental awareness but also a higher appreciation for what this are really has, instead of worrying about what it doesn’t have.
Anyway on a brighter note…my town put up these 3 foot fiberglass squirrels all around town. They are painted after certain themes or businesses which sponsored them. I remember hearing about them last year. I thought it was a really bad idea. Apparently they did it because we have a large population of black squirrels in the town and they are somewhat rare…I guess. Anyway the fiberglass squirrels are a real hit, and they look pretty good. I made my mom take a photo of me with every squirrel today, and of course giving the thumbs up in every photo, a trend I started back in Italy. I’ll have those photos up soon. I have them on my new Mac, but I have to transfer them to this computer to put them on the internet because we don’t have wireless and I lost my flash drive. Speaking of flash drives, I just bought a 300 gig external hard drive. Along with final cut pro suite and a panasonic prosumer camera. All in all costing me somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 grand. Plus I bought a new sleeping bag for my trip to Alaska which is only about a week away.
I guess I could go on and on about what I’ve done this week, but I’ll save you that information because I know it’s not really that interesting to most of you. In the mean time I’m going to go down to the river and take some photos and dip my feet in.
I posted a new link…www.masonwinfield.com, he’s a local author that writes about regional folklore and paranormal things. I encourage you to read his website. It’s got a lot of good information and interesting stories. Hell even buy one of his books off amazon. It’s local stuff, but if you’re into paranormal and folklore you’ll get a good read.
Here’s some photos of my trip home, just a few. Like I said I’ll post a lot more when I can switch them to my moms computer which has “the internet.”
…”grandma” Paar, grandma Carr, and me eating at one of the best restaurants in town, the beef and barrel.
…Driving down the road and thought this would be a nice photo. Luckily ’round these parts you can stop in the middle of the road, get out, take a photo and hop back in without worrying about any traffic.
…View of Rock City Park scenic lookout. Sure would be scenic if there wasn’t so much haze.