Amazing Alaska, our last frontier

To the Editor

One of my life's goals was to visit all 50 states. After visiting 49 others, it was time to take the challenge of a road trip to Alaska. After months of planning we were ready. We had the Milepost booklet, Travel Guide of Canada and Alaska ("Don't leave home without it"), our passports, a GPS system, and a lot of confidence. My wife and I started a 10,000 mile road trip. We traveled through the Missouri River Valley, the Dakota oil fields, the canola farm fields (the source of canola oil) and miles of wheat fields. After arriving at the Canadian Border, we continued on through the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon. We arrived in Tok, Alaska, where the Yukon Province borders Alaska. We took a much needed rest in Tok. The Alaska Highway that starts in Dawson Creek, B.C., was quite a challenge. A highway constructed during World War II has a length of 1,392 miles, and has ongoing construction due to permafrost, which causes potholes, and an unstable road base. We toured the interior of the state, 2 1/2 times the size of Texas. The vastness of this state, to really explore the variety and all areas, would take months. We spent time in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seward, Whittier, and Denali Natl. Park. The natural beauty of Denali, the fjords, the friendly natives, were the highlights of this memorable lifetime experience. An important aspect of this trip is the people we met in small-town America, you get a sample of what makes America great. It is refreshing to talk to the Native Americans. They have an optimistic survival spirit. They use their resources, working together to endure the harsh cold and snow of Alaska. Here is a sample of the kind and friendly people we encountered on the trip.

When our GPS system stopped working in Calgary, Canada, two good Samaritans provided maps and help finding our hotel. When an approaching snowstorm filled motels fast, a kind lady found us the last room available. The couple that offered us their phone number and help if we had a problem. A lady in Saskatchewan, who had spent a lot of time partying as a teenager with those Americans (her words) down at the border, she sent us on the best route to the U.S.A. border, where the surprised border guards thought we were lost. They asked us if we knew where we were going. The people we met, the experiences we had on the road, the natural beauty that changes in every turn of the road, is what makes it a special adventure. The wildlife show on the road in Canada and Alaska is like a big zoo with no cages and fences. In the Yukon we saw the end of the rainbow strike a mountainside with a splash of colors. In the Chugach Mountains, along Resurrection Bay, on the Seward Highway, a break in the clouds, allowed the sun to strike the snow covered mountains. On a cloudless day, quite rare, we saw Denali, Indian word for "The high one," show its beauty and size. Cruising the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park, Prince William Sound, destined for the glaciers, was an unforgettable experience. Seeing the humpback whales flip their tails, the sea lions, the puffins, the kittywakes, hundreds of birds, rock sheep climbing the rock mountains that meet the sea, was quite a show to remember. In Fairbanks, we took the Discovery Cruise, a 900 passenger sternwheeler, on the Chena river. As we departed, seaplanes would take off and land next to our boat. We saw a training camp for Huskies used in the winter Iditarod race. Susan Butcher, a three time Iditarod champion, her widowed husband demonstrating those magnificient Husky dogs ability. We left the boat and toured an Alaskan Native Village. We saw the native dress, the bears, the caribou, the moose and all the Alaskan fur bearing animals. The smoke house, fish camps, their survival stories was a learning experience. In order to experience the natural beauty, the native people their culture, the amazing wildlife, you have to be there. I saved for last, the amazing state of Alaska, our last frontier.

Flavian Halter

Poplar Bluff, Mo.