Do we really live in igloos? Some of you might laugh at that question but you'd be surprised at how many truly believe this. Of course we don't live in igloos, but it is a common thought. So what is Alaska like anyway? In one word? WONDERFUL!!! Picture this: You look outside and see a landscape of beautiful birchwood, spruce, and aspen trees (among many others). You smell the heady fragrance of lilacs and wild flowers. In the distance, you see a moose cow and her calf feeding off the birch trees. High above you, you hear the honks of a flock of bantam geese. Off to the left a ptarmigan heads toward the edge of the vast forest. Down by the river a beaver is doggedly patching up his home. If you hike deeper into the woods you hear the grunt of a grizzly or black bear. There is just so much to see. Do we see these things every day? No. Do we really ever see any of that stuff? Yes. It's not uncommon to come by a cow moose and her calf. Bull moose are another story. They have the incredible knack of staying out of site. Unlike deer, the moose aren't afraid of people. Well, it depends on what your definition of afraid is. The deer will dart away. The moose will get angry. You don't want to meet up with an angry moose. It isn't pretty. But the idea is that there IS a big difference (not just size) between deer and moose. Go to nearly any river and walk along the side for a little while. Chances are, you'll find a beaver. There are even a few beaver families that live downtown on the river! Generally speaking, if beaver live in a populated area they aren't too afraid of humans. I've even had a beaver walk right by me carrying a bush. When I mean right by me I mean he almost touched my foot. I could've stepped right on him! It was as though he was annoyed with me for being in his way. Do we live in the forest? No. Alaska has a few real cities. I live in one of them. Though the population isn't quite a metropolis type, it is a city. We have malls and theatres. We have just about what any typical city has except one very important thing.... low prices. Unfortunately, Alaska is a high cost place to live. The other thing Alaska lacks is the ability to order things. I can't count the times that I've been told "Oh, we don't ship outside the United States." Yes, I have heard that many times. I often reply, "I said Alaska, not China." Of course the proper thing to say would be "outside the continental United States", but I suppose these people don't know what a continent is. When the post office changed their phone system around Alaska was furious. Ironically I was one of those people who really needed to speak with someone locally. I called the post office and someone in New York City answered the phone. When I told him I needed the hours to the post office by the airport he asked me, "Are you sure they have hours? I mean... don't they just drop the mail by air?" Yes, this is a true story. The funny part is people seem surprised when their mail is lost. With morons like this working for the post office it's no wonder. So, I will close for now. I have some links listed below about Alaska. Alaska is indeed a great land. So much beauty in one spot. I will add links as I come across them. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/greatland/ax/primary_fs.html A really cool place with beautiful pictures and information about Alaska from National Geographic. They even offer online greeting cards. http://www.state.ak.us/This is the official State of Alaska site. http://www.everythingalaska.com/ In addition to an archive of photos, you can even download Alaskan desktop themes. More links to come, just be sure to check back.