An Odd Reaction to More Frequent Trips to Anchorage

27 March 2012
Time

Sunrise at	7:23 AM	in direction	81°	East
Sunset at	8:31 PM	in direction	279°	West

Duration of day: 13 hours, 7 minutes (6 minutes, 44 seconds longer than yesterday)

Talkeetna Mountains on the approach to Broad Pass

Fairbanks and Anchorage are vastly different as cities go.  I think in the Lower 48, Fairbanks would be considered more of a town than a city, while Anchorage is a true city.  And although relatively small when compared to cities in the contiguous states, still very, very, VERY large for Alaska.  In my mind, Alaska and city are not integrated easily.  It is a vast region with minimal population and tiny villages interspersed among acres of wilderness.  If you have read followed the Yukon Quest or Iditarod, you know that the races are going through extremely small, isolated population centers.

Broad Pass looking toward the Talkeetna Mountains

But if all a visitor did was land in Anchorage and then travel as far as Talkeetna Junction, they wouldn't know that.  Wasilla, Palmer, Houston, and Willow are not large, but the population is dispersed along Alaska State Highway 3 in such a way that there are no longer significant open stretches between them, not the kind of openness we live with up here in Fairbanks.  To the west of Willow are large tracts of land used for farming or sled dog kennels and then unsettled areas with a few homesteads, but it is not visible from the highway, by any means.  A driver doesn't really get out of it until past Talkeetna and then, thanks to Denali National Park, you are blessedly out of the bustle of human "busyness". 

I have visited since 2000 and lived here since 2006, yet very little of that time has been spent in Anchorage.  And when I did visit, I was usually in the downtown area where I could walk to restaurants and along the coast.  I did not explore much of the regions east of the Seward Highway.  Even with visits to Providence Hospital and Alaska Urological Associates, we managed to limit ventures into regions south of 15th Avenue and east of Seward.  But, the hubbub of the city was becoming more fixed in my mind.

Broad Pass and Talkeetna Mounains

On our last trip, we stayed south and east in a newer subdivision.  To get there, our hosts advised us to get off of AK State Hwy 1 before reaching the Seward Highway.  We exited at Muldoon Road going south.  It became Tudor Road near the point where I took the photos of the Chugach I published yesterday (one of the few small sections of the city road where the Chugach are relatively unobstructed).  We followed Tudor Road to Lake Otis Parkway and then drove south past Huffman a few blocks, made a left up the hill and another left onto the cul-de-sac of nice homes where Terry and Bev live.  It was probably no more than 15 miles distance, but felt like much more with the many stop lights, businesses, and neighborhoods.  Their home and lot are lovely, yet my overall impression of Anchorage became solidified as a big, sprawling city.

And, one of the reasons this is such an interesting reaction is where I was raised and have lived.  I was raised in California and grew up during the rapid expansion of its population.  San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area are not exactly known as low population centers.  Then I lived in Colorado through its mega population growth spurt.  It's not like I have lived in villages and towns all my life.  I have found little pockets of small city life, from La Jolla, California to Boulder, Colorado, but all within a short drive of a major, major city.  As I've said, compared to other cities in the U.S., Anchorage is compact and contained, but compared to my life now and the life of the rest of Alaskans who live outside of this metropolis, it feels huge, congested, has grimy and unkept roads, is fast-paced, in spots is very dangerous, and day to day life is much like that of the residents in any big city.

 Broad Pass and Talkeetna Mountains

Bev said something that strengthened that impression for me.  She and Terry are considering moving out of the region after 40 years living here.  She says the winters are longer than those in Fairbanks even though the temperature is milder; they no longer ski and they spend a lot of months in the cold with intense winds, over cast skies, and snow packed streets.  My feeling is that there are a lot of people in the suburban regions of Anchorage that do not venture far from home.  What, then, is the advantage of living here?  By comparison, folks in Fairbanks spend a lot of months living in the cold, yet doing things outdoors all times of the year.  I walk despite the cold, for example. I think I now understand more clearly why many who live elsewhere don't consider Anchorage part of Alaska - it is so very urban and suburban in comparison and lacks many of the aspects of life here I value .. quiet, calm drivers, easy commutes to work, less pollution, fewer people, and wilderness just around the corner.

Broad Pass and Talkeetna Mountains

I breathed a sigh of relief when we reached Talkeetna Junction.  Later Sunday night as I was falling asleep, I had the overwhelming feeling that I lived too close to Anchorage - 356 miles was not enough distance between me and a major city!  Another week or two of isolation and I am sure that feeling will diminish .. because if I travel 20 miles to the north along the Elliot Highway, I am looking out across vistas where no one lives.  Yeah, I will get over this madness and settle back into the comfort of living in our small town.