Death and Stucco in Girdwood

Before you start thinking I'm romanticizing things up here, Let me tell you the real deal about Alaska. I'm going to give you the Big Picture as I've come to know it.

The average person up here eats meat and/or fish, a portion of which they have personally killed. Many people are even considered eligible for "sustenance hunting" and pay like $5 for a license to kill what they need for their families all year. That's the culture. In Fairbanks, it seemed like everybody was armed to the teeth. And eager for blood.

*I saw a guy buying a .357 Magnum in a Fred Meyer's (it's like a Wal-Mart), while soccer moms bought organic tomatoes a few aisles down. You are encouraged to carry a rifle in the state parks for protection.

*It's like Africa here. Big Game that will rip you a new one. And lots of white folks that are out to bag 'em.

You get the picture.

GIRDWOOD: I met up with Uncle Kevin in Girdwood. He's been here quite some time and was my link to this neck of the woods. He's building a cabin in this small town which happens to have the largest ski resort in all of Alaska. So I jumped into the construction of the cabin and became a pro stucco-slather-er (for some cash).

Proof:




Note to self: Avoid doing stucco.

But I did have a fun time in Girdwood. Uncle Kevin showed me around town and introduced me to some serious characters here. One of them was a guy who has spent a lot of time in the Bush, meaning Northwest Alaska, the land of no roads. The only thing to do up there is work and hunt and trap animals. He was good at it and showed me his collection (top of post). Sorry my vegetarian friends, but like I said, that's how it goes here.

Another interesting dude was a guy named Robert. He was helping with the cabin and I later gave him a lift down to Kenai. I'll regail you with some of his tales later. Stay tuned.

I'm winding down my time here in the great state of Alaska, and still catching up with the blogging... lots of catching up.

Hugs and kisses. JP