You Know You're in Alaska When...

August 28, 2016

As we drove around Alaska, we found quite a few things that you don't find in most of the USA. Here is our top 10 'You Know You're in Alaska When'...

• A major form of tourist transportation is a cruise ship, often followed by a bus excursion.

The day we saw Nieuw Amsterdam in Juneau, there was a total of  4 ships (with maximum capacity of 10,000 passengers) in the harbor.  It's an understatement to say that the streets were quite crowded.  This picture was taken when we were anchored near this same ship in the Bahamas in 2014.

Buses that carried cruise passengers to Denali, parked in the 'Canyon'.

• RV's are a common accommodation.

An RV park in the Canyon at Denali.  Initially, we thought it was a parking lot.

• Many areas can only be accessed by planes, trains or boats.

This was just one of the planes that we took during our trip, a 6-passenger float plane.  The trip also included many commercial flights, with planes much larger than this one.

Trains are a popular way to tour parts of Alaska, but most are quite slow with only occasional views.

The ferry we took through the Aleutians, from Dutch Harbor (home port for Deadliest Catch) to the mainland, a three-day trip.  If we had a car, we would have been able to take it with us on the car deck.

• Someone asks how you scored the 'sweet ride' and it's an F-150 pickup.

This truck is in excellent condition, but sometimes you are just happy to be able to rent a vehicle. 

• Your rental vehicle has an engine block heater.

• Your cabin is built on perma-frost with no running water

This was our cabin near Denali; it had hot and cold running water, but only in the summer.  Most cabins in the area do not have running water any time of year.

• There are bald eagles everywhere.

• Your major form of transportation is a 4-wheeler. 

4-wheelers were a common sight on the dock at Akutan, one of the Aleutian towns.

• Road signs include warnings of moose and information about private Indian land and tsunami evacuation routes.

• There are many 'End Road' signs and they are used for target practice.

We missed the opportunity to take a picture of a road sign telling the whole story about the area around Juneau:
<-- End of Road   24
-->Juneau            12

And, some of the runners up:

• Your attorney's ads show him dressed in camo toting a rifle
• Cracked windshields are plentiful and are not repaired
• The fashion footwear is brown Xtratuf boots, as seen on Deadliest Catch and sidewalks everywhere.

Joyce

Docked Marco Island