Alaskan Dreamers
#3914902
07/29/13 11:08 AM
07/29/13 11:08 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,750 SW Alaska
otterman
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,750
SW Alaska
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All the reality shows lately have a lot of people looking at and dreaming of coming to Alaska. I just thought I would put this up to maybe bring some back to reality about how it really is here. This is not meant to discourage it is meant to make people think twice before jumping in the truck loading up the camping gear made for 20 degree weather and heading north on a whim. 1. If you saw it on a reality show it probably is scripted so don't believe that's how it always happens. 2. It gets cold and stays cold for a long time unless you are in SE you will spend more months out of the year in winter gear and driving a Snow machine than fishing in a Tee shirt 3. Commercial fishing is good hard work but landing a job on a boat is not something that happens every day 4. There is not a bull moose or brown bear behind every tree especially on the road system other palces may require special permits to hunt or maybe totally off limits if you aren't a resident of the immediate area do to land ownership. 5. Finding a place to trap if on the road system may take several years 6. you just don't pick a village on the map like Koliganek or Nupskiak and say I am moving to there. 7. You can not just fly into someplace along a river and build a cabin those days are long gone. Land is either private or federally or state owned 8. Done right with the proper thought and fore site you can do it but don't expect it to happen overnight
I am sure there is a lot more but I am not coming up with right now feel free to add to this. If we keep this serious and it doesn't get filled with junk we can pin it up top or archive it down the road
Last edited by otterman; 07/29/13 11:10 AM.
We get out of life only as much as we really want and work hard enough to achieve
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: otterman]
#3914910
07/29/13 11:14 AM
07/29/13 11:14 AM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,517 Armpit, ak
Dirt
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,517
Armpit, ak
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9. You really don't know what a lot of mosquitoes is like. 10. Bring lots of tools because everything breaks.
Who is John Galt?
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: otterman]
#3915420
07/29/13 04:11 PM
07/29/13 04:11 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 397 Interior Alaska
EurekaTrapper
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 397
Interior Alaska
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13. Most of the stuff you order online has special pricing for Alaska. You can forget about free shipping to here.
"Wise men learn more from fools than fools learn from the wise."
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: elkantlers]
#3915688
07/29/13 07:05 PM
07/29/13 07:05 PM
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,046 Homer, Alaska
Spek Jones
"FATHER"
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"FATHER"
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,046
Homer, Alaska
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15. Alaskans have a superiority complex. Couldn't resist Elkantler, I can understand how it might be perceived that way from a distance, but that is far from what the OP is trying to convey here. The intent is more in line with what MA posted.
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: otterman]
#3915811
07/29/13 08:16 PM
07/29/13 08:16 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,517 Armpit, ak
Dirt
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,517
Armpit, ak
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Yes the mosquitoes start coming out when there are bare patches of ground. Mosquitoes serve a vital service in Alaska. They keep it from being a paradise that Hollywood nut jobs would buy up and Californicate. If you don't want to get bit up, never change your cloths, or take a bath, and keep layering the Ben's 100.
Who is John Galt?
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: Dirt]
#3915935
07/29/13 09:03 PM
07/29/13 09:03 PM
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 852 Ontario
holdengr
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 852
Ontario
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Mosquitoes serve a vital service in Alaska. They keep it from being a paradise that Hollywood nut jobs would buy up and Californicate. In Northern Ontario the mosquitoes/blackflys/no-seeums/ankle-biters are considered the price you pay to not have neighbors from Toronto......LOL
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: MAAA]
#3915937
07/29/13 09:04 PM
07/29/13 09:04 PM
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35,548 McGrath, AK
white17
"General (Mr.Sunshine) Washington"
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"General (Mr.Sunshine) Washington"
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35,548
McGrath, AK
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This is a good thread. I hope that their will be alot of you who live in Alaska that will keep adding to it. I live in the lower part of the U.S. (Arkansas) I am learning that Alaska is alot different than what i had invisioned it to be. I remember watching an Oprah show where they had this family who was home steding in Alaska. That was in 1992. I recently looked up the Alaska home steding law and the last home sted awarded in Alaska was in 1988 and has since been done away with. I think the biggest part of us here in the lower 48 have the wrong idea as to what Alaska is like. Although i think Alaska is alot more populated and grown alot in industry/business's in just the last 30 years alone and is probably no where near as rual as it was 30 years ago. As far as the harsh living conditions go, the cold,snow,ice well that is just the climate there and always will be. But even things like that will get easier to deal with as urbanization moves in with all of its modern convinces. What i don't understand is why is the cost of fuel so high in Alaska. With all of its fossil fuel I would think the price of petroleum would be fairly reasonible ? Most of what i see and know about Alaska is from reality shows or some TV documentry show. That last homestead was actually the last awarded in the nation. It was mine. When you say "it was done away with" you must mean the 1862 Homestead Act. That's correct. My homestead however, is still there. To some extent you sort of get used to the mosquitoes. Also a liberal coating of DEET makes a big difference. Bur for sure, they are the one thing that makes summers so miserable no matter how nice the scenery and the fishing. BUT, there are worse things than mosquitoes. White sox and no-seeums will really drive you nuts. Unfortunately, they seem to peak during hunting season. Fuel is expensive because of freight. Where I live it either comes up from Seattle on a barge or in a plane from Anchorage. In the urban areas most gasoline is shipped up from Washington. We have a couple of refineries but they make mostly diesel and jet fuel. Modern conveniences are really modern problems, Most of them cost money and use fuel of one form or another. I don't think urbanization will happen in my area very soon. The fact is rural Alaska is losing population. That's fine with many of us but it's a double edged sword. Fewer customers for a product means higher costs for the fewer units sold.
Mean As Nails
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Re: Alaskan Dreamers
[Re: otterman]
#3916050
07/29/13 09:48 PM
07/29/13 09:48 PM
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 19 North West Arkansas
MAAA
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 19
North West Arkansas
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White 17, It is nice to meet you. You being the last person to homestead in Alaska is history. There are not many people who can say they spoke to the last U.S. homesteader. I may have it all wrong but when i looked it up on the internet it said that the last homestead in Alaska was filed in 1976 by Kenneth Deardroff that filed for 80 acres along the Stony river. And it was declared his in I think 1988.
I really hope your right about urbanization not happening anytime soon. I am only 52 years old and just in my short time here on earth i have seen urbanization really change things here in North West Arkansas. Congress gave the go ahead to build dams through out Oklahoma & Arkansas down to the Mississippi river so that it could be used for barge traffic. Of course about the same time they were building interstates & new highways everywhere which in our case was interstate I40. It was all done in the name of progress. Unfortunately urbanization comes along with progress. I really liked the way things were before they built all of these new roads & highways and damed up our water ways. Beleave it or not we use to have some pretty good hunting/fishing along the Arkansas river. But now there are a hundred hunters for every animal we have to hunt here in this state. When i was a kid the majority of the small towns did not have indoor plumbing, you had to carry you water from a well thoes things were a little inconvinent. But i would trade thoes inconvineces for the way things were back then in a heart beat.
The meadia is sure doing its best to help your great state of Alaska to grow. They have all kinds of TV shows that makes Alaska look attracktive. They have " Buying Alaska which is a real estate show, Alaska state troopers, Gold rush Alaska, Ice Road truckers, Yukon Alaska, Mountain man Alaska. " I am probably leaving out a couple, I know i am because i can think of one where these guys are doing some kind of survilist show. One show about a Taxidermist & Gun sporting good store, several hunting shows." So the media is doing its best to promote the last Front tier. I forgot the show crab fishing the bearing seas, and the gold mining show in nome Alaska. I would almost bet that in 30 years Alaskas population grow by almost half of what it is now. Oh yeah ! another show about bush planes in Alaska. I am telling you the media is flat putting the shows out about Alaska here in the lower 48.
Do you all get all of these shows there in Alaska ?
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