Life in Alaska

Did you know…

that in Barrow, Alaska (the northern most city in the U.S.) the sun never dips below the horizon on Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. That day was Friday, June 20 this year. One third of our state's land mass is above the Arctic Circle which means more daylight in the summer months, but longer nights during the winter.

We have a number of ways to celebrate the longest day of the year. Fairbanks is home to one of Alaska's favorite traditions -- Midnight Sun baseball! Yes, we do play baseball in Alaska even though season is so short. The game begins at 10:30 pm and requires no artificial lights of any kind. The Fairbanks Goldpanners draw their largest crowd of the season and keep them at the game into the wee hours of the morning. It is a tradition that dates back to the gold rush era (about 93 years).

Sources: Alaska Science Forum
Explore North
Anchorage Daily News

baseball

The Anchorage Glacier Pilots play evening baseball at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

dog

Late Night Activities

Last week Mr. Lebowski (shown enjoying himself above) and I took a late night stroll at Conner's Bog, one of Anchorage's off-leash dog parks. It was after 10pm and our shadows were long but the sun still had plenty of hang time in the sky. While at the park, we like to climb a hill overlooking the East-West runway at the airport (below).
runway

One evening after work last summer, a group of us rode bikes from Bird Point to Bird Creek on the Seward Highway about 25 miles south of Anchorage.

bikes

We stopped on a rock jutting into Turnagain Arm for a picnic.

picnic

On the way back, we saw a train heading up the tracks to Anchorage.

train

I love being able to do things in the evenings without having to worry about it getting dark. We can leave late Friday night for camping because even if you don't arrive until 1 or 2 am, there's plenty of light to set up camp. -- Carmen

Date 6/30/08

Anchorage Temperature
Low 50 °F, High 66°F

Daylight 19 hrs 13 mins

map

www.onceinabluemoose.com

We will not share, trade, or sell your email address to anyone else. We would like to contact you from time to time with news and information from Once in a Blue Moose. If you don't want us to email you, just send us a reply saying "unsubscribe" in either the subject or body.

Life in Alaska

Every year the Mayor's Marathon is scheduled to coincide with the weekend near Summer Solstice. This year it landed on Saturday, June 21. My sister and I hustled through the half marathon: 13.1 miles along the Coastal Trail in 3 hours and 15 minutes, which is the exact time I guessed at the start. It was raining when we took off at 9 a.m., followed by a burst of sunshine then mild overcast.

A record number of participants turned out this year: nearly 4,000, over half of whom came from out-of-state. The full marathon (26.2 miles) starts in the foothills of the Chugach Mountains and ends up along Cook Inlet. Jerry Ross of Anchorage won a repeat victory this year and Annie Thiessen of Tacoma, Washington reigned champion for the women.

My sister and I aren't racers (this was our first marathon) but I would do it again in a heartbeat. People were out cheering us on throughout the course and it was a wonderful group to walk with. Best of all, it was a great reason to throw ourselves a big pasta feed the night before and treat ourselves to pizza and brew at the Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria after we crossed the finish line. An energetic gentleman at the beginning of the race said it best when he announced, "I'm here to eat. Let's keep it real. Will race for food." You and me both, brother. --Nikki

Click an image above to see it larger. Interested in a moose hat of your own?

Spirits were not dampened by the drizzle at the start of the 2008 Mayor’s Marathon. Over 1900 participants in the full marathon took off from Bartlett High School at 8:00 am and made their way along the Glenn Highway, crossing over the Fort Richardson overpass and continuing through military property back to Anchorage and finally to the finish line 26.2 miles later at West High School. As I photographed these dedicated individuals, I was struck by the diverse cross-section of humanity that made up the race field. It was inspiring to see the teams from various states, the Canadians sporting their maple leaves, brightly colored matching outfits, goofy hats and every kind of knee brace known to man. The thousands of smiles that passed by me would have brightened even the rainiest of solstice days. --Leanne

Lounge in the sun wearing our comfortable gray midnight sun sweatpants and moose yoga t-shirt.

Midnight sun soap is the color of a beautiful Alaskan sunset. Made in southeast Alaska by a small family business.

Hats off to summer, except at solstice, then it's hats on! Shade your eyes from the midnight sun with our ladies Alaskan baseball cap. This bright yellow cap has gold embroidery and a velcro closure below ponytail opening.

Bruce Nelson of Kodiak Island designed this whimsical summer solstice card with a dall sheep, moose, bear, wolf, and caribou holding hands while enjoying the longest day.