Sign to the Talkeetna hostel

A cute sign by the side of the road letting you know that you're getting close to the Talkeetna hostel.

A memorial sign in the Talkeetna cemetery

A memorial sign in the Talkeetna cemetery. This sign lists the names of the climbers who died while trying to climb Denali.

A resting area in the Talkeetna cemetery

A resting area in the Talkeetna cemetery. This bench always reminds me of something from the Flinstones.

Man survives grizzly attack(s)

A grizzly bear attacks a man -- twice -- and the man survives.

The Anchorage Daily News has a story of a 54-year-old geologist who was attacked by a grizzly bear -- not once, but twice -- and lived to tell his story. It's actually a very good story about how to handle a grizzly bear attack, because as the story says, a grizzly is usually just trying to "neutralize" you, it's not trying to kill you. (Note: If you visit a place like Denali, they will teach you things like this about grizzly bears, and also the differences between grizzly bears and black bears.)

The fireweed in Alaska is beginning to bloom

July 3, 2010, and I just noticed that the fireweed is beginning to bloom:

I noticed several small groups of fireweed beginning to bloom during my walks the last two nights, and pretty soon the sides of the roads will begin to look like they're on fire.

Fireweed in Alaska

July 3, 2010, and the fireweed in Alaska is beginning to bloom.

July 4th Mount Marathon race in Seward, Alaska

I was just reading these stories about the July 4th Mount Marathon races in Seward, Alaska, and thought I'd share that link here. One of the stories writes about two racers who suffered from severe dehydration last year, and ended up unconscious and in the hospital with an illness known as "exertional rhabdomyolosis". Ouch.

Real Iditarod sled dogs

This blog post is quite a bit out of sequence, but earlier today I was reminded of my drive to Alaska this spring, including a one-night stop in Watson Lake, British Columbia, Canada.

On the evening of March 24, 2010, while I was laying in my toasty warm hotel room, I suddenly heard a pack of dogs howling and barking. Peering out the window, I saw a team of sled dogs being fed their dinner. "What were they doing here?", I thought, and then I realized the Iditarod was ending, and maybe, just maybe, these were actual Iditarod sled dogs.

My favorite restaurant in Talkeetna, Alaska (2010)

Talkeetna, Alaska is known for several things, including some really good restaurants. Over the past few years my favorite restaurant in Talkeetna was the Wildflower Cafe, and also a bistro place whose name I can't remember at the moment.

Photos from Talkeetna, Alaska

This is a little unusual, but I've posted some photographs from Talkeetna, Alaska on one of my other sites, in this article about Pentax K-x camera sample photos.

I was going to post them here also, but a friend of mine warns me that Google doesn't like it when you post duplicate content, so I'm trying to abide by that warning.

Ravens in Alaska

I'm not sure what happened to all the ravens in Alaska -- specifically the ravens that were in Wasilla, Alaska -- but they have all gone ... somewhere.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I saw a few ravens in Talkeetna. (Talkeetna is about 75 minutes north of Wasilla.) There were a few there, but not many, maybe three. This is in stark contrast to ravens being everywhere when I first moved back to Alaska in March and April. Several times I walked out of stores or restaurants only to be greeted by ravens looking for a handout.

Wasilla, Alaska pictures: Sunset in Alaska in June

Wasilla, Alaska pictures: If you've ever wondered what the sunset in Alaska looks like on the summer solstice (June 21), I think I can help you out.

Last Sunday evening I met a friend in Anchorage, Alaska, and when I drove back north to Wasilla, I took several pictures with my iPhone. I took most of the pictures from 2:30 a.m. through 3:30 a.m., but they turned out darker than the actual environment, as the iPhone is not good at taking pictures in relatively low sunlight. But the following picture I took at 3:40 a.m. on June 21, 2010 worked out very well:

Alaska sunlight - 24 hours of visible sunlight

Alaska sunlight update: June, 18, 2010.

As we approach the summer solstice of June 21, 2010, I somehow managed to miss the update where we are now officially getting "24 hours of visible sunlight" in Wasilla, Alaska:

Pictures from Independence Mine and Hatcher Pass, Alaska

I've mentioned before that Wasilla isn't the prettiest town in Alaska by a long stretch, but one thing it does have going for it is a hidden gem known as Hatcher Pass, and its neighbor, Independence Mine.

Empty cereal boxes

While cleaning out my car the last two days, I found two empty cereal boxes, neatly folded, and squeezed between the passenger seat and center console, with some scraps of paper tucked in with them. Anyone else cleaning my car would find those items, look at them curiously, and throw them in the garbage without giving them any further thought.

Under the weather, but a great new digital SLR camera

Everything is quiet for me here in Wasilla, Alaska, as I took on a stomach virus in the last week, and actually spent yesterday afternoon at an immediate care clinic.

One cool thing, hopefully unrelated: There's a neat bagel place in town, I think it's named Alaska Bagels. I think it's a little chain, with other locations here and in Anchorage.

Early morning Alaska summer sunlight photos

Okay, it's pop quiz time here on the One Man's Alaska website. I took the two pictures of the light coming through my back window while laying in bed two nights ago. One was taken at 4 a.m., and the other was taken at 7 a.m.. The question is, which one is which?

Why there are no penguins at the north pole

I don't remember where I got this picture, I think a friend sent it to me, but it's very funny, so I thought I'd share it here:

"In the Ghetto" - Notes from Wasilla, Alaska

I don't want to say that I live in a bad neighborhood here in Wasilla, but I have taken to singing Elvis Presley's song "In the Ghetto" from time to time.

There are times I feel like I'm on a reality show, where a successful businessman sells his business, says goodbye to everyone he knows, and goes to live, well, in the ghetto. This is usually followed by the thought, "Al, what were you thinking?"

Late night sunlight in Wasilla, Alaska

A couple of people asked me to take some photos late at night so they could see what the sky/sunlight is like here in Wasilla late at night. The last few nights I've actually gotten into bed before midnight, but here's a photo from about 11 p.m. last night: