Icewind's Ramblings

“Into the Wild” I am looking forward to seeing this movie shortly upon my return from vacation. The movie is to be released on Sept. 21 nationwide after its debut in Fairbanks , Alaska in appreciation to the many local Alaskans who helped in the production of the movie. The book was well written and had an impact at the time for me as McCandless was going to Emory University in Atlanta where I was living. I remembered the news stories and how bizarre it sounded at the time and shortly left the city on my way north to Alaska . Sean Penn directs this movie based on the incredible book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer in 1996. The book developed from a lengthy article Krakauer wrote in 1993 for “Outside” magazine about the life of Christopher McCandless, who grew up in a wealthy suburb of Washington , D. C., and died in the Alaskan wilderness at age 24. In April the prior year, a trucker had dropped McCandless - who had cut off all communicatio...

How can it be that one careless match can start a forest fire . . . but it takes a whole box of them to start a campfire? It is great that this year in Alaska there was less fire activity than most years. We do have the occasional campfire built by people that is the cause of our timber to be burning, but the major cause is usually lightning strikes the sometimes burns from hundreds of thousands to millions of acres being devastated. Our rains came at the right times this year that we had only a few fires and our ‘hot shot’ fire crews and resources were sent south to the lower 48 to help extinguish burning lands down there. Kudos goes to the fire fighters all over who battle the elements and protect our natural resources. Ice

Last weekend turned the tide on one of our last hurrahs of the summer with a trip to the Alaska State Fair. It was a perfect day for the outdoor gathering of 20 to 30 thousand people looking for a great time and sharing that time in the sun . . . soaking up the rays and warmth while having fun with the family or friends. In the shadow of Pioneer Peak . . . State fairs in America have always been a fascinating glimpse into a rural part of life for me and that so few of us ever actually see anymore. They do not have that same feel that they did when I was 11 or 12 years old but I do enjoy that time if for no other reason than to ‘people watch’. Each state fair is unique in its own special way but one that stands out from all the others that I have seen is the Alaska State Fair and its fantastic giant vegetable contest. Sure, every state fair has similar contests where local farmers wheel in giant pumpkins and other items they've either grown or rais...

"We are here just for a spell and then pass on . . . So get a few laughs and do the best you can. Live your life so that whenever you lose, you are ahead." These words still ring true today. Alaska recently marked the anniversary of the death of Will Rogers and pilot Wiley Post who died on Aug. 15, 1935 just outside Barrow, Alaska in a plane crash while surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the West Coast to Russia . Wiley Post, Will Rogers Memorial Barrow, Alaska Will Rogers the humorist, philosopher, and writer accompanied his friend and world famous pilot, Wiley Post on this adventure. Funded by the airlines, Post began to assemble a hybrid plane built from two wrecks. The low-wing monoplane consisted of a Lockheed Orion fuselage and long wings from a Lockheed Explorer. He installed a 550 HP Wasp engine, and oversize 260 gallon gas tanks. He planned to add pontoons, to enable landing in the many lakes in Alaska and Siberia . ...

If you can remain calm . . . you just don't have all the facts. Ice