Alaska . . . Up’s and Down’s in the Arctic Frontier

Tonight’s post is just a mixture of thing’s happening around our state this week.

It reminds me of the Clint Eastwood movie . . . “The Good . . . The Bad . . . and The Ugly”.

The Good . . . Something Fishy From Alaska . . .

The first glimpse of the coming summer as the Copper River King Salmon fishery opened yesterday . . . Seafood lovers in the Northwest and around the world have been waiting with, yes, baited breath for this year’s Copper River Salmon season to begin.

No more waiting: today an Alaska Airlines plane left Cordova, Alaska for Seattle, Washington with the season’s first shipment of this tasty and often wildly-priced wild salmon.

The first fish off the plane got celebrity treatment:















First Officer Mark Aown walks down the red carpet with first Copper River Salmon. (Photo courtesy Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines expects to transport about 20,000 pounds of the coveted fish by day's end. The arrival of Copper River salmon is anticipated every year by seafood lovers in a growing number of U.S. cities and points worldwide. Alaska Airlines plays a significant role in supporting the Alaska seafood industry, which is recognized worldwide for its sustainable fishing practices. Last year, the carrier flew more than 30 million pounds of fresh Alaska seafood to the Lower 48 states and beyond, including up to 1 million pounds of Copper River salmon.

Only a few more weeks until the rivers start filling with these tasty treats that we so fondly go crazy each season for that “fish on” feeling.

The Bad . . . Typical Alaska oddities found in the North Country.

Coin-Op Beautiful: Alaska Laundry Takes Top Honor in the 2008 Coin-Op Beautiful competition. Four other laundries were named special honor winners in the annual competition. The Girdwood Laundromall in Girdwood, Alaska, has been named the grand prize winner and features several services while you are waiting to clean and fold your clothes. This is the one and only Girdwood Laundromall: Danny Pfister's contribution to Girdwood culture, comfort and amenities. In the front, you'll find Mamasita's Mexican Restaurant. In the center, it's the Laundry and Shower facility, with internet kiosks, great local art, and murals. In the back, there's Malia's Hair Salon, and Juniper's Misty Mountain Massage Therapy. I've heard visitors say every summer that this is the best Laundromall in the World! And now it has been voted and named the grand prize winner in the 2008 Coin-Op Beautiful competition. Girdwood is thirty miles from Anchorage where the Alyeska Ski Resort is located.

The Ugly . . . Lucky Alaska First to Hit $4 Gas

It's here. Alaska has the painful distinction of becoming the first state where gas is selling for an average of $4 a gallon, Reuter’s reports. The average for the rest of the US is hovering at $3.76, but Connecticut, California, New York, and Illinois could all join Alaska in the $4-a-gallon club after Memorial Day weekend.

Two ten cent jumps in less than a week have brought our state to a new low . . . we have the highest oil and gas resources in the country but now have the highest prices, go figure. Sometime in the hopefully near future our citizen’s demand that ANWAR be opened up to help wean our dependency from foreign suppliers. Resources may be obtained using low impact techniques to the environment or wildlife and could help ease our situation . . . the only problem is . . . it takes time to make these things happen so there is no real relief in sight.

Ice

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