Question: Where can
we find real Alaska Native
culture?
My wife
and I are
planning to visit Alaska early
August for 10
days together with two visitors from South
Africa. We are
all in our
mid 50’s. Our time is unfortunately limited and there is just too much
to see.
We are thinking of visiting Juneau, glacier national park, and after
reading
your comments on Sitka feel it will be worthwhile visiting. We would
like to
leave Alaska having
experienced
the “culture” of the area not just the normal tourist areas. To this
end we are
thinking of including a side trip to Nome and
Kotzebue. I
realize that our time is limited and maybe we are being too ambitious.
Do you
think it would be worthwhile renting a car and driving to the
Yes, I do
think Juneau, Glacier
Bay, Sitka, Nome and
Kotzebue and the Kenai
Peninsula would be
too much for
a 10-day trip. It would also be a costly itinerary. I think you will
need to
pare it down a bit.
For your less visited park experience, consider spending a few days in
Gustavus
on your
Nome and
Kotzebue for a
taste of "real" Alaska culture.
Kotzebue is
accessible primarily as a package tour destination, which is very
scripted. Nome is not
the best place
to encounter Eskimo culture. Barrow would be a better choice for that
if your
aim is to go the the Arctic. Think
about joining
a tour in Barrow and having at least a day on your own as well. On the
other
hand, any of those arctic destinations is very expensive. If going to
the
arctic isn't critical, there are small towns in every part of the state
where
you can experience something real.
Question:
Can you recommend good books about Alaska?
I was
wondering if you
can recommend 3 or 4 travel journals/literatures (books) about Alaska
besides
Charles Brower's "50 years of below zero", which I am planning to
read this summer.
John
McPhee's “Coming Into the Country”
captures the modern Alaska spirit. “Tisha,” by
Richard Specht, is a good novel about a teacher in the Alaska
wilderness.
“The Thousand-Mile War” by Brian Garfield is a great book about World
War II in
Alaska. Alaska Magazine
http://www.alaskamagazine.com/ is
great for
learning about Alaska; it
comes out monthly. Lots of good books about the gold
rush--and many other subjects. Depends on your interest.
And one more. My own book Eskimos and climate change in the
