Alaska is known by many names: The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun, and many more. I call it home. I was lucky enough to grow up in Alaska and I miss it like crazy. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have lived there and hope someday to go back. It was an amazing place to grow up in for so many reasons. Here are just a few.
The Air
It's so easy to breathe there. I have yet to find somewhere that the air is that clean feeling and clear. It's hard to describe, but it's just so easy to breathe.
The Mountains
The mountains are incredible. I grew up in the Matsu Valley which is a valley surrounded on all sides except one by mountains. It was beautiful. Everywhere you went you could see them. They made you really just stand in awe of nature. It made me appreciate life and the longevity of nature so much more because they have been around for an almost inconceivable amount of time while we only have maybe 80 years on this earth.
The Northern Lights
First of all, I've seen the Northern Lights in the lower states. Yes those are Northern Lights, but they are nowhere near as amazing as Alaska's. I'm not talking faint strips of light in the sky that you have to squint to see. I'm talking about something that looks like brightly colored silk in waves across the intense black of the sky from the lack of light pollution. As a kid, I would get annoyed when my parents would wake me up to look at them because it happened so often. You don't know what you have until it is gone.
The Animals
The wildlife in Alaska is amazing. You learn from a young age though how to make your presence know when you're walking in the woods so you don't spook animals and if your family is into hunting, how to hunt. Moose in particular are everywhere. They just hang out in your backyard or will sit in a McDonald's drive-through in the middle of Anchorage (a large city). When I lived in Alaska, a cow (female moose) had babies in our backyard and they stayed on our land for awhile. They're beautiful creatures, but are not to be messed with as their kick can kill. There is such a huge range of cool animals. From moose to bears to sea otters, the animals in Alaska are gorgeous yet deadly like the rest of the nature in Alaska.
The Plants
So the state fair is epic because plants grow to insane sizes in Alaska thanks to the longer hours of sunlight in the summer. The extra sunlight they receive not only makes them larger, but also sweeter than regular fruits and veggies! Sometimes they even have to use small cranes to lift the plants that come into the fair. The pumpkin in the photo below weighed 1,182 pounds and won top prize at the Alaska State Fair in 2013! However, it's not only garden grow plants, but wild plants as well. Not only do they grow to massive proportions, but the greenery is so dense and lush in Alaska. You're pretty much always near nature even if you live in a city, which is a wonderful thing to grow up with. The plants are also just gorgeous in general!
The People
The best thing in Alaska is the people. There are people from all ethnicities and all walks of life in Alaska. It is the epitome of melting pot. From crazy old gold miners that stay in their houses all the time to nature enthusiasts to Menonites, Alaska is incredibly diverse and accepting of people no matter who they are. It's one of my favorite things about the state.
I hope to move back to Alaska someday and I encourage everyone I know to go and visit Alaska. Be warned, if you visit you might just want to stay! It's a beautiful state that I love and will always be proud to call my home.
