Footprints Across America by Michael McMonagle

Author:Michael McMonagle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orpen Press
Published: 2013-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

14

Anchorage, Alaska

Alaska. The word is like a sharp, clear bell ringing in the mountain air. It has always appealed to my sense of wonder and curiosity. I imagined that journeying there would be like the experience of a polar bear cub as it first pokes its nose out of its den into the awakening landscape of spring. It pauses at the entrance, pulled both ways. Eventually the cub comes tumbling out (often after a push) into a thrilling and unpredictable existence. Its senses absorb every detail: the crunch of snow underfoot, the feel of the wind on its round, whiskery face, the fresh scents of the landscape and the gurgling of a river, newly unleashed from the clutch of cold ice, surging forth towards the sea. The pulse of the young cub accelerates. Its body stretches full length as its mind responds to new notes in this melody of ice and creation.

The word Alaska is derived from two words, the Aleut word ‘Alyeska’ and the Inupiaq word ‘Alakshak’. Both mean ‘the great land’. Indeed, Alaska is a great land. Twice the size of Texas, it contains one-sixth of the landmass of the US.

It is two thousand, five hundred miles from east to west and one thousand, four hundred miles from north to south. It spans 43 degrees of longitude and 21 degrees of latitude and is filled with huge mountain ranges, long rivers, flowing glaciers and primordial forests. In this wilderness, there are animals that have never seen or heard a human being. It’s the home of caribou, moose, bear, salmon and bald eagle. Whales, dolphins, seals, walrus and otter feed in its abundant waters. Yet it has a population of only six hundred and twenty-seven thousand people, of which one hundred thousand are Native. Half the population lives in Anchorage, with the remainder clustered around small towns and villages throughout the state.

The Russians must still be kicking themselves for selling Alaska to the Americans in 1867 for only seven million dollars.

Late in the evening, I sailed through baggage and arrivals, then quickly found a taxi. The straggly, red-haired taxi driver, who wore long, seventies-era side locks, looked at me with mock horror when I told him where I was staying.

‘What’s it like?’ I asked him.

‘There are better motels. We don’t usually pick up people from that one. All sorts hang out there. A lot are on something and there’s always the prospect of trouble with people like that. It has one consolation’, he added, smiling.

‘What’s that?’

‘There’s a strip club right across the road from it, but I wouldn’t go near it if I were you.’

‘It might be easier to get into than out of?’

‘Exactly.’

He dropped me off near the reception of a typical horseshoe-shaped motel. I entered the small, dowdy reception and eventually a heavily built young man wearing a turban came to the desk. I was surprised that after a few wordless minutes he actually found my internet booking. When I got to my room, however, I couldn’t open the bathroom door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.