Only in Alaska Photos

Moose enjoying a relaxing dip in the pool

Alaskans are known for their ability to withstand the harsh conditions of the Last Frontier. Whether it's the long, sunless winters, severe below zero temperatures, or the remoteness of the land, Alaskans think of these as the "cool" things about Alaska. It's this quirky nature that seems to define the "sourdoughs" and keep life interesting.

"Fast food" Alaskan style

Fast Food - "Snowmobilers breaking trail for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race discovered that if they wired a can of SPAM to their exhaust manifold, they had a perfectly hot meal in 50 miles!"

Alaska Moose!

- Alaska Almanac

Stow away returned - A Douglas's Squirrel, a protected species in Washington state, turned up in the post office's main branch at Fairbanks Inernational Airport....The squirrel had stowed away in a mail van in Seattle and arrived in Alaska by barge. Alaska Airlines offered to fly the squirrel free back to Washington once officials granted it an importation permit. An Alaskan veterinarian came up with a health certficate and Doug headed home. - Alaskan Alamanac.

Elevated Moose - When Moose and urban life collide, sometimes the results can be quite strange. According to the Anchorage Daily News, a young cow moose crashed through the fiberglass roof of a storage shed at Bell's Nursery. The owner received a call from a neighbor about a moose and raced over to his property. But there was no sign of a moose inside. However, after a noise caught his attention the owner looked up, there was a moose eight feet in the air up on the roof. The animal thrashed around a bit, leaving a basketball-sized raw spot on her rear end, but stayed stuck, peering pathetically over the edge of the roof with legs dangling below. Rescuers got her down safely by using tranquilizers, a net and a backhoe.

Another "stranger than fiction" incident involved a trophy-size bull moose who got strung up and was hanging from a 50-foot telephone pole. City Electric linemen discovered the bull moose hanging 50 feet in the air from its antlers near Fairbanks, Alaska. The linemen crew lay five miles of telephone line at a time before tightening it with a giant hydraulic winch. It is suspected that the moose wandered across the loose line just at the most inopportune time. As the line was tightend, the moose became tangled in the line and was was lifted into the air. The linemen suspected something was wrong due to the difficulty in lifting the line and quickly investigated. Upon discovering the dangling moose, the line was lowered immediately, but the moose was in "rough shape" and had to be put down.

Nuggets don't always mean a fortune of gold! - One of Alaska's more popular tourist souveniers are truly "gifts" from the Greatland.

Moose Dropping Festival

Moose droppings (also called "nuggets") get shallaced and turned into jewelry such as earrings and necklaces as well as swizel sticks and Alaska's version of the Hawaiian "lay." Alaskans use over 50,000 nuggets a year! Of course if you don't want to wear them, you can always play with the nuggets. At the annual Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival, two days are dedicated to the celebration of the little pellets. There's art and craft booths, a parade, and many games that make use of the nuggets.

Newborn gets her wings - Pacific Airways gained a new passenger in mid-air. An Alaska woman gave birth to a five pound, nine ounce baby girl during a flight from Metlakatla to Ketchikan. The flight was aboard a small floatplane that had room for only the new mother and two doctors as they made the unusual flight to the hospital. It gives a whole new meaning to "airborne."

That's cold! - Every Alaskan knows it gets so cold in the winter that your tires freeze flat, and it takes a couple of miles of driving for them to get round again." - Alaska Almanac

Books of Interest:

Outhouses of Alaska - This is not your normal home decor or trendy makeover book. This is the real Alaska. The author takes you along on a ride to discover the backroads of Alaska and a little bit of the quirkiness from the North.

Wacky & Wonderful Roadside Attractions of Alaska - Harry M. Walker combines photography and writing, and has been traveling around Alaska for more than twenty years. His work also has taken him around the world. His photographs have been published in Audubon, National Wildlife, Geo, Backpacker, Men's Journal, the New York Times, Alaska, National Geographic Books, and many other publications.