My First Impression

Family & Friends,

I arrived in Fairbanks Alaska on Sunday May 23rd at 8:00p.m. and it was like arriving at noon! The sun was up and the temperature was mid 70's. The manager whom I am replacing met me at the airport and took me to a very quaint establishment for dinner. The restaurant used to be a brothel in the early 70's when the initial rush was on to build the oil pipe line. I had a terrific piece of prime rib and enjoyed the whole atmosphere of the rustic log cabin feel diner.

The first thing I noticed besides the sun being so high in the sky was how green everything is. I mean the trees, grass & bushes. It was like the wildlife grew around the town. All the buildings are fairly short - about six to ten stories high. There were lots of people wandering around enjoying the sunny evening doing activities like fishing to jet skiing.

I arrived at the Spring Hill Suites and went up to the room. Obviously I could not sleep as I was excited about my new adventure. I wandered back downstairs and walked across the street to the center park on the Chena River. It was still off color as the ice melt was still flowing and the river was high and silty. I sat drinking a bottled water and just breathing the clean fresh air.

About an hour later I wandered back to the hotel, but I slept very little and could not wait for the alarm to go off so that I could get my first day started. I went down to the park and snapped a few photos before heading to the office for my first day. I will bypass the work stuff but will say this is the nicest branch I have every seen!

I managed to ride along with one of the sales reps and we went all over Fairbanks to visit customers and explore the wilderness that is Alaska. I will say that when we reached the top of Delta Junction I had to stop and take in the most amazing mountain range I have ever seen. The Alaskan Mountain range is incredible and quite frankly I have never seen anything that was this breathtaking. You will have to experience it for yourself to understand.

The Tanana River runs South of Fairbanks and is massive in size. It is a wide river and water flow is fast and silty. I was told many people have met their end on that river as the logs tear boats apart and the mud is so bad people actually sink in it like quick sand. I do not believe I will fish that river!

Heading south to Delta Junction I was able to see my first moose! They remind me a lot of Oregon's elk. They feed in swamp like areas and seem to be just as big. The moose paid me no mind and fed along side the road about thirty yards or so. During that week, I only saw two of these animals. But, I am told they are everywhere. Daddy wants steaks for dinner!

Jobs are posted every where. From diners to supermarkets, everybody is hiring. That is a good indication of the economy up there. I managed to stroll through a local Safeway and found most prices were relatively the same as down here. There are a differences for certain, but an example was milk was $3.69 a gallon so not too bad. Buying potato chips can be difficult because most of them are broke in the bag. I heard it is good luck to find a whole chip in a bag.

I ate out every night and had great meals at every one of the restaurants. The food ranges in price depending on what you order, but not out of line as far as cost. The people are really nice and the service was excellent. I would recommend all of them, but I cannot remember the names!

All I thought of was how much Nichole was going to enjoy Alaska! I cannot wait to experience this wonderful state with her.

Posted by Deven