Settlers Bay

I can remember sitting on a plane eight months ago, leaving the Anchorage airport and thinking I would never visit Alaska again. It had been a once in a lifetime trip and I couldn't imagine what reason, how or when I would possibly return. I keep forgetting how unpredictable life is. So here I am, 5,000 miles from home back in the state of Alaska. While Alaska gets a bum rap for being dark and cold much of the year, that has not been the case either time I have visited. Today it's in the 60s, the sky is clear and the sun is out for 15 hours a day. This is both warmer weather and more sun than my home state of Connecticut. This small loop became my daily routine while on this visit. The rural stereotype of Alaska is not the case in this area of Wasilla, countless cars zoom by and every inch of land is crammed with houses in this all-american subdivision. Nothing about this walk is meditative, that is until you look up. Settlers Bay is one of the many communities that sits in this mountain basin, with its ring of majestic towers high above goes on as far as the eye can see. They serve as a silent reminder of how very far from home I am and how futile the idea of the "foreseeable future" actually is .

The Arabian Gulf

Sharjah is a coastal area situated on the Arabian Gulf. Traveling throughout the United Arab Emirates as an American was a wonderful experience. The people were kind and accommodating, until we asked to see the beach - then they were perplexed. It is, after all, winter and the coldest time of the year. While the breeze was nearly a wind, the sun was shining and the air was in the 70s. Of course this is all about perspective, as the temperature in the summer will easily be double this, so 70 is down right chilly. Wandering back and forth along this quarter mile stretch, I could have been walking the beach at home. Aside from the very large Russian tourists in very tiny bathing suits, the waves crashing could have been from any of the walks in this blog. The vast waters before me served only to make the world a little bit smaller.

Alaskan Subdivision??

What words come to mind when you think of Alaska? Rural? Wild? Nature? How about growing subdivision near an upscale golf course? I traveled across the continent into the great unknown to find suburbia. My travels took me to visit friends who I had worked with years ago in New Hampshire. We had lived in a small town in the lakes region where they had a bustling sled dog kennel that I had several opportunities to dog sit for. There, the rule was "don't lock the doors - who knows where the keys are". They had a few dozen dogs who lived like kings on a large property with neighbors up the road a bit. Imagine my surprise to arrive to their new home in Alaska to find out that now we lock the doors and the neighbors are right next door. What a funny turn of events. So, my first official walk through Alaska was through a lovely neighborhood, with my husband and a tagalong - a neighbor's dog named Duke who was not about to be left behind.

Reflections

So where exactly did the walks from the last month lead me? It has been an intriguing exercise to examine my walks from the point of view of the destination, rather than the entire journey. As was pointed out by a friend recently "have you found anything here that wasn't delicious??", the answer so far is No. Delicious is defined as "being highly pleasing or agreeable to the senses". I have found each of these destinations to be truly delicious. It is highly pleasing to step out of the hustle and bustle of our fast paced day into welcoming spaces. Obviously I love the smell of coffee and the fresh baked treats, but these destinations were full of micro-communities. Each stop allowed me a glimpse at communities within a city that I am only a visitor to. Observing the workings of diverse people all coming from separate places and leaving for separate places, but for a short time unified by this one place. It leaves much (delicious) food for thought. Below are some of the line drawings that I have made from these walks. They reflect the GPS maps that have accompanied my posts and gestural recall drawings I have made upon my return from the walks. Now the question becomes where to go next?