Alaska is what happens when Willy Wonka and the witch from Hansel and Gretel elope, buy a place together upstate, renounce their sweet teeth, and turn into health fanatics.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I've been under the spell of the North ever since my childhood in Alaska. More and more, I've been returning to Alaska, and sometimes my adventures inspire a story.
To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.
For sheer majestic geography and sublime scale, nothing beats Alaska and the Yukon. For culture, Japan. And for all-around affection, Australia.
Historically, Alaska is a place that has attracted those fed up with conventionality.
It's not like Alaska isn't wilderness - it mostly is. But most Alaskans don't live in the wild. They live on the edge of the wild in towns with schools and cable TV and stores and dentists and roller rinks sometimes. It's just like anyplace else, only with mountains and moose.
This was one of the places people told me to go, it was one the big trips that you should see: Alaska.
Alaska itself is an unusual state.
Alaskans are basically 'leave me alone' type people who respect and embrace different strokes.
The original settlers of Alaska apparently were Russian.
Nobody is accidentally in Alaska. The people who are in Alaska are there because they choose to be, so they've sort of got a real frontier ethic. The people are incredibly friendly, interesting, smart people - but they also stay out of each other's business.