June 30, 2008

When Elton John belted out his rendition of his famous ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ at the conclusion of his recent concert in Anchorage, he must have been referring to the midnight sun that was just about to set behind the snowy mountains that embrace this small Alaskan city. It creeps along just below the horizon providing almost constant daylight and will again rise 4 hours later slightly to the right, not far from where it just set. With about 20 hours of daylight during summer, Anchorage is the place where outdoor activities abound to compensate for the long cold and dark winter months but for some, the long daylight comes with a few inconveniences.

Anchorage, some 800 miles below the Arctic Circle, sits on a small strip of coastal lowlands that extends to the lower alpine slopes of the Chugach Mountains. Its close proximity to the North Pole exposes the city to seasonal extremes: long daylights during summer and almost total darkness during the winter. As you go further up north, it becomes more extreme where in some places the sun never sets for months during summer and never rises in the winter. Places closer to the Arctic Circle also experience temperature extremes that reach in the sweltering 90’s during summer and as low as minus 80° F (ambient) in the winter. Compared to these places, Anchorage enjoys a milder temperature of high 60’s in the summer and in the teens during winter, although it is not unusual to dip into sub-zero’s for weeks in Jan and Feb.

The city that dubs itself the Big Wild Life lives with the wildlife. In the summer months, every living thing comes to life after months of hibernation. Encounters between humans and wildlife are all too familiar. Moose are common traffic hazards and grizzly bears occasionally raid garbages and homes along the hillside subdivisions. Almost ten years ago, a game warden shot a grizzly bear at a McDonald’s restaurant but the bear escaped to the adjacent military base. Just a few years back, a 750-lb grizzly attacked a resident walking his dog. Fortunately, in Alaska it is legal to carry firearms and the would-be victim was a retired army officer who was quick and accurate to put several high-powered lead in the beast’s shoulders – the spot that would certainly immobilize a bear. More recently, a pack of wolves around Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base has been terrorizing residents and their pets, preying mostly on their domesticated cousins.

Alaska, which is known not only for its oil and gas reserves, is also famous for fishing and hunting. It is not uncommon to hear fishing and hunting as the main topic in most conversations among men just as women talk about their hair cut, a new diet, or the pairs of brand name shoes or bag they just bought at the mall. The long daylight hours and the arrival of salmon seem to draw every Alaskan resident and tourists alike to famous fishing holes to include downtown Anchorage, which is probably the only city where one can fish right at the doorstep of some hotels. Ship Creek, a muddy stream that cuts through the center of town is well known for its productive run of King and Silver salmon and one of the many sites for combat fishing, a term attributed to the elbow-to-elbow crowd vying for the biggest catch.

The long daylight during the summer months (mid-May through mid-August) affords Anchorage residents abundant time to do most daytime activities. A visitor may find it a bit unusual to see late night activities such as washing cars, mowing the lawn, or kids playing in the yard during early dawn. An insomniac may even find it helpful and safe to go out and run for a few miles at midnight. Anchorage also hosts the yearly Midnight Marathon, one of the qualifying runs for the famous Boston Marathon. Besides humans, plant life benefits from the long daylights too. Farms outside Anchorage grow some of the biggest fruits and vegetables - a cabbage that weighs 100 lbs or a 1000-lb pumpkin.

The love affair with the outdoors and the bright Alaskan summer does not come without hassles. The change of seasons in Alaska puts the human body through an abrupt adjustment as it suddenly has to get use to almost endless activities and to the point of confusion as to when it is time to go to bed. Sleeping at night under the bright sun becomes a challenge and it seems the only way to differentiate night from day is the body’s natural ability to recognize the need to rest. Even the military whose effectiveness relies from its ability to see in the dark using high-tech gadgets finds the long daylight a distraction to its training. Maintaining the yard becomes more frequent as the lawn grows faster and the city taking advantage of the long daylight does all its road maintenance making driving as if going through a maze.

But, with all the little annoyances, long summer days surely beat the cold dark winter and given the beauty, the breath-taking sceneries and the outdoor activities available in the city of the Big Wild Life, there are probably only a few places where one can have all the fun and enjoy a place under a midnight sun.