Alaska's vanishing glaciers

Well, it's no secret that I love nature and am concerned about the environment... Without an environment the planet will become less inhabitable and comfortable for us humans and other animals to survive...

Imagine having the opportunity to live in Alaska and experience some of the grandeur and beauty that lay semi- protected since the beginning of the founding of the earth. I once hiked on glaciers, beautiful trails, was around beautiful lakes - streams - inlets and bays. Never did I realize that part of history was vanishing away behind the scenes because while I was younger bliss of being an Alaskan resident was the forefront of my thoughts... "Yeah, I live in Alaska"... I thought I was BIG and all grown up to conquer my childhood dream (since 5th grade) to move there and live there until my "old age". You see first I was raised around people who thought being a native Louisianan was the biggest baddest thing on the Earth.... an Authentic Cajun... the "worlds best cooks", "the most unique people of the USA".... boy was I ever so changed when after moving away from there when I was at age 21 then arriving in Alaska only to find that my broken English/Cajun French colloquialisms and accent didn't make or break me nor did it get the attention I was told as a child "us Cajuns deserved" due to our heritage. In Alaska, I became another "human" and learned that those "yankees" were not yankees and that other peoples from all walks of life were just as amazing as "us Cajuns" ... Of course we cook different, look somewhat different depending on how much cross cultural blending each of us has within our human make-up. I wasn't one for "prejudice" or "intolerance" as some of my family members tried to instill within me... I was relieved after a time of "human acclimation" to what I call a lesser intolerant atmosphere around people who wanted to live in a city (Anchorage and others) that came from all areas of the planet and strived to make a community that felt like family. Imagine a big city with a little town feeling.

I learned about some issues for the Native Alaskans, Native Eskimos, Native American Indians .... which included subsistence, working in canneries, working in the oil fields, other areas of "big money" or those who struggled in town to make ends meet by having the "lesser jobs" having to spend the majority of their income just on rent or if fortunate enough to even have a house note.

I felt it was worth it due to being in such a beautiful place and it felt like as if I was living a non stop vacation. The beauty and wonder of a winter wonderland and a summer filled with the midnight sun. If someone got bored while living there... it's because they failed to find something to do... and believe me Alaska offers much to keep one busy and not bored.

In 1992 we took a small charter plane ride over Knik Glacier and the extensive and massive glacier field behind the Anchorage bowl and flew all the way out above Prince William Sound... SPECTACULAR views... later we hiked on or around glaciers; Matanuska Susitna Glacier & Exit Glacier. Later things happened, health weakened and it became near impossible to get out and have fun hiking, fishing, gold panning, skiing, sledding, walking on the expanse of paved bike trails, exploring the woods with streams, sight seeing, driving to Denali, Fairbanks or the natural hot spring past Fairbanks or a drive to the south area and seeing the Kenai River, Resurrection Bay, the inlet in Seward or Homer to experience walking out as far as possible when the tide was low or taking a charter ride out and seeing whales, dolphins, seals, otters, sea birds and calving glaciers... Imagine going back to Alaska after moving away only to find that when ya drive out to those once big glaciers they have melted quite extensively.... global warming is happening and unfortunately some seem not to give a care.



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"To consider more than one's self is something we should all strive for. Without an environment we have no future, we must consider nurturing nature." -- Cheri Bordelon