What does it mean to ‘live life Alaskan?’ The first thing about being an Alaskan is you have to break your own trail. To live the Alaskan life is really to live your own life, in your own way, on your own terms. To each his own. This opportunity to stake out your own claim on life is what brought many to Alaska, and what keeps the rest like me from leaving.
The Alaskan life for me is about rugged and raw wilderness and the adventures we enjoy there. I’m not talking about some postage stamp national park in a sea of urban sprawl. I mean the kind of wilderness where you get the feeling that there’s a real chance you might be the first person to set foot on that precious piece God’s creation. And if you find yourself in some kind of emergency while you are there – it might only be God that can help you. That’s Alaska for me and the Alaskan thing to do is to get out there, despite the challenges and often inhospitable environment. We don’t live up here because it’s easy, we live here because the rewards are worth the struggles.
The folks at Alaskan Brewing Company know what I’m talking about, and that’s why I’m excited to announce that in 2014 I’m going to be working with them to share my adventures in Alaska.
From the Alaskan Brewing announcement about this collaboration:
At Alaskan Brewing, we get the chance to work with a lot of talented people who are living life Alaskan in their own ways, and the photographers we get many of our images from are great examples of that. Scott Dickerson and Chris Miller both do things that a lot of us would consider extreme – but to them it’s all in a day’s work, or a day’s play. The water and the mountains are a constant in both of their lives, and we hope you will find their stunning images as exhilarating as we do!
We’ve been working on this since last fall and have a nice selection of adventures ready to share. Can’t tell you exactly when the delivery will start but you can follow Alaskan Brewing on their facebook page to keep up with the latest from them and their beer obsessed fans. I’d also suggest taking a look at the video below telling the story of where they are today and back to their humble beginnings as a young couple on a visit to Alaska trying to figure out how to make a living here so they wouldn’t have to go home. I was fortunate that my parents brought me to Alaska before I had to make a living of my own, but I can still sympathize with that feeling of not wanting to leave this incredible state.
Also thought you might enjoy this list from their ‘our home’ page.
Not sure if you’re Living Life Alaskan?
Then see if you identify with any of these uniquely Alaskan scenarios:
You know you’re from Alaska when . . .
- You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.
- You have more miles on your snowblower than your car.
- Driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow.
- You think sexy lingerie is fleece socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons.
- At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant.
- Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof.
- You think the start of moose season is a national holiday.
- You own a pair of “Yaktrax” and/or “Grundens”
- You call it a snow MACHINE not a snowmobile
- A “nice day” is anything short of a torrential downpour, sideways rain or a snowstorm
- You frequently clean grease off your barbecue so the bears won’t prowl on your deck.
- You know which leaves make good toilet paper.
- The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer.
- You have attended a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewels and your snowboots
- You know the 4 seasons: winter, still winter, almost winter and construction.
- Xtra Tuffs are a fashion statement.
- You think the Pillsbury Doughboy has a nice tan.
Stay tuned, more fun to come soon about this collaboration.
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