Hi I don't think that this should be posted right here
but I am coming over to Alaska in October 2003 and was wondering whether there were any Alaskans lc-ing (mind you if they weren't they wouldn't be reading this cos they wouldn't know about this forum - silly me)
Anyways any Alaskans out there?
Fi

Look in the journals under ICEDANCER...he is a LCer in Alaska and may be able to direct you to others in the forum....

Donald

Thanks DWRolfe much appreciated - I posted in his journal and now await a reply
take care and happy lc-ing
Fi
xx

Hi Fine - yes, there are some here too. I know of a couple besides myself, and it must be popular because there are more atkins and lc products in the stores all the time.For instance, when I first heard about the La Tortilla lc tortillas, I went online, found a health food store here that had them, drove across town, etc. Now they are in my Carrs/Safeway. Why/how are you coming to Alaska? Business? Pleasure? driving? motorhoming? Oct is later than most tourists, but it can be very nice. In fact it usually is. Hope you have a good trip. I just got back from a motorhome trip which reached Manitoba, then we headed southwest and did Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Southern California and then back up to our beloved north. In retrospect, we all wish we had kept on going while in Canada - I haven't seen the maritimes in thirty years, and my kids never have. Perhaps next summer. Best Wishes, Bill

I lived in Alaska for the last six years, and am now in Florida, our family having returned due to my elderly father. We long to go back, it is a place that people either love or hate.....and if you love it, you REALLY love it. I don't know how long we can hold out in the "real" world.....

About low-carbing in Alaska.....if you live on the road system, it's not too bad, but you will see that food in general is phenomenally expensive, and fresh veggies are at a premium. You get used to it after awhile, and as I say, if you're on the road system, you'll be okay. When we lived in the Aleutians, I was once desperate enough to pay $10 for a cataloupe....and it was lousy. Don't do that. But there's plenty of meat and salmon and the "beef" of Alaska, Halibut. That famous "Eskimo diet," you know.....

Good luck! I don't think we'll be far behind you, we're still mournining selling our house (also phenomenally expensive).......

Cimorene

Hi Bill and Cimorene
THank you very much for your replies....
We (me, hub and the two teens) are coming 20th Oct - 4th Nov for a holiday - As I'm from the Southern Hemisphere (South Africa) I have for many years wanted to see the Northern lights so Alaska we thought would be a beautiful country/state to see and we wanted to try our hands at dog mushing and polar bear watching and whale watching and hopefully we may get a chance to try out skiing....- I for one am the most excited out the whole family - I'm like a big kid
We haven't booked anywhere to stay as yet - I think your B&B's are different to our B&B's and you get motels and we don't really.... I know that Oct is a little late but we were advised to go then for the Northern lights...
We are flying into Anchorage for the 1st night as the flights get in after 2100, then hire a car and drive on up to Fairbanks and use that as base to drive here there and everywhere for the 2 weeks, then coming back to ANchorage for the last night again..... if you have any suggestions as to where is ok to stay in Anchorage and Fairbanks and where to go to visit - honestly I would so much appreciate it... Cimorene do all they eat then is fish? Golly doesn't that sound ignorant?!!! Do the Alaskans not eat lots of veg in their diet nor fruit... I am unsure as to exactly what $10 is for a cataloupe (melon?) but it sounds quite expensive (I think its 1.7 $ to the £ - or its the other way round....)
Gee just talking about it to you Alaskans is making me soooooooo look forward to it all the more... do any of you live near where I'm going?
kind regards and hope to hear from you soon with hundreds and hundreds of ideas, tips and suggestions..... oh yes is it very cold that time of the year? is it thick thick coat and thermals and gloves, hat, scarf etc.... or is it warmish in the days ....?

Hi again, Fine - I'm sort of scattered now, trying to get ready for a camping trip. Anyhow, big difference between rural AK and urban. I don't think you'll see much difference in food prices between Ont. and Anch/Fbk. It's hard to know while you're shopping, because at home you might buy 500g of grd beef and of course pay for it in Canadian $ and here you will buy 1.18 lbs and you won't know whether that is more or less than 500g, and it will seem cheap until you realize that you had to give 1.32 or whatever to get that US dollar. I think it all works out about the same. Canada is prob a bit more pricey than the 48 states, but so is Alaska. Not as big a difference anymore. Our markets are full of good produce - BC hothouse tomatoes, Chilean grapes, whatever. I wish you well with the aurora viewing. Last Oct I took my two youngest boys on a trip to the Yukon, and coming back we stopped for a pit stop in the middle of nowhere, and saw wonderful northern lights. I realized then that you don't see them all that well in the cities. Too much extraneous light. Out there by that little roadside lake it was VERY dark - no moon either. So it was great. As I mentioned, we just returned from Canada, but did not do a whole lot of shopping - had loaded up the motorhome freezer with steaks and the farmer sausage that my dad and I make. Imagine taking farmer sausage to canada. My dad was born in Winkler, MN, where they make Winklers brand sausage and a lot of others. Will be in touch again. Right now, have to think about my LC food on a backpack outing with a lot of non-lc people. Bill

Hi Bill
thank you for that tip on the Northern lights and the cities - I had no idea but it so makes sense of course when you said that.... lights in the city really would make a diffs - doh!
Have a good time whilst camping - I know that it can be difficult trying to think what to take lc-ing - I'm a Scout Leader and when we go camping or hiking it's rack the brain cells time as to what I can take...I do however, take with me a lc protein bar, as I feel I do need it on a strenuous hike. Anyways Bill, have a fab time and hear from you soon
Fi x

So you are going for a vist......well, where to stay. There are loads of places, and I don't know how they would compare to South Africa, but I do know how the compare to the "lower forty-eight," as Alaskans refer to the US.....more expensive and more......peculiar. Well, that's the thing in general about Alaska, it is just really a law unto itself. On the one hand, you will find that people are really friendly, love to talk (a lot of isolated people up there, starved for conversation!), and love to talk about Alaska. But it IS expensive, and Alaska does take thorough advantage of its tourists. There are lots of B&Bs; you can search the Internet, there are loads of sites, just use a search engine. As for hotels, Anchorage has many, and we stayed in lots of them when we lived in the Bush and am to Anchorage for grocery shopping and doctor's appointments. You will find that they are expensive and all a little weird, but some of them can be quite nice. I recommend the Barratt (Best Western) and the Millenium, both a little spendy, but not too bad. In Fairbanks, you're on your own. I've been there many times, but can't speak for hotels; again, though, the Internet has loads, and you can make reservations online, usually. The drive up to Fairbanks is magnificent and can be a little scary, as the road is very isolated in places. Be sure to take warm clothes, you might be sorry if you don't. It gets colder and colder as you head up. Be sure to be prepared for road emergencies, too. People really help each other out in Alaska, but you will maybe be surprised at the miles of isolation. Let me know if you have any more questions........I'm just rambling here!

Cimorene

Cimorene
Thank you thank you thank you - it really does help - I am going to look online again - we have seen a few places we quite liked but you know what it's like I'm sure, cos it may look nice but whether it's in an awful area or not will be pot luck, hopefully there aren't too many awful areas.
oooooh it's getting closer - yay!
it looks like it'll probs be a b&b as budgets.....but no matter - Neil (hubby) has suggested we stay at the Diwali game reserve for a couple of nights too - so expensive there but hey we live but once!
This is a birthday prezzie from my family to me (the big four-oh!) so we have been saving crazy mad to have fun there - I began ringing round for travel insurance today - Cimorene perhaps you can answer this question - is there skiing at that time of the year? if not then I won't bother getting ski cover if yes then I will or it may be cheaper to get the ski cover there??? sorry for all these questions but the ignorant don't know nuffin! ha ha
South Africa is gorgeous too in a sunny way - especially where I come from - Cape Town - it has the winter rains so that leaves the summer absolutely suntastic! - we have really blowy winds, one of which is called the so'easter (south easter) and that is really really blowy, then there's the berg wind (hot wind) and then the no'wester - jolly cold that one! but it normally comes after the berg wind and blows all the sickness and hotness away.
I digress - sorry
Again, Bill and Cimorene, your help really is appreciated - Bill where do you live in Alaska? Florida must be so different too from Alaska - hot there isn't it? oh yes isn't it where Disney is?
take care
Fi

Just one more thing about areas in Anchorage and Alaska in general.....it really is a different world, and you may well find Anchorage is just a mixed bag with no really good areas and no really bad ones. If you find someplace that looks good, email me and I'll see if I can give you the lowdown on it..... as for skiing, the answer is, maybe yes, and maybe no. I've seen it snow in July in Valdez, and I've seen it stay dry until after Christmas, so you'll just have to see. I'm not a skier, so don't know about coverage and etc. Alyeska is the big ski resort, but I'm sure there are lots of others. It's in the opposite direction from Fairbanks, but not far from Anchorage, and you really ought to drive out that way, it's possibly the most beautiful drive you'll ever take, up the Cook Inlet to the Portage Glacier. Frankly, it makes me want to cry to talk about it.....I think we'll have to go back, Florida just doesn't do it for us. Alaska has many disadvantages, but it truly, truly is the most beautiful place you'll ever see. Have a wonderful time....