I spent 3 months in Alaska when I was 9. We visited and camped in remote areas. I remember that a glass bottle of pop in Colorado was 10 cents, but in Alaska, it was 25 cents. I remember giant mosquitoes trying to eat me alive while I was fishing. I caught a 38" pike and bragged about that for years. I would have never landed it but a teenage boy (his family was camped near ours) saw me struggling and came to help. He couldn't believe that I could shoot the high powered rifle that was nearby in case of a grizzly. The next day our families found a place set up for shooting and I showed him I could do it. My shoulder was sore, but I never admitted it. Thanks for this Alaska thread bringing back those memories. My father wanted to move there and homestead. My mother said NO!
I remember my parents almost moving us to Fairbanks. The government was paying people to move there. Not sure why we did not go.
I got married in Fairbanks. We flew up to the Arctic Circle, first. Great times..... A moose came into the back yard of our honeymoon house. We were told it was a fertility symbol. Must have been: My daughter was born exactly nine months, to the day, later!