Alaskans and their "big toys".... (Anchorage: real estate, house)

[naturesdreams]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Well you are right about the amount of "big toys" here, but they really do have a useful purpose other than looking cool in your yard. In the smaller towns, snowmachines are used to drag in firewood, trap, general transportation as are fourwheelers. I use a plow on my fourwheeler to plow snow in the winter, and it does a good job also, as long as you push the snow back early. Use it to hunt and sometimes go looking for someone overdue.

My snowmachine is a widetrack version, don't go screaming fast, but I can haul a bunch of freight with it and not breath hard! Most of the time I haul freight with it and rarely go play with it. To go to my cabin, it is a two hour ride one way and pulls a sled with survival gear, breaking down and waiting for triple-A isn't much of an option and at -20 and colder you don't have a lot of options if you're stupid!

I use the airplane to go visit with friends that live even farther out than my cabin, and sometimes use it to look for people that again are overdue. But.... sometimes I do go for a joyflight! Nothing prettier that flying around the base mountains of Mt. McKinley on a clear day!

But there are a lot of different toys here for different jobs here in Alaska!

Did I mention my favorite toy....


Test Running Imp - YouTube




It's all fun too!

What fun... and very useful too... thanks for sharing Star...

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Well you are right about the amount of "big toys" here, but they really do have a useful purpose other than looking cool in your yard. In the smaller towns, snowmachines are used to drag in firewood, trap, general transportation as are fourwheelers. I use a plow on my fourwheeler to plow snow in the winter, and it does a good job also, as long as you push the snow back early. Use it to hunt and sometimes go looking for someone overdue.

My snowmachine is a widetrack version, don't go screaming fast, but I can haul a bunch of freight with it and not breath hard! Most of the time I haul freight with it and rarely go play with it. To go to my cabin, it is a two hour ride one way and pulls a sled with survival gear, breaking down and waiting for triple-A isn't much of an option and at -20 and colder you don't have a lot of options if you're stupid!

Yep, I mean hell, in the bush villages the snowmachine/ATV is "the family car" sometimes, so they're definitely extremely useful. Definitely not always a toy, really not even for us Southerners. We have ATVs to use at the hunting camp for when you need to haul gear or a deer back to camp or whatever. They're really useful.

Originally Posted by Lunabell

I have to say those snow machines sure look fun! One of the high schoolers suggested I go to Barrow and just drive one back. Hmmmm I don't think my survival skills (or lack there of) are up for that venture. But it would save a ton on shipping!

That would be the ultimate for me: riding one from village to village on the river. It would take a lot of know-how, and I would never do it the first time (or second or third maybe) without someone extremely knowledgeable, like a life-long villager or someone. Might never happen, but can you imagine how exhilarating that would be, riding that thing across the tundra all the way back to the village. Like needles sticking in your face. That village "skyline" would look awfully good after a ride like that!

[Lakester]

Oh man those Imps rattle so bad inside, even with muffs on the noise is unreal. Ones that were foamed were not quite as bad. They will haul alot and go most anywhere.

[Lunabell]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

Might never happen, but can you imagine how exhilarating that would be, riding that thing across the tundra all the way back to the village. Like needles sticking in your face. That village "skyline" would look awfully good after a ride like that!

It felt like needles sticking in my face just from driving my 4 wheeler around Atqasuk during a blizzard yesterday. My eyes hurt like hell today from having snow driven into them because I didn't grab my goggles. So no, right now I have no desire to tear off across the tundra.

[SityData]

Well you learned a valuable lesson. Always wear eye protection when it is blowing snow. It hurts !!

You would never be able to make that trip Lunabell; Don't even begin to entertain that thought.

Too many things easily go wrong when a person is out there on that Tundra;

Have fun and enjoy the "village life". Gosh I envy you!! I hate being stuck here in Anchorage !!

[SityData]

For what it is worth... ... (FYI) The two things you never leave a village unless you have these.

A new spark plug in your inside shirt pocket to keep it very warm.

A new belt hanging across the handle bars of your snowmachine. Those two items -are a must to have at all times. They can very well be the difference between living and dying out on that tundra when traveling very long distances using a snowmachine.

[blueflames50]

Starlite...I've groomed snowmachine trails in an old IMP and oh my aching butt, back, shoulders and the noise in my ears for days on end!...but...the up side it...no one else is out there but us (we groom in pairs in case the drag gets hung up)...it is incredible to be on top of a ridge and see nothing but vast snow covered trees, mountains and clear clean air!.....thanks for the video!...can't imagine having to use it on a regular basis

[LUVSNOW]

We have some of these "big toys" in our household. A 2005 and a 2011 mountain snowmachine and a Polaris RZR 4. These are just a few of the ways we like to get out and enjoy the outdoors year around. We do not owe money on any of them as I am a firm believer in paying cash for toys. We also own a lifted, diesel truck but it was made in the late 90's, newest car we have is a 2000. Don't owe on them either.
You will not find a 55" flat screen TV with a Wii or playstation 3 or what have you in my home. I choose to spend my money on my outdoor recreational pursuits instead.

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by highlife2

The only way that can be explained is lots of trust fund babies and old money. Low inheritance taxes create this sitatuation and are the primary causes for the huge gap in standards of living.

Sorry dude, nobody I know with a plane or other expensive toys got that money from their parents. I bought a $9,000 snowmachine last year, and it costs me $140 a month. I could spend that money on smartphones and cable TV, or a truck that doesn't have a million miles on it like mine does, or a bunch of other stuff I don't want, but I don't. I spend it on my sled. Not exactly the kind of money that requires a trust fund though, huh? Here's another example: my guy drives a $40,000 Dodge Megacab that he paid for with cash. You know how he did that? He worked his butt off every single day for months and got a ton of overtime. No trust fund here, buddy. Whatever your financial problem is, it certainly doesn't afflict everyone in this state.

[Metlakatla]

Can't rep you enough for that one, Tigre.

Not really a lot of "old money" in Alaska, rrpearso (aka highlife2), not a lot of trust fund babies either, though maybe there's a few in Anchorage.