Dream? or Deathwish! (Anchorage, Hope, Eagle: apartment, rental, hotels)

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by JavaPhil

Kin you say "Alaska Waddle"?

Oh , that is too damn funny. I'm living proof of it. You learn to "stomp" (or waddle), not walk like a normal person in the winter, that is unless you like going horizontal a bunch.....

[Rainy]

I wouldn't try to live in Anchorage without a car...or any of the rest of the state...I'd just get it in good enough shape to make it here, plenty of people drive older vehicles with mileage on them up here...just do it in the summer.

As far as the food, insearchof, ever eat an Alaskan wild salmon steak after it's sat on a barge for two weeks? That must be how it tastes in Cali. I wonder how much that differs from how they taste right after they're caught; I wouldn't know. And I'll take freshly picked salmonberries, blackberries, and wild huckleberries over pesticide drenched Cali strawberries any day.

[RAMFEB31]

Originally Posted by Rainy

I wouldn't try to live in Anchorage without a car...or any of the rest of the state...I'd just get it in good enough shape to make it here, plenty of people drive older vehicles with mileage on them up here...just do it in the summer.

As far as the food, insearchof, ever eat an Alaskan wild salmon steak after it's sat on a barge for two weeks? That must be how it tastes in Cali. I wonder how much that differs from how they taste right after they're caught; I wouldn't know. And I'll take freshly picked salmonberries, blackberries, and wild huckleberries over pesticide drenched Cali strawberries any day.

Come on, Rainy. Stop picking on us poor Ca ans. Our strawberrys are not, in almost all cases, are not chemically treated. The farmers here are extra careful in the care of their strawberries. I've even stop growing my own because they do a better and cleaner job

[insearchof]

Originally Posted by RAMFEB31

Come on, Rainy. Stop picking on us poor Ca ans. Our strawberrys are not, in almost all cases, are not chemically treated. The farmers here are extra careful in the care of their strawberries. I've even stop growing my own because they do a better and cleaner job

Ditto

and Ramfeb, dontcha ever wonder just WHY Fred Meyer sells 'farmed salmon w/ color added'? you'd think they'd support the local fisherman but NAH!
all that matters is that they make $$$$
and Ca Strawb's are unbeatable! ever tasted fresh from picking at a road side stand

[Hawkeye48]

Man I'm jealous. I wish I could move to Alaska. Just can't afford it though.

[rotorhead]

The reason why store-bought strawberries are as big as raquetball balls and yours are grape size is because of nematodes. The little buggers are roundworms that work at the roots, almost impossible to get rid of and very common in virtually all soil types. Until just recently the professional strawberry growers would tent over the mounds and fumigate with methyl chloride gas, killing everything in the soil. They'd plant new starts every year or so and get huge strawberries as a result. Don't know what they're using now, the gas was banned as its a powerful greenhouse gas and extremely toxic as well.

I do know that here in NM the mass-market strawberries aren't typically much better looking than the flats I used to see at Freddies in Eagle River, except that you can find organic here as well. Those tend to be much smaller and I think the small ones usually taste better. They ought to, they're typically almost half again as much, price-wise. Still, nothing beats homegrown strawberries you've picked yourself, at least when you can salvage a few from the !#$@%&!! snails and slugs!

[sweetana3]

We lived in Anchorage in the 70s. Husband drove the Alcan in a Corvair. He then had a 60s era Mustang that he drove back and forth to Fairbanks on the unpaved roads. We then had a 72 Buick Skylark that ran just fine. No problems then and no one should really expect any different problems now. Anchorage is very cosmopolitan and the temps are easier to take than northern Minnesota.

[RAMFEB31]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

The reason why store-bought strawberries are as big as raquetball balls and yours are grape size is because of nematodes. The little buggers are roundworms that work at the roots, almost impossible to get rid of and very common in virtually all soil types. Until just recently the professional strawberry growers would tent over the mounds and fumigate with methyl chloride gas, killing everything in the soil. They'd plant new starts every year or so and get huge strawberries as a result. Don't know what they're using now, the gas was banned as its a powerful greenhouse gas and extremely toxic as well.

I do know that here in NM the mass-market strawberries aren't typically much better looking than the flats I used to see at Freddies in Eagle River, except that you can find organic here as well. Those tend to be much smaller and I think the small ones usually taste better. They ought to, they're typically almost half again as much, price-wise. Still, nothing beats homegrown strawberries you've picked yourself, at least when you can salvage a few from the !#$@%&!! snails and slugs!

Since I was, at one time, a farmer, I thot it would be great to grow my own strawberry, melon, stringbeans and all other veggies since I live in a rural area. No more. The rabbits , gophers, squirrels and all other creatures were really salivating every year. when they were thru even my corn were gone. I really believe these insects and creatures are growing their brain size. The days of trapping and catching
them by the dozens are gone. I brought in professsionals and it work for awhile. Now, even the profession exterminators have given up.

[Marylandkitten]

Originally Posted by Rainy

I wouldn't try to live in Anchorage without a car...or any of the rest of the state...I'd just get it in good enough shape to make it here, plenty of people drive older vehicles with mileage on them up here...just do it in the summer

Okay!! A few days and brainstorms later... let's say I'm still thinking about driving it up.. the car transport company DAS i was looking into..sadly, has as many bad evil reviews as they do good... do I really want to chance it?

-the Last week in OCTOBER - ..... is that too close to the winter frame to try driving? I don't want to run off the road. I do not have 4 wheel drive.. I have all terrain tires... and it's a truck... and I feel very safe.. but I do not want to be battling head on snowstorms on my way up there, in uncharted unknown territory, and happen to get stuck stranded or abandoned on some lonely stretch of highway in the middle of Canada. ahhh!!!!!

I would drive it earlier if I could,, but I'm torn between, leaving before it gets too cold, (for driving conditions safety) versus, the longer I stay the more money I leave with.

My gas looks like it's gonna average around $800-$975 to get up there.
I figure leaving with just over (or just under, dependong on how many supplies I see fit to stock up on between then and now) $3000 , would be safe. Will it cover me if my truck breaks down, and the. . timing belt is torn? or disintegrated? or I need a new transmission or engine? ...no. But I'm trying to think positively here!!! My transmission needs to be flushed good and hard.. but other than that, the truck is in fine working condition.

Summarizing this to stay on the point for any answers welcome : Is the end of october pushing it for driving up there? (road and weather wise)

[JavaPhil]

Cutting it too close. 1st storms can be as early as late September, and as late as middle to late October.