January 17, 2020
10 Things I Hate (To Love) About You, Alaska
A love/hate relationship with Alaska that's impossible to deny!
By: Courtney Dowd-Stanley
Alaska really is a land of beautiful, wonderful uniqueness. The highs are really high, and the lows are painstakingly low. But what about the middle ground? Well, there really isn't much of that up here in the 49th state. It's a land of many extremes that takes a very bold person to handle it all with grace and contentment. No matter which way you shake it down, Alaska is not for the faint of heart. But for those with courageous, ambitious, outgoing hearts, Alaska is quite possibly the happiest place in the world (yes, even happier than Disney Land). But despite having a fascination for all the wild and crazy that Alaska has to offer, we can't help but to have a love/hate relationship with these 10 things...
1 – Those big, beautiful, voluptuous ample peaks ruining us for everywhere else in the world. Not only is Alaska home to Denali, the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320 ft above sea level, but you will also find 17 of the 20 highest mountain peaks in the United States located right here in the almighty 49th state.
Flickr - NOAA Public Library
2 – Sure we love a good ROAD TRIP, but after winding through some of Alaska's 14,336 miles of public roads, it's easy to become land-locked and never want to leave. So much for traveling! Then again, you could spend a lifetime traveling throughout Alaska and truly never see it all.
Flickr - JLS Photography Alaska
3 – One word: FISHING! All those limits... all those big, vivacious, healthy doses of wild Alaska salmon. With over 12,000 rivers + 3,197 lakes + 33,904 miles of shoreline throughout Alaska & it's surrounding islands, FISHING is forever ruined (in the best way possible) after getting hooked on Alaska's bounty!
Flickr - Amber Bee Cee
4 – But then again, in Alaska... no matter how much you love fishing or the great outdoors, you're always at risk of loosing your favorite honey hole to the 'reel' locals. AKA - the bears! Nothing we hate more than the risk of losing our fresh catch to those stinkin' bears. But, we surrender! They always get to win. It's their land first.
Flickr - Dr. DeNo
5 – Yeah, tourists... we see you! Hate to see you go but love to watch you leave. ;-) It's a love/hate relationship that no one living in Alaska can deny. Tourism is great for our economy but locals can't help but to rejoice once mid-September rolls around and our peaceful paradise feels, well, peaceful again.
Flickr - Jasperdo
6 – When you want to live off the beaten path, but realize you might need an entire life savings just to have a fair shake at surviving long-term... That, or, you better be prepared to live like a true Alaskan and hunt/fish/forage with the best of 'em!
Flickr - Travis
7 – The pesky, messy, looming feeling of a bad breakup on the horizon. Oh we hate you, breakup season! But we love all that you stand for, aka - SPRING! Finally. Finally sunnier, happier, vitamin D filled days are upon us. But first, we have to strap on our XtraTuf's and brace for you like the champs we are. PS, still hate you.
Flickr - landbridge
8 – When winter wonderland is so painful it hurts. Truly breathtaking picture-perfect days are common all year long in Alaska, but during the winter months there is just something so devastatingly beautiful about those sub-zero days that make you crazy with cabin-fever, but then it's too cold to do much about it.
Flickr - Paxson Woelber
9 – Living like a king really does have it's way of turning us into a bunch o' seafood snobs. We hate to be this way, but... just kidding, we LOVE it! Spoiled feels FAB-u-lous!
Courtney D.
10 – That stinkin' unofficial state bird of Alaska really does have a way of getting under our skin. And on top of our skin. Leaving us itching from our nose down to our toes. There is nothing pretty about you, darn pesky mosquitoes. But when you're here so is the summer sun, so we'll take you on with a bottle of DEET and our best ninja chopping karate skills. We know you'll try to win, but we promise we'll give you hell as you try to eat us alive. ;-)
Flickr - Arthur Chapman
What are some things you hate (to love) about living The Alaska Life? We'd really enjoy hearing about how you embrace all the good, bad, and ugly that comes along with living in the most amazingly unique place in the world.
Looking for another great read? Check out these 21 Cringe-Worthy Alaska Life Moments that look like an April Fools' Day joke gone horribly wrong. You might also enjoy these 15 times Alaska moose thought they were humans and got caught on candid camera. If you are living and loving The Alaska Life – share your adventures with us on our Facebook page HERE, and they might just end up being featured in one of our next blog posts.