Jody’s Road Warrior Blog

There’s nothing like leaving home for a while to put things in perspective.

In the travel business, leaving home sometimes happens more frequently than we'd like. Last month, I journeyed across the Country and then Overseas. The first destination was a historic U.S. city. Cobblestone streets and centuries-old architecture significantly contrasted in my mind to Anchorage’s contemporary steel and glass cityscape backed by the beautiful Chugach Mountains. Then in Ireland, I discovered there are more variations to green than I'd ever imagined. “Emerald Isles” is a self-limiting description of this verdant place. In the three weeks out, I enjoyed some amazing sites and memorable experiences, but nothing touched me so much as an in-state trip soon after returning home to Alaska.

I was sleeping in my own bed only a few short days before having to make a business trip up North. By Alaskan measure this was to be a relatively short jaunt from Anchorage to Fairbanks. By air, it’s slightly less than an hour flight time, but since the weather was fair and autumn leaves at their finest, a road trip was definitely in order. Once the morning dew turns to frost, the colors of Alaska's landscape come alive with glistening golds and rare reds that can compete with even the best Irish green. From Anchorage, the first section travels on the Glenn Highway, and National Scenic Byway and about midway, the highway crosses the Alaska Range where snow-capped peaks rise above river valleys on a scale that is too big to look real. In one of these valleys, I spotted a large flock of geese flying with the evening sun on their wings.

The geese were beautiful no doubt, but not a rare site. Not exactly on the top-ten list of Alaska’s wildlife attractions. Around Anchorage, from August on, as soon as the season’s crop of goslings have grown flight feathers, geese can be seen flapping aimlessly in loose, V-shaped formations. But what struck me about this flock was its speed and directness of flight, making the purpose clear - they were heading to wintering grounds. John Warden’s photograph captures these striking V-shaped formations. (photo credit: John Warden / Alaskastock.com)

So I watched them snake through the valley like a strand of golden chain and remembering my recent travels, I couldn’t help ascribing to them a human-like sentiment…wondering if they missed Alaska as much as I when they go.