Flying from Anchorage up to Fairbanks… this was the moment it really started to sink in.
You look out the window and it’s just… white. Endless white. Not like the Rockies, not like anything I’d seen before. This is the Alaska Range stretched out below you, completely buried in snow and ice, like the land never even gets a break
Alaska wasn’t just going to be another trip. It already felt different… colder, bigger, quieter… like it didn’t really care if you understood it or not.
And honestly… that’s what hooked me right away.
Somewhere after arriving in Anchorage, there was a moment where it finally started to feel real. I was standing there taking a photo… snow covered mountains in the background, white spruce all around, and that cold, clean air that immediately feels different the second you step outside.
It still hadn’t fully sunk in yet. Alaska had always felt far away… more like an idea than a place I’d actually be. But there I was, not just visiting, but there to work with Denali Raft Adventures.
That part is what really got me. It wasn’t a short trip or a quick stop… this was something bigger.
What really stuck with me in that moment was the air. It sounds simple, but it’s hard to explain until you experience it. It was the purest thing I think I’ve ever breathed in…
After getting settled, I went out to explore around the housing. Nothing planned… just started walking.
It hit me fast. The Boreal Forest felt completely different… dense spruce, dark greens, cold air, and these quiet little lakes tucked into the landscape like they’d always been there. And then right behind it all… mountains that didn’t feel distant, just there, rising up sharp and snow covered.
It was a lot to take in for a first walk.
Everything felt raw and untouched… like I had stepped into a place that didn’t need anything from me. I remember thinking… if this is just what’s outside my door, I have no idea what the rest of Alaska is going to look like.
Somewhere in those first days, it stopped just being about the place and started being about the people.
The sunsets didn’t end. At 11:30 p.m. it still felt like 7… that long, golden light just hanging there like it didn’t want to leave. You’d lose track of time without even trying.
We took a trip out into Denali National Park… early season, when you could still drive out to Teklanika River. Piled into those beat up raft guide cars, no real plan… just going.
And somewhere along the way, it all clicked. The laughs, the music, the chaos of it… it didn’t take long before we weren’t just coworkers anymore. We were in it together.
Those are the kinds of nights that stick with you. The kind of people that do too
God damn… I sure am lucky. I don’t think I’ve ever felt my spirit this high in my entire life.
Those are the kinds of nights that stick with you. The kind of people that do too.
journeyvision 