Fun in the Last Frontier

Part of my wonderful job as a Paramedic is recertifying every two years. The big part of that recertification is taking a week long refresher course. I am the only working Paramedic at Yokota so there is no refresher class available at my level. So, that means that I get to go somewhere else for the training. The closest military installation offering a Paramedic course was Elmendorf Air Base in Anchorage, Alaska.

I was fast-tracked and approved for this TDY (temporary duty assignment) and headed off to Alaska. After 19 hrs of flying, I was in Alaska. I got a rental car so I was able to drive myself to Elmendorf. Thank goodness I was authorized a rental car because my lodging was on one side of the base and the hospital was clear on the other side of the base which is much much larger than Yokota. It is a joint base with Richardson (Army) so it is referred to as JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson). It was also much much cooler than Yokota. The locals told me it was actually the first week of nice weather of the season. It was in the mid 40’s and low 50’s as compared to Yokota; which was 30 degrees warmer.

The class was good and I got to meet some great people. The class was approx. 10-12 people. Everyone was from Alaska except for one TSgt from Eglin in FL and me.

For the class, it was lectures and practicing our skills. Over the last few days we took a written test as well as testing out of our skills stations (much like taking registry all over again). There was a group going through an instructor portion as well and I was in the student portion so I got done first which meant I got the last half of the day off. Finally, some time to REALLY get out and explore Alaska properly.

Up until then, after class, I had spent my evenings driving into Anchorage and venturing around town. One day I went through some holistic shops then went and bought a Reindeer dog (instead of hot dog) from a vendor and ate it while walking on part of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The vendor was a native Alaskan and he said that they can shoot the Reindeer because they become overpopulated and will roam the streets (much like deer) but selling moose is illegal. The reindeer dog was a darker/slightly spicy meat cooked up with caramelized onions. It was also the first meat I’d had in about 7 months (other than fish).

Another night I had gone to Moose’s Tooth Pizza and had some gluten free pizza and gluten free beer! Haha, it’s amazing how much Anchorage catered to those of us with unfortunate allergies.

I even found a gluten free/vegan bakery… and even if it sounds a bit whacky, you couldn’t tell at all. Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop was simply amazing. They had daily specials and the products were straight up sensational. I went the second to last day and bought stuff to take back with me. I also bought a sandwich for dinner and one for lunch the next day IT WAS THAT GOOD! Haha. It’s just not what we have back in Japan, so I had to get it while I could. I brought back a loaf of Alaskan Sourdough to my work crew who ate it all up.

I really just had a great time reviewing during the day and soaking up the American restaurants and ambiance at night. I even had REAL Starbucks instead of Rickenbacker’s ‘Proudly Serving Starbucks’ (knock off).

My favorite part was my half-day post-class adventure into the last frontier. I took my rental car and drove an hour and a half along the coast up to the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, AK. The drive alone made my trip magical. On one side was a wall of mountains; the other side was a railroad track, then water. Across the water you could see more beautiful mountains. The sights were just breathtaking. When I got to Alyeska, I took a tram up to the top of the mountain where people were still skiing. Funny to think the ground is packed full of snow up here when a short tram ride down, the grass is green and gravel is dry. It was nice to be up in the clean, crisp air.

Once I had had my fill of the cold, I went back down the mountain and wanted to venture back down the road a bit and see if I couldn’t find a Mine that I had seen a sign for a ways back up the road. My friend Tim from Omaha had said since I was going to Alaska, I should go to a Mine. Well, I found the road, and it brought me back to my Colorado mountain driving days. It made me miss Andy (my Jeep)… and made me glad I had gotten the insurance on the rental car… About 15 – 20 mins down the unpaved trail, I found the entrance to the Crow Creek Mine. Below it was a sign stating that it was closed for the season. I had come way to far though, so I turned down the path and wanted to check it out. I drove down to the main area, got out and took some pictures. Then I saw some dogs come out and realized that people still lived here on off season to maintain the property… so I skedaddled on out of there :)

After that, I headed back towards Anchorage, enjoying the drawn out sunset along the coastal drive. It stayed light until about 9:30 PM or so. As I was driving back, something caught my eye far back in a field and then I saw a truck set up taking pictures on the side of the road. All I wanted to see while I was here was a moose… I think I finally spotted one. I pulled over and grabbed my camera. It was a moose! I went and talked to the man taking pictures in the truck. He used to be a Texas Ranger who retired to Alaska about 30 yrs ago and picked up photography. He was taking pictures of the birds but he let me borrow his binoculars to see the moose more closely (and it was awesome). He also pointed out another moose and let me know where about 5 more like to hang out as well as giving me directions to their location. I drove over to it but didn’t see them. Still, it was a pretty drive.

Either way, mission complete: I got to see not one, but two moose!

I finished my drive back to Anchorage and for my last night in town, I got some Pho. I have not found a place to get pho in Japan and for as much as I ate it in Colorado, man, was I craving it.

The next morning, I got up and headed to the airport. I cut it really close… like within 5 minutes… but I still got to see a fantastic last sunrise from my terminal window before time travelling back to the future.