One of the best things I heard during my time in Alaska was, “No one ever comes here looking for something. They’re running away.” This was from a woman who moved from Nebraska—I believe—in order to be with her husband, who just a few months before our meeting had been flown to Anchorage via helicopter after an accident that left him in a comatose state. I met her along with her two companions during their annual retreat onto the Denali tundra.
It was just a hell of a thing to discuss with a stranger. She wasn’t upset or worried. Well, I’m sure she was, but she described the ordeal in such a rational, matter-of-fact fashion that it seemed like everyday trouble. This was the same tone with which she delivered that line about running away.
Sure, husband’s in a coma and everyone’s running away from something. It’s just what people do.
I hadn’t thought about Alaska or that conversation for a while, to be honest, but my ma went and asked me if I was planning on going again this year. I’d talked about dog sledding in the winter, but hadn’t found time to plan it out. It’s not much to it. This couple that run a lodge near Denali also offer dog sled escapades for anyone willing to spend a couple of weeks mushing across frozen tundra. The amount of space out there is refreshing.
Places to which I can run away. I suppose that’s what I seek. Large expanses that offer space to breathe in every conceivable direction and the full frontal view of the universe.
One of the best things I heard during my time in Alaska was, “No one ever comes here looking for something. They’re running away.” This was from a woman who moved from Nebraska—I believe—in order to be with her husband, who just a few months before our meeting had been flown to Anchorage via helicopter after an accident that left him in a comatose state. I met her along with her two companions during their annual retreat onto the Denali tundra.
It was just a hell of a thing to discuss with a stranger. She wasn’t upset or worried. Well, I’m sure she was, but she described the ordeal in such a rational, matter-of-fact fashion that it seemed like everyday trouble. This was the same tone with which she delivered that line about running away.
Sure, husband’s in a coma and everyone’s running away from something. It’s just what people do.
I hadn’t thought about Alaska or that conversation for a while, to be honest, but my ma went and asked me if I was planning on going again this year. I’d talked about dog sledding in the winter, but hadn’t found time to plan it out. It’s not much to it. This couple that run a lodge near Denali also offer dog sled escapades for anyone willing to spend a couple of weeks mushing across frozen tundra. The amount of space out there is refreshing.
Places to which I can run away. I suppose that’s what I seek. Large expanses that offer space to breathe in every conceivable direction and the full frontal view of the universe.
