Alaska, Anchorage Mission
I entered the MTC on the 12 of May 1993 and spent 3 weeks there. It was wonderful to learn so much and prepare for the opportunity to serve. I arrived in Alaska the first week of June and was assigned to my first area of Fairbanks 3rd ward. I served in 6 different areas of Alaska and was able to see some beautiful country.
I arrived in Fairbanks a few days before the summer solstice. The summer was beautiful, except for the mosquitoes. Fairbanks actually gets warm in the summer. We had a few days that were near 100 degrees. We also had a few beautiful lightning storms.
When I was finally transferred I was sent to Juneau, the state capitol. The mode of transportation was by car ride; a long ride. My companion, Kelly Peterson, and I drove to Anchorage where I met Elder Jerry Taylor. Elder Taylor and I drove to Juneau. We spent nights in Tok and Haines before finally taking a ferry to Juneau, which is inaccessible except by plane and boat. This drive allowed me to see the most beautiful scenery of my life. The 4 day trip was at the beginning of the fall. The mosquitoes were going away. The leaves on the trees were changing colors and the mountains and glaciers were phenomenal.
Juneau is an isolated beauty. The abundant evergreens line the base of majestic mountains covered with greens and purples and white caps. It rained a lot in October of 1995. We had 28 days or rain as I recall and only one day of sunshine, the rest overcast. By January it was cool enough for snow which came in amounts of 3 to 6 inches a day. Although it was cold enough to snow it felt much warmer due to the lower humidity.
Eagle River is a quiet suburb of Anchorage. It is about 13 miles north of the big city and nestled along some pretty mountains and jagged hills. The conversion from winter to summer that is called spring isn't very pretty, but it sure is welcome. It is also fast. I have 2 pictures of thunderbird falls, located a few miles north of Eagle River, one was taken in April and the other in June. The difference is amazing with the growth of green foliage.
Anchorage is the city I spent the most time in. I spent 4 months in 2nd ward and 5 months in 13th ward. One of my regrets from being in Anchorage is not taking any pictures of the snow removal equipment. It was so ordinary at the time that I never thought about taking pictures of the loaders, graters and snow blowers. I do have lots of moose pictures though.
I finished off serving in Ketchikan. It is the 4th largest city in Alaska and is located in the deep southeast of Alaska's panhandle. It is an island with one main road. From the center of town the road goes about 40 miles north and 20 miles south. Although Ketchikan normally gets about 160 inches of rain a year I managed to live during a 3 month drought. During one month I don't think that we had a single drop. It was all wonderful.
I arrived home at LAX on the 17 of June 1995. Soon thereafter I returned to Provo to resume my schooling at BYU.
