The thing that is most unreal about AK is how big it is (more than 3x the size of Texas). To put the place in proper perspective, the state map ought to be at least 4x the size of a regular state map (except east coast states where you should have to put at least 5 states on the map to keep it in perspective). A 2" piece of road on the AK map could be a day's hard ride. The "towns" are barely villages. Mosquitoes are required to file flight plans after early June. And a campsite is likely to be in someone's migration path.
I did a tour of AK in early June of 2007 and the pictures I brought back are still awe inspiring. My constant thought is, "I can't believe I was there." I lucked out and my son-in-law's cousin is a BP employee in Prudoe Bay and is, also, a bush pilot. He gave me a ride over areas that can only be seen by air. You can't even walk there because the permafrost isn't solid enough. Moose get trapped in the mud and die surrounded by food and water.
AK is the most geologically unstable area of the Americas. When I camped north of Fairbanks, the ground shook all night. Small volcanoes are all but ignored if they don't happen near Anchorage or Fairbanks. There is a hot spring almost everywhere there are mountains or even hills. The mountains are so geologically new they look nothing like even the Rockies. When Alaskans tell you a road is closed due to an avalanche, you better listen. It could be closed for a year while they move thousands of boulders from the road and rebuild the asphalt. It's an amazing place.
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