Wolves at 3 am

The other morning I awoke to a strange sound coming from outside my window.  Something large was walking back and forth on some tarps that I had folded up next to our garbage cans.  I looked out the window and, to my surprise, saw two large wolves trying to get at some soup bones buried deep in a metal trash can.  The light was dim - so I put on my glasses to see better.  The animals heard me as I did and ran away in seconds. I regret not having my cellphone camera handy. A friend tells me that wolves used to cross from the Granite Mountains down to the Clearwater River.  Maybe they're returning?

Incidents like these remind me that in spite of broadband internet, satellite television, and food delivered from around the world, Alaska is still a wild and vast place. Just beyond my window lies real danger.  I relish that thought.

Our state is one of extremes.  Many find these extremes too daunting to face and lash out at them unsuccessfully. The peace and quiet here can be overwhelming for some.  Even in the summer, when tourists are filling every roadway and locals scurry to finish painting or laying concrete before the ground freezes, this place reeks of isolation and quiet.  Alaska is best suited for introverts - people happy being by themselves - those who prefer to recharge with their own thoughts.  I am not surprised that Alaska has the highest suicide and sexual assault rates in the nation. Some people are simply not suited to the extreme light, dark, cold, and vast spaces. 

Alaska, however, is a perfect place for a writer.  Writers like to wrap ourselves in our minds for hours on end.  A quiet place to reflect is worth gold. Alaska offers that in multitudes.

Alaska also offers writers inspiration in droves. When I choose to be social, I can meet people from all over the world  on any given day. Our locals are colorful, to say the least. The Alaskan landscape itself is like a character in a novel.  She doesn't budge; Alaska has a will all her own - an angry spouse best appeased rather than ignored.  She certainly is a character in my latest novel, Frozen Highway. She doesn't care who wins in the end, only that she gets her way.

If I can capture even a handful of the stories and characters I've encountered here, I'll consider my time to be well spent. Alaska is a strange but powerful muse.