In 2021, my little family (me, my husband, our 1.5-year-old daughter, and our pup) PCS’d from JBLM, Washington (Tacoma) to JBER, Alaska (Anchorage). This past year has been full of excitement, a smidge of anxiety about the change in weather, and a whole lot of learning!
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson is an incredibly unique assignment but one that a surprising number of military members get the opportunity to experience. It has been fun to join the ranks of all the WAFs who came through this assignment before me!
Without further adieu, here are a few things that I learned in my first year of living in Alaska!
1. Alaskan locals are the KINDEST.
I could talk your ear off with all the stories but one, extreme, example was when we were renting a temporary home for 2 months. In our second week in that house, our sweet old man neighbor passed away. His daughter brought over some of his fresh-caught salmon because he had told her in his last days that he had meant to bring some over to us to welcome us to Alaska. WHAT?! Okay now that we are all crying, let’s go on to the rest…
2. Bears aren’t the only mammals that hibernate.
Everyone hears about all the cool things to do in Alaska in the winter. There is snowboarding, cross country skiing, snow machining over frozen lakes to get to remote cabins, ice fishing, dog sledding…I could continue forever. But what they don’t talk about is how you may truly never see 80% of your neighbors outside of their house until after the snow melts (also known as “breakup season”). This shook me to my core. I met some of my kindest neighbors in May after moving into our home the previous October. Still to this day I have no idea how they just never left their house!
3. When white snow starts topping the mountains, that’s called “Termination Dust”.
“Termination Dust” is a colloquialism up here that refers back to when mine workers would use that as a sign to start shutting down the mines and leaving work for the season, as winter was coming. It was fascinating to hear how many conversations surrounded how early or late everyone thought this year’s termination dust was showing up. The debate would then turn into hypothesizing about what that could mean about the impending Winter ahead.
4. With the right gear, there is no bad weather
And everyone’s idea of the least enjoyable weather may be different but for me, even when it’s raining and I’m looking like a sack of potatoes in my husband’s issued Goretex, I am totally fine being outside! But when we are talking Alaskan cold (it’s a crisp, dry cold up here) you’ll want to be layered and covered. The only thing cold should be your eyeballs! Haha! HERE are my favorite winter items right now for kids, and HERE are my must-have boots to survive any occasion during an Alaskan winter!
5. Bear spray isn’t nerdy
Okay, this may be obvious but on our first few hikes, we thought, “IDK, maybe bears just aren’t in this area” DOESN’T MATTER. Everyone hikes with bear spray (or a bear gun) everywhere, so be sure that you have it at the ready too.
6. Getting outside is EVERYTHING.
I was pregnant my entire first winter. Read: I couldn’t do many fun winter sports. But my experience this winter honestly wasn’t bad and I believe it’s because I prioritized getting outside for at least 15-20 min a day. Yes, even when it was -11!
7. You can have the best, grippy shoes, but you MUST have YakTrax.
Not only is walking like a newborn baby deer on ice comical, but it is super dangerous. Having YakTrax that you leave in the door of your car are lifesavers for slippery grocery store parking lots!
8. The air is DRY so say goodbye to your powdered makeup.
Listen, when I tell you my goal in the winter was to be as slippery as a seal, it is the honest truth. I had about a week of wondering what in the heck was happening to my face (patchy, flaky makeup) before I realized that I had two things working against me. The cold outside air is so drying, but the crazy pump of the heater in my house was even drier. I switched all my makeup to *hydrating* liquids and never looked back. If you are on the hunt, HERE are my current favorites in my makeup bag. On my to-purchase list for this next winter is THIS mini bedside humidifier that Kirst loves.
9. Summer is great but the mosquitos in the summer are the actual worst
There are a million jokes online about how huge and gnarly mosquitos in Alaska are. As someone who majorly reacts to mosquito bites, I couldn’t believe it when I was getting bit, in April, in 40-degree weather. THROUGH MY WINTER COAT?!! But then we learned about a natural mosquito treatment for your yard and it has seriously saved our summer. An absolute must to enjoy the outdoors up here! Also, if you want to know what my tried and true mosquito repellent is, its THIS ONE! Better for you than Deet – and safe for kids!
10. With snow tires, you can drive in some pretty wild conditions.
It is my new flex now to say that I am a good driver in the snow. But with the combo of how good Alaska is at treating (main) roads, how amazing snow tire technology is (I have studless tires!) and some common sense – anyone can drive on the roads out here!
11. You do not need to do it all by yourself.
There is a saying out here that we are all “Alaska Broke” and it’s true.
Not only is housing super expensive, but then you add gear to just survive, potentially needing new cars to handle the roads, gas prices, and groceries, and by the time you look into hobbies, you just don’t know how people do it. Let’s go back to the first item on the list – Everyone here really is so friendly. There is no reason one person needs every single toy to do all the sports. Renting from Outdoor Rec or making some new friends with snow machines (NOT snowmobiles!) is a great way to save on the extra expenses and also build memories with some awesome people!
12. The simple moments of living here are the best part of an Alaskan summer
I was so anxious going into the summer. There was this immense amount of pressure to do and see all the things! I thought, “Maximize summer!” “I’ll sleep in the winter!”.
But the casual, last-minute block parties with neighbors, nights spent with new friends, and watching your kids run around barefoot for the first time in 8 months, has helped me understand why so many people miss this amazing place when they PCS away.
I knew this would be a special assignment for us, but I never expected to be SO impacted SO quickly. This has been such a fun year, I can only imagine what the future holds for the rest of my family’s time while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson!
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