Alaska

Posted in From Jewel on August 25, 2009

**UPDATE: If you would like to see bigger photos, go to "On the Road" in the photo gallery.

     Hello everyone! I had so much fun in Alaska! Man, being home felt so good. I get so homesick for the country up there. There is nowhere else like it in the world, and pictures and even film just don’t do it justice. It felt like food for the soul, letting my eyes drift across the steep and rugged and untouched terrain. I feel lucky to have been raised in what I can only describe as one of the most breathtaking and wild places in the world. I have traveled all over the world and have seen so many magical, beautiful and majestic places- but nothing like Homer. It’s the way the mountains climb right out of the ocean on jagged wings- turning grey and slate and green and navy all in turns, and how glaciers flash their shocking blue undercoats through crevices in the ice that become visible in the slow bends of the frozen flow. The country that raised me is big and wild and I wandered endlessly on my horse in open country, where there are still open ranges where cattle graze with no fences, and bands of horses run wild in that big beautiful country, and where wolves and bears are a real predator to guard against. I just love it up there.

     The first thing I did was have my dad take us to the head of Kachemak Bay, where my aunt Mariis has a cute cabin.I used to live with her and help her run her business, taking tourists on horse rides up the beach to this valley and all its riches. I used to saddle the horses and cook for them.  Memories come flooding back as we rode 4-wheelers across the grassy plains.

We arrived at the swollen banks of the Fox River and rowed a small boat to get to the other side where we had a picnic sitting on a grassy knoll, waiting for my uncle Otto to come with his horses to push his cattle across the Fox.

I wish you all could see just how big and wild the country is. Cattle grazing on open range is so rare- a sight most haven’t seen since the 1800s.

    That night we stayed in the small cabin, and the next morning we were greeted by a strange sight indeed- a small yellow plane landed on the beach right in front of our cabin! It was a fellow named Kent Sorenson who had met me when I was small, he said, and was friends with my uncle and dad. He had heard we were in town and thought he would come up to offer us a ride in his plane! Ty was a little hesitant at first, but I assured him it was safe. He and his dad jumped in and off they went. Joy and I were next, and boy, what a thrill! We flew low over the glaciers, and got to the heads of the Fox and Sheep Rivers, the glacial runoff that form the rivers deep in remote canyons. We also saw wild mountain goats and black bear. It was really a thrill to see the country I have seen from horseback my whole life, from a bird’s eye view.

     There is also a community of Russian Orthodox Old Believers who live in the wild up there at the head of the Bay. I grew up riding horses with one the he Russian boys named Filip. They are kind of like the Amish- they dress in colorful, handmade, embroidered clothes and live in a strict biblical lifestyle. They work really hard and are pretty great folks. It’s not common for them to ride horses, so Filip was really an anomaly in his community, but I enjoyed the company on long rides, even if we could talk very little due to his broken English and strong Russian accent. He and his family were always welcoming and nice, and on this trip I got to say hello and meet many of his brothers’ wives and new children. A Russian named David also showed Ty a plane he built (and taught himself to fly!).

     After our airplane rides, we headed to Kilcher Road, to the homestead I was raised on for a family potluck dinner. It was so nice to see the ranch looking so good- my mother-in-law and father-in-law just couldn’t believe how pretty the land was I was raised on. The outhouse I grew up using had a better view than most people’s mansions! Haha! Seeing my family felt so good. Everyone cooked food they caught or picked from their gardens. There was so much fresh fish and homegrown beef and moose meat and smoked salmon and fresh baked bread- it was soooo good!! My family all looked healthy and happy, which I was glad to see. So many of the children have grown up! 

    The next day Otto took us across the Bay on his barge to Halibut Cove- a piece of rocky coast and islands that the Tillion family homesteaded. Marian has made a real paradise over there- she built boardwalks, a gourmet restaurant and an art gallery. She also has horses there that she rides on trails she cut into the cliffs by hand. Alaskans never cease to amaze me with their can-do attitude and ingenuity. After we got back from Halibut Cove, we made a stop at Asia’s gallery (she is the one whose idea it was to do a charity show in Homer for her arts program) and I got to see some of my dad’s handmade baskets.

He’s really quite talented, and his baskets are just beautiful! If you guys are interested I will send you a link where you can look at them better- great presents! I bought some for other family members.

    That night was my Homer hometown concert. It was especially meaningful because this is the venue of my first ever solo performance when I was 15, before I even wrote songs. My hometown helped me raise 11 thousand dollars to go to Interlochen, as I only got a partial scholarship the first year. I will never forget the kindness my hometown showed me, and I was so glad to give all the proceeds to Asia and her charity that supports artists in schools. Also, getting to sing for my family was a treat too- many of them have never heard me do a real show. Everyone in my hometown saw me singing since I was a kid, mainly as a back-up singer for my dad, who once in a while sang a song or two on my own. I felt proud to be back and show them how far my writing and singing has come! :)  

    One of my favorite things about my trip was that I got to visit my grandma Arva (my maternal grandmother). She’s an amazing woman, an original Alaska pioneer, who really had a dirt floored log cabin that she raised several children in. Her husband built his own plane and taught himself to fly! My grandma was the sweetest, typical white-haired grandma who doted on me and made me feel special after my parents’ divorce when we lived in Homer. She was always handy with a Twinkie and some fried ham and let me watch TV. She’s in her 80s and her health is good except for that she is currently in the hospital because she fractured her right heel. But she will be back up and at ‘em again soon.

   The next morning we loaded up in a small float plane on Beluga Lake and we flew across the Bay to a glacial lake and had a gourmet picnic with a giant iceberg as a backdrop. Then we climbed to the top of the mountains and followed the Harding Icefield (the same icefield my grandfather crossed to get to his homestead site) all the way to Anchorage. It was shocking to see that desolate and spooky icefield and to think of my grandfather walking across it by himself! What vision and strength and fortitude it must have taken! Very humbling to see it. I was overcome with such a sense of gratitude that he had the courage to do this and to start a family in a new country.  Alaska was just a wild territory then and he staked his claim, and my family is so lucky for it.

     Once in Anchorage, I was greeted by a whole new set of memories. I lived in Anchorage until I was 8 years old, and then again for half of 8th grade and also my 9th grade year. We were very poor, which I learned was harder in a city than in the country. It’s hard to grow food on a cement driveway!  I rode the city bus to school and we moved a couple times. My best memories of living there are of Steller High School, where I was first introduced to the Classics when I took a progressive philosophy class. I loved my teacher, Ken, and he let me teach my own group of students my last year there. Reading Plato and Pascal and the likes made me think critically, and really put my writing in a whole new gear. It was like pouring gasoline in my mind- everything lit up. My other fond memories were of all the places I sang over the years. I sang at the Trade Winds biker bar, the Gas Lamp Lounge, AmVets Club for veterans, and just so many places. It really gave me an education- singing and otherwise(One of the reasons I never really drank!)!

     The shows were so fun in Anchorage. The crowd was so warm and friendly. I was totally blown away by my little brother, Atz. He has always had a lot of talent, but never really dove into it like I did. It’s just in the last few years he started writing and singing in bands around town- and man, he has really developed! I was so proud as I watched him side stage that I kept crying. We both had a tough go of it, and he’s been dealt some hard blows by life, and I’m just so happy to see him turning things into beautiful and thoughtful songs. I will try to post some of his songs and some video of him as I get it in.

     I was also so impressed with my other opening act, Melissa Mitchell. She grew up just down the road from Homer, and as her mom said, “there must be something in the water!” She was a great guitar player! I love to see girls who play guitar like a guy- if that makes sense. She was confident and commanded her guitar- I love that! And her voice was just sweet and strong, and she wrote everything she sang. She was so nice, too.

    I was so glad to share my home state with my new family. Ty and his parents had such a good time- and as Ty said, “Alaskans are such down-to-earth, grounded, real people.” I often get asked how I maintain a grounded and down-to-earth attitude, and I really just think it’s because that’s how I was raised- to work hard and get stuff done, and help your neighbors. Something I also find in my new home of Texas. xxj

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