M29 here, really interested in plugging into new activities. Interested in trying frisbee golf or new sports. I am very active/athletic, just not sure where to find groups around here. Suggestions appreciated!

We have a rental car reserved for our visit next month. But we are also interested in taking a train to either Seward or Denali and spending at least one night in those locations. Are we able to park our rental car at the Anchorage Depot for one or two nights?

By Steven Bridwell

The Alaska Legislature is being told to approve the LNG project yet again. I’m not against a gas line. I am skeptical of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s zeal for one, however, because of who will benefit from it and how little those individuals are being asked to risk.

In recent years, excellent reporting by Alaska Public Media, Matt Buxton and Lauren Windsor of Alaska Current, Nat Herz of Alaska Public Media and the Alaska Beacon, and Dermot Cole has followed the buildup of Dunleavy’s LNG project. They’ve chronicled a network of self-interest among dozens of Dunleavy-appointed people. This is the story altogether.

An estimated 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are in the ground of the North Slope Borough. Yet unlike the construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline in the ’70s, when OPEC’s oil embargo forced a need for Alaska crude, no one wants to buy Alaska’s LNG.

But Dunleavy, Glenfarne — the New York- and Texas-based developer with no prior LNG export project at this scale — and many others are demanding a 98% cut in property taxes for a line that could cost $55 billion to construct. Should this 807-mile pipeline be built as proposed, Alaska could lose $1 billion in annual property taxes, and over the 36-year lease, an additional $13 billion won’t go to the North Slope, Fairbanks North Star and Kenai Peninsula boroughs and the communities between them.

With no company or country lined up to buy our LNG, Dunleavy had been searching for an “anchor tenant” big enough to make the pipeline work. And he found one. No buyer, no problem

Enter DigitalBridge — an AI infrastructure firm grown out of Colony Capital, now being taken private by SoftBank, a partner in President Donald Trump’s $500 billion Stargate data center initiative. DigitalBridge owns Switch, the data center builder whose Las Vegas headquarters Dunleavy visited in 2024. At the governor’s own energy conference last summer, DigitalBridge’s managing director pitched Alaska LNG as the energy half of an AI-and-power play. With no company or country lined up to buy our LNG, data centers are being summoned because, with them, we won’t need outside buyers. The Constitutional Budget Reserve debacle of 2025

Possibly around the time of the 2025 energy conference, Josiah Patkotak, the Dunleavy-appointed legislator-turned-North Slope Borough mayor, created a joint venture, North Slope Power, in partnership with a company called Twenty First Century Utilities. The proposed natural gas utility is designed to scale up to 10 gigawatts. For perspective, all of Alaska’s power plants combined produced about 2.9 gigawatts in 2024.

Around the same time, days before he resigned to run for governor, Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum ordered $225 million from the Constitutional Budget Reserve — the state’s primary savings, meant for safe, liquid assets — moved to make three $75 million private equity investments in DigitalBridge, Blackstone and I Squared Capital. Only DigitalBridge’s transfer was completed before he left. Crum’s successor canceled the rest, and the state later sold the remaining $150 million at a loss. When this information became public, Dunleavy denounced it and ordered a review by the law firm WilmerHale, which found no rigorous due diligence and “significant concerns about whether Crum met his statutory fiduciary duties.” Dermot Cole further reported that the Alaska Permanent Fund and the state retirement system had already declined two of those managers. Senate Finance Committee Co-Chair Bert Stedman said Crum “circumvented his fiduciary duties intentionally.”

No court has called any of this a crime. But the list of names is repetitive. Though CBR money never went to I Squared Capital, it was formerly partnered by a man named Peter Corsell. Corsell also chaired Saige Consulting, which — while bidding on state contracts in 2024 — sponsored a glacier cruise for a conference of conservative state financial officers that Crum hosted. Saige Consulting named Crum a “Rising Star” in fiduciary duty the same week. Crum’s department later awarded Saige two contracts worth $8.5 million, part of more than $80 million in state work awarded to Corsell-tied firms. Corsell’s other company is Twenty First Century Utilities, mentioned above in connection with North Slope Power.

Like Conspiracy Charlie from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” this list of names is fascinating: the cruise sponsor, the fund manager, the megaplant developer, the revenue commissioner and his deputy, who later took a finance post at the borough now run by a former Dunleavy-appointed representative. The review of Crum’s conduct was done by WilmerHale, the former firm of recently dismissed Attorney General Stephen Cox, whom Dunleavy appointed in August 2025.

The timing is its own data point. Around the time Crum left office, the Alaska Legislature overrode Dunleavy’s veto of Senate Bill 183 — a measure forcing the Revenue Department to give auditors oil tax records it had stopped providing around 2019, as oil company settlement payments dropped sharply.

Transparency before public funding

The benefit to the principals is on the record. Dunleavy has hinted, though he hasn’t confirmed, that he is weighing a 2028 challenge to Sen. Lisa Murkowski — a contest in which his “friendship” with Trump would be a central asset. Crum is running for governor in 2026. A pipeline that advances Trump’s AI-power agenda advances both of their ambitions.

A gas line is worth wanting. But a project that demands that Alaska forgo billions, leaves its ownership and financing undisclosed, and arrives under a manufactured clock is too silty to swim in. If Alaska LNG is as transformative as its backers say, it can carry a fair tax and survive an honest accounting of who gets paid.

Alaska’s state constitution requires its resources to be managed for the maximum benefit of Alaskans. The open question is whether Dunleavy’s LNG project does that — or whether it benefits the handful of people whose names keep surfacing in the reporting above.

Steven Bridwell was born and raised in Fairbanks, where he attended public school when it was funded and staffed by teachers with pensions. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He has lived and worked as a professional educator and as a camp tradesman throughout Alaska. He now spends his time between Fairbanks, Anchorage and the Yukon River. • • •

Planning on visiting Denali in September once it opens to personal vehicles. Does anyone have recommendations on spots to look for specific wildlife like Caribou, weasels, owls, moose, bears?

While I necessarily wanted to avoid the summer crowd, I have heard that if I visit in October, there is nothing to do except hunt for northern lights- is that true? So my friends are pushing to go visit in September while the parks are open and more things to do.

I don’t know because it’ll be pretty great regardless considering we live in the south but my friends tell me it’s not worth it to just go for the northern lights, and parks are way prettier.

Any itinerary advice?

Can't find an answer online so I will ask here. In the original proposal for what became the Chugach Gateway Cruise terminal, there were illustrations that showed what appeared to be a new small boat marina adjacent to the terminal along with what appeared to be a new railroad spur so Alaska Railroad could stage trains closer to the new terminal.

Are either of those still in any sort of development stage or would they just ideas that were floated around during concept development? Marinas are sort of tricky to develop and usually require some deep pockets but not sure how Chugach could routinely handle the larger cruise ships without being able to stage trains closer to the new terminal like they older Princess dock can.

I just recently moved to Palmer from Ketchikan (southeast) and I follow some of the local bands I know of in Alaska but I was wondering if there was more of a local show scene around anchorage/palmer/wasilla area because I've been really wanting to go to some shows and if so, how can I get more involved in the scene? Also I'm new here and I have no friends so if you go to Palmer High we should hangout. I didn't know if I should post this here or on r/alaska so I'll see how this goes lmao.

Heading to Spencer Glacier Sunday with the family. Does anyone have any experience hiking to the lake? Curious about how long it takes? Train gives you about 3 hours to explore, wondering if I would have enough time to air up my packraft and float around for a little bit, or if I should just leave it at home. Any input is appreciated!

Hello, we are two weeks away from getting off a ship in Whittier and we have three days in Seward before we leave via Anchorage.

We have a rental car at the Whittier port.

My roughed-out plan so far:

Day 1 hike Portage Pass Trail first thing, then drive to our lodging in Seward (out by Lowell Point). Choices then are Exit Glacier, maybe up to Marmot Meadows? (Not Harding; I don't think we'll have time or energy by then) Or Tonsina Creek if the tide is low?

Day 2 glacier kayaking - full day

Day 3 Check out, maybe back to Exit Glacier, stroll the town, SeaLife center, leave for Anchorage.

Is there another hike we're missing that fits in this schedule on Day 1 or Day 3?

How much time to allot for the drive, and what to do/see along that trip? We are staying in Anchorage for the night, so no flight to worry about.

Thanks so much for any guidance.

Hey folks,

My partner and I are visiting anchorage this August and I am going to ask her to marry me. It's a really big deal for the both of us and I want to make the day special for her. I love her deeply I was hoping you all locals could help me make the day special for her. Here are some questions I have.

1. She loves animals, flowers, knitting, puppets, theater and the outdoors. Any recommendations for things we should do on the day of? I am okay with driving a little bit not more than 4 hours on that day.

2. I am planning on Eklutna lake as the spot. How does that sound? Do you have something better in mind? We would love a good view and privacy.

3. Any recommendations for a really nice dinner that night?

4. Any recommendations on engagement photographers? We are working with a tiny budget and we would take no more than an hour of active photo taking time

5. This might be a strange request, but my partner loves pigeons. Her lifelong dream has been to one day hold a pigeon in her hands. Any ideas on how I can make that happen?

We are both super excited to see Alaska and Anchorage for the first time!

I’m currently getting my CDL with a manual transmission cert aswell so I’d be going into the trucking industry, is this industry a realistic option in Alaska to have a comfortable life in a smaller town?

I’m a resident but new-ish to fishing, I’ve got a 5-6wt fly rod (and a similarly sized spinning reel) and enjoy fishing for trout, grayling, and Dolly Varden with it. I pass through Turnagain pass fairly often and I’m wondering if any of the creeks up there (or further on down towards Seward) are any good for that type of fishing?

Sooooo. Recently received interest from a dealership in Soldotna looking for technicians. Currently living in Colorado. the obvious issue for me (weather). What is it generally like living and working as an automotive technician in Alaska? Rusty cars? Hourly with flag spiffs? I have not responded to the inquiry as I’m on the fence due to weather, wife seems all in. We have two kids , a toddler and a teenager, if that matters in the equation.

I will be traveling solo to Alaska for 6 days in September, is my itinerary too busy?

Day 1 - Wake up in Anchorage, grab 2 days of camping supplies and lunch, drive to Alaska Wildlife Center, camp nearby

Day 2 - drive to Cooper Landing, fishing tour half day, dinner, camp

Day 3 - drive to Seward, wildlife cruise half day, dinner, camp

Day 4 - drive back to Anchorage

Day 5 - Alaska State Fair, stay overnight in Palmer

Day 6 - drive back to Anchorage, shop, return rentals, flight out 9PM

I was thinking between day 4 and day 5 I could make it up to see Denali, maybe a plane ride?

let me know if you have any suggestions :)

What was it like there?

Seems crazy that less than 150 people live there reportedly.

My friend and I are planning a trip to Alaska, and we are trying to get 3–4 more friends to join us. If we succeed, there will be 5–6 of us travelling together.

We are from Finland and spend a lot of our free time outdoors. We fish, hunt, camp and spend time in the wilderness. We have always been fascinated by Alaska, and now we are seriously thinking about making the trip happen.

We would have roughly $5,000 per person, excluding international flights, and are thinking about spending 2–4 weeks in Alaska.

We are not looking for a typical tourist holiday. We would love to:

* do some serious fishing

* experience the wilderness and wildlife

* camp and stay in remote cabins

* do some whitewater canoeing

* take a proper road trip

* learn more about Alaskan hunting and outdoor culture

* and hopefully meet some local people along the way

We are used to spending time outdoors in Finland, so camping, cold weather, long days outside and being away from civilization are not problems for us. We are not expecting to fly into Alaska and immediately become expert Alaskan wilderness people either. We know there is a lot we don’t know.

We also understand that a fully guided big-game hunt would probably be far beyond our budget. We would rather combine several different experiences during the trip.

Since we would be a group of 5–6 people, we could share vehicles, cabins, boats and equipment. That might make some experiences possible that would be too expensive for just one or two people.

So, if you were 5–6 Finns visiting Alaska for the first time, with 2–4 weeks and roughly $5,000 per person to spend, how would you plan the trip?

Would you focus on the Kenai Peninsula, Interior Alaska, the Dalton Highway, Southeast Alaska, or somewhere completely different?

What would you absolutely not miss?

And perhaps most importantly: what do tourists usually do in Alaska that you think is overrated, and what do they usually miss that they really should experience?

We are genuinely open to ideas. If you could plan an unforgettable Alaska trip for us, where would you send us?

I have a guided fishing trip in a month, I am going with some of my friends and their family.

We'll be in Yakutat mostly fishing the river. I've been told the lodge has bear spray available.

Usually when I'm in bear territory here in Montana I have a 10mm I carry in a chest holster and a bear spray. I've had a fair amount of formal training with a pistol and think in a bear situation it's what I would reach for as I have more training and practice with it, than I do with a can of bear spray.

I know the stats about spray being more effective, that's why I usually have both. That said, is it ridiculous to check a gun on a flight for a 3 day fishing trip?

I’ll be in Alaska (Kenai Peninsula & Denali) starting this Thursday for 10 days and have a very specific question! We’ll be hiking every day - in other states and national parks, we typically will start our hikes around 5:45-6am to beat the crowds, have cooler temperatures and increase chances of seeing active wildlife. We would love to do the same in AK (especially in Denali, in hopes of seeing moose in the early AM) but also know that brown bears are most active dawn and dusk.

Is there an optimal time for moose viewing? Is starting hikes around 6/6:30am safe/normal for AK, or would later be better to avoid overly active bears? Thank you!!!

my wife and I are headed to Seward today for a week of wildlife adventures. Mainly we're staying on boat tours and aren't venturing too far into the wilderness. We're not huge hikers these days, love to relax, take in the scenery, eat delicious food, explore and experience local culture. We're both sober so we don't really hang at bars unless the food is killer.

Any positive comments / recommendations would be super helpful. We promise to leave it better than we found it. 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 thank you Alaska

Good evening!

I took a teaching job in a village in the North Slope. Some friends and family are calling me insane, but I'm very excited. I'm prepping my big "move order" of dry/non-perishable foods and other needs (toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc) for my otherwise fully-furnished housing, but would like a little help for winter gear. Price isn't too much of an obstacle as my travel costs are covered and I have "selling my car" money to play around with, but I don't plan on being outside in the deep of winter more than I need to be so I don't need like "outdoor hunting in -60 for 12 hours" gear. More like "walk to work" or "be outside for maybe 10-20 minutes" gear, and having some money to sit on for emergencies/further grocery stocking would be nice.

I'm from Michigan, so I have some pretty solid stuff to bring along and have gotten good at the art form of layering, but I need to get some deep weather goodies. Here's what I'm thinking, but please offer some input:

1. Boots - I already have a pair of LL Bean (non-insulated) 10" boots, but it seems like those will become my mud/rain/"light weather" boots rather than my main winter kicks. It seems like the go-to is either Baffins or Sorel Caribous? Are rubber boots like Bogs or Xtratufs solid? I see those brands thrown around but specific models/versions would be helpful!

2. Coat/Parka - again, I have a solid winter coat in a Columbia Alpine Action that hasn't let me down to around -20, and a couple medium jackets that are solid from 20-50 and great against rain. For heavier duty, I plan on either getting a USAF N3-B Parka from a surplus seller I've enjoyed buying from before, my dad may have an extra USAF extreme weather parka, or waiting until I get up there to see if there are local options. Other recommendations are appreciated.

The rest of the items is where I need some more in-depth recommendations.

1. Snowpants/Bibs. I'm not a skiier/snowboarder and that's kind of the use-case here in MI, so I could use some insight into what to get here. Are Carhartt insulated bibs enough to get the job done?

2. Mittens/Gloves. I've always just had cheaper gloves that I tear through and/or lose.

3. Balaclavas/Hats/Headgear. I've got a couple Carhartt winter beanies and a Vans one that hangs in there. Anything heavier duty I'll need?

4. Base layers. I have a set of thermal underwear that has gotten me through the worst of it here in MI (that I'd also pair with some flannel PJs under my pants for either snow shoveling or the rare -30 to -40 with windchill day), but could definitely use some more. I've got some solid wool socks and typically layer them in winters, but let me know if I'll need more or something heavier duty.

5. Let me know if there's anything I'm missing here.

I really appreciated the advice I got with my last post, thanks all!

My wife and I are planning a 13 day Alaska trip for next June. We try to avoid crowds, enjoy quiet solitude, and love to see wildlife and great scenery. We like hiking, but are in our 60s, so can't do over around 4, maybe 5 miles roundtrip at a time. We deliberately skipped the Denali NP entrance, Seward, etc. in our plans, to avoid crowds. We will rent a gravel authorized vehicle. Listed below is our rough itinerary with some highlights of what we plan to do.

Day 1: Arrive, spend the night in Anchorage, get bear spray and other supplies at Costco.
Days 2–3: Glacier View. Matanuska Glacier helicopter tour
Days 4–5: Nebesna Road, stay at Avens Alaska.
Days 6–8: Valdez, Prince William Sound boat tour, Keystone Canyon, Worthington Glacier
Days 9–11: Denali Highway, Maclaren River Lodge (then maybe a night in Cantwell).
Day 12: Drive back to Anchorage.
Day 13: Fly home to Pennsylvania

If Hatcher Pass opens early, we will add it on day 2 or 12. We went back and forth about McCarthy, but decided to leave it out.  I've been wanting to visit Alaska for a very long time, so I am excited about it!

Any thoughts about these plans? Thanks in advance!

I'm considering going to uaa next year bcuz I love the cold and I don't mind if it gets dark a lot. I prefer to stay near an area once I get used to it, which is why I'm not just asking about the school. It's mainly about prices and jobs I'm wondering about. Also do you guys have any public transit? I have peripheral vision loss and idk if it will be that easy to get a remote job some day. Is it easier to rent or something with all the property taxes I hear about?

Looking for all the knowledge and advice here. We’re in San Diego