Floridana Alaskiana: From Florida to Alaska

fa28: The Return to Florida

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:24:04 -0800

We’ve been on a bit of a break over here -- but now we’re back and continuing our uploads.

This video marks the beginning of the Return to Florida series. In the spring of 2008, I head back down to Florida, from Alaska, to travel around the peninsula in search of birds and snakes.

It was oddly cold when I first arrived in Florida, but it was still good to be back, if just for a week, to romp around and through the subtropical climate.

- Janson

fa27: Fur Rondezvous 2008

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 18:53:35 -0800

February 24th, 2008. Just days before my return trip to Florida, I encounter my first Anchorage Fur Rondezvous event. I’d heard rumblings about this annual epic event, but I simply wasn’t prepared for what I experienced.

Try to imagine hundreds of costumed Alaskans running through downtown Anchorage with a small group of reindeer... sort of like the Running of the Bulls in Spain. Only with reindeer. Odd? Yes. And it was beautiful.

I adore Fur Rondy -- and my soul is forever entrenched in the madness of the Running of the Reindeer.

fa26: Portage Valley

Tue, 6 May 2008 06:23:46 -0800

It’s December of 2007 and I head south and east from Anchorage to Portage Valley, near the edge of the Kenai Peninsula. The air is thick with hazy, icy blue ambience. Sheets of hard, freezing rain cut their ways down from the mountain tops. Glacial formations are blanketed under fresh ice. Snow clings to the sides of the mountains. This, I quickly discover, is an amazingly harsh-yet-beautiful environment.

Janson,
http://floridana.typepad.com/

fa25: Winter in Anchorage

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 12:48:12 -0800

And then the Winter came. For a Florida swamprat like myself, Winter in Alaska can always bring surprises. Surprisingly, however, I found this winter to be relatively mild. At least compared to what I expected.

The second to last video covering 2007, we survey the Anchorage region as winter settles in with a nice coat of snow. Short days, long nights - and just a little bit of snow.

Janson,
http://floridana.typepad.com

fa24: Autumn in Anchorage

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:01:08 -0800

The colors begin to change as Autumn thickens and Winter looms just around the corner. We get our first dusting of snow in Anchorage, watch the colors turn, and enjoy Turnagain Arm and the Chugach Mountains for their wickedly colorful play of interseason shifting.

Janson,
http://floridana.typepad.com

fa23: Wedding in Tulsa

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:24:06 -0800

As the new year settles in, I take a look back at my trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Autumn of 2007 - to participate in a good friend's wedding. The quick-tempo transition from the Alaskan chill to the long days of Northeast Oklahoma is striking. I leave the moose behind, if but for a little while, as I witness a marriage born in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.

Janson,
http://floridana.typepad.com

fa22: Matanuska Glacier

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:38:53 -0900

As February of 2008 draws to a close, we look back to September of 2007. As Autumn thickens and winter looms just over the horizon, we leave the dark greens and reds of Anchorage for the brilliant blues of Matanuska Glacier, about a hundred miles east and north of our new home.

Our first exploration of a glacier proves to be a stunning and breathtaking day of discovery.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Pendulum” - Apple, Inc.
“racer, stand still!” - Janson Jones (original guitar).
“johnny’s desire b good” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).

fa21: Alaska State Fair

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 15:18:32 -0900

During our first few weeks living in Anchorage, we kept hearing from our new neighbors about the epic Alaska State Fair. On August 31st, we made the short trip from Anchorage to Palmer to get our first taste of this much-anticipated, highly-celebrated, annual tradition in south-central Alaska.

The Alaska State Fair is a celebration of color and of the waning days of summer. What a fantastic way to end the summer.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“rolling around, green” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).

fa20: Turnagain Sunset

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:27:56 -0900

In this episode we stop and admire the simplicity of an Alaskan sunset. Shot on August 25th of 2007, we watch the sun slowly set over the murky waters of Turnagain Arm. As the dusky reds slowly bleed and fade into the twilight blues, a pod of beluga whales pass through the creamy waters nearby.

The subject is simple: the sunset. But the beauty is immense and complex. The Alaskan Sunset.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“the andean mix” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).

fa19: Hatcher Pass, Alaska

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:47:12 -0900

And then there is Hatcher Pass. Located a bit east of Anchorage and north of Palmer, Hatcher Pass cuts through the southern edge of the Talkeetna Mountains. It is a landscape marked by epic vistas, breathtaking weather, and a play of color unrivaled, in both the sky and on the land.

Come with us to Summit Lake and the Lower Susitna River as we explore the slopes and valleys of Hatcher Pass!

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“talkin’ spastic klezmer blues” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).

fa18: Chugach State Park

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:02:41 -0900

In this episode, we explore the Turnagain Arm stretch of the Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in the United States. We begin with footage shot in January of 2008, deep in the heart of winter, and then flashback to August of 2007. Be it winter or late summer, the Chugach Mountains never fails to deliver eye candy and spectacle.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Paynes Prairie (The Capitol Mix)” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).

fa17: Alaskan Animals and Ambience

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 19:32:32 -0900

A longer-than-usual episode, we begin part seventeen at the turn of the New Year. January 2008 settles in with thickening ice and ambient light. We visit our local moose and mallards and soak up some precious Winter Light.

Then, we head back to August of 2007 to explore the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and the Imaginarium in Anchorage. In each of these places, we get a first-look at Alaskan wildlife. From even more moose to beautiful brown bears, from elk to caribou, from bison to muskox, we get a taste of what’s to come as we continue to learn and explore Alaskan flora and fauna.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“static, sans fuzz” - Janson Jones (original keyboard).
“wichitas, two” - Janson Jones (original guitar).
“voices” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix).
“shaded” - Janson Jones (a hyperloop mix with original background keyboard).

fa16: The Kenai to Seward

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:50:36 -0900

This video details our first excursions into the Kenai Peninsula, just south of Anchorage. We work our way along the Seward Highway, through lush rain forests and vast, sprawling valleys, until we hit the end of the road at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, Alaska.

The lushness of south-central Alaska is striking. The greens are thick in the forests and eerily remind me of the Floridian brush we left one month prior

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“the andean mix” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix).
“even stones can” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix).

fa15: Anchorage, Alaska

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 23:17:56 -0900

At last, at last. Anchorage, Alaska . . . at last!

With the beginning of August, we begin to learn our new hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. We arrive in Alaska as the long summer days begin to slowly recede. Still, green is the dominant color. The snow is still a few months away.

In our first few weeks of Alaskan life, we explore a bit of the surrounding area. We encounter our friendly neighborhood moose, watch some salmon spawn, and generally marvel at this incredible place we now call home.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“A Can of Sparkling Cheese” - Janson Jones (Original composition, keyboard).
“johnny’s desire b good” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix).

fa14: North to Anchorage

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:28:53 -0900

In this episode, the final video detailing the actual 4800+ mile drive from Florida to Alaska, we momentarily take a look back at some Floridian sunsets and then move forward again to the end of July 2007 - - and the final three days of our epic voyage across North America.

We come across a rather brownish black bear and a rather blackish red fox. The emptiness of the Yukon Territory serves as a contrasting prelude to the density of Wrengell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska. Eventually, we end up in our yard. Literally. Our new yard in Anchorage, Alaska. Indeed, this video officially marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Now we actually live in Anchorage.

Now it’s time to learn about Alaska.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Sonic Freewrite Redux” - Janson Jones (Original composition, guitar).
“Drunken Sails” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix).

fa13: Skagway and Dyea, Alaska

Sat, 8 Dec 2007 21:40:22 -0900

In this video, we finally break through to Alaska, 27 days after having left Florida. Our first taste of Alaska is Skagway and Dyea, the former a bustling tourist community and the latter being a bustling workcamp community utterly annihilated by an avalanche in 1898. Wildlife predictably abounds! From humpback whales to juvenile bald eagles, we get our first taste of Alaskiana - - and it does not disappoint.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Another East Coast” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix).
“Static and Drops” - Janson Jones (A HyperLoop Mix, video podcast edit).

fa12: The Klondike to Alaska

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 14:20:36 -0900

Alas, our first taste of Alaska! Episode 12 begins at Muncho Lake Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. Heading further north and west, we punch through to the Yukon Territory and then jump on the Klondike Highway. Cutting back through British Columbia, we arrive in southeastern Alaska, near Skagway and Dyea (the subject of Episode 13). Along the way, we come across more bear, bison, and stone sheep. The landscapes become even more epic as we draw closer to our Alaskan destination.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Jaracanda” - Apple, Inc.
“Ever Green and Yellow” - Janson Jones (Original guitars with Percussion Loop).

fa11: Stone Mountain and Lake Muncho Provincial Parks

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:09:43 -0900

As Anchorage takes in another three to five inches of snow, we go back to July of 2007 and continue our drive from Florida to Alaska. In this video, we break through into British Columbia and visit Stone Mountain, Muncho Lake and Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Parks. Along the way we encounter a plethora of wildlife. From black bears to stone sheep, from moose to bison, this first stretch of the “Alaska Highway” is one absolutely packed with bio-diversity and breathtaking beauty.

Music:
“Pastel Slide Long” - Apple, Inc.
“Borealis” - Apple, Inc.
“Rolling Around Green, Long (G’band Mix)” - Janson Jones (A Garageband Loop Remix).

fa10: Icefields Parkway, Canada

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:18:17 -0900

As the snow finally begins to build in Anchorage, Alaska, we return to the move from Florida to Alaska in July of 2007. In this video, we drive through the Icefields Parkway of Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada. We check out Crowfoot, Num Ti Jah and Athabasca Glaciers and come across black bear, bighorn sheep, mule deer and elk along the way. It’s a shockingly awesome drive and yet another fantastic day in our epic move to the northwest corner of North America.

Music:
“Pastel Slide, Long” - iLife (.Mac) Tune.
“Island, Long” - - iLife/Garageband (.Mac) Tune.
“Racer, Stand Still!” - Janson Jones (Guitar, recorded on and mixed with Garageband).
“Icefields (G’band Mix)” - Janson Jones (A Garageband Loop Remix).

fa09: Yoho and Banff National Parks

Sun, 4 Nov 2007 18:23:56 -0900

In this video, we head back from the 19th through the 21st of July 2007. Leaving Glacier National Park, we head north into Canada. Stopping at Canmore, Alberta, we spend the next few days exploring Banff and Yoho National Parks, in Alberta and British Columbia respectively. We check out Lake Louise, Emerald Lake, Moraine Lake, Natural Bridge and the forested, valley roads that connect them all.

The mountains and valleys along the border of Alberta and British Columbia are truly stunning.

Music:
“Pastel Slide, Long” - iLife (.Mac) Tune.
“Elysium, Long” - - iLife/Garageband (.Mac) Tune.
“Banff” - Janson Jones (Synthesizer, mixed with Garageband).