Autumn and I breathe a sigh of relief. Time slows, evenings lengthen. Whatever summer activities, multiplied and frenzied beneath a midnight sun, slowly wean themselves in the tempered days of fall. I have hiked the trails – Chena Dome and Angel Rocks and Rock River Trail. The Tanana Valley State Fair came and went, with rides and Polish dogs and Cajun shrimp. Flowers and vegetables have been coaxed to unimaginable heights in the almost continuous daylight. The seafood freezer is full, crammed with salmon dip-netted from the Chitina River and halibut from Katchemak Bay. Summer visitors have left, taking home with them images of floating down the rivers, eating crabcakes at the Pump House, and of Denali National Park. And I can settle, glad for the quieter seasons to come, with days eased to a slower tempo, when a moose crossing the road is the only traffic jam in my day.
Birgit Lennertz Sarrimanolis 