Unalaska, Alaska
Today, I discovered Unalaska, Alaska while researching the geographic distribution of our donors, and I am fascinated.
I can't tell you why. I originally googled it because of the name - since we have two records for that town, I figured it wasn't a typo, but still - Unalaska? What IS that?
It turns out, Unalaska is a city and eponymous island in the Aleutian Islands, floating in the Bering Sea halfway between Alaska and Russia.
The name is a probable Anglicization of the Aleut "Ounalashka", which means "Near the Peninsula" (according to Wikipedia). So it probably just means "Near Alaska", which is much less interesting than "We Are Not Alaska", but still pretty cool. The official Unalaska website boasts that they are a "a bustling community of about 4,000 residents" and enjoy a strategically located position near some of the world's richest fishing grounds - which probably explains why the number one most frequently asked question on the website is "How do I get a job on a crab boat?"
As a result of "many requests" the City of Unalaska has also published a small photo album, including a photo of The Bridge to the Other Side... and Beyond - the bridge that connects Unalaska and Amaknak Islands.
I want to go there. Even if it rains 250 days a year and is almost constantly foggy and the August highs are 52 degrees fahrenheit. I want to go and wander around and hike through the glacier-ripped scenery and cross the Bridge to the Other Side and ask small children questions about the fishing industry that they will find utterly obvious. I want to go visit this "bustling" community surrounded by freezing cold fishy ocean. I have no idea why but this place fascinates me and I want to find out more about it.
I can't tell you why. I originally googled it because of the name - since we have two records for that town, I figured it wasn't a typo, but still - Unalaska? What IS that?
It turns out, Unalaska is a city and eponymous island in the Aleutian Islands, floating in the Bering Sea halfway between Alaska and Russia.
The name is a probable Anglicization of the Aleut "Ounalashka", which means "Near the Peninsula" (according to Wikipedia). So it probably just means "Near Alaska", which is much less interesting than "We Are Not Alaska", but still pretty cool. The official Unalaska website boasts that they are a "a bustling community of about 4,000 residents" and enjoy a strategically located position near some of the world's richest fishing grounds - which probably explains why the number one most frequently asked question on the website is "How do I get a job on a crab boat?"
As a result of "many requests" the City of Unalaska has also published a small photo album, including a photo of The Bridge to the Other Side... and Beyond - the bridge that connects Unalaska and Amaknak Islands.
I want to go there. Even if it rains 250 days a year and is almost constantly foggy and the August highs are 52 degrees fahrenheit. I want to go and wander around and hike through the glacier-ripped scenery and cross the Bridge to the Other Side and ask small children questions about the fishing industry that they will find utterly obvious. I want to go visit this "bustling" community surrounded by freezing cold fishy ocean. I have no idea why but this place fascinates me and I want to find out more about it.