Keeping out the Unconscious

Proximity to the Pole

One of the wonderful conceptual pleasures in living on the edge of Fairbanks, Alaska is its wilderness proximity to the North Pole

For us to get to the North Pole from our house in the hills above Fairbanks, there is only one road to cross — after hiking about five miles of trails through Goldstream Valley.

After that, is a straight hike (or dog-mush) through wilderness to the North Pole — no shopping malls, no houses, no roads.

There are times when I even regret the presence of that one road, something that stands between where one is and direct connection to the Wilderness.

But perhaps it is a good thing, and not so different than the Wall in the Game of Thrones –a wall that keeps all sorts of creatures from streaming out of the Unconscious.

Steve Parker