Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts recently got to take the trip of a lifetime when he visited Alaska for nearly two weeks to see the sights.
He'd been waiting for more than two years for the vacation, which was originally scheduled for May 2020.
"It was just breathtaking, and to know that God created all this beautiful land, and we got to see it... It was worth the three years in the making," he said.
'Years in the making'
Roberts and his wife, Kim, skipped their vacation in 2019 to save up for their trip to Alaska, but the desire to see the largest state -- and the wildlife, natural resources and landscape it boasts -- goes back a lot further.
"Alaska has always been on a bucket list of mine. I wanted to see the glaciers, wildlife, mountains, snow," Roberts explained.
Alaska is home to North America's tallest mountain -- Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley --, is one of the few places in the country to view glaciers and hosts some of the largest mammals in the world. The state has also been romanticized by authors like Jack London and in movies, from the animated "Balto" to adaptations of written works like "Into the Wild."
Roberts traveled with his wife and two other couples from the area. They booked the trip in 2019, then it was postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were among the first groups to get to finally take their vacations earlier this summer, Roberts said.
"I don't know how many times it got rescheduled," he said. "COVID set us back, but also COVID helped us; we'd locked in our airfare and locked in our actual costs of the trip."
In mid-May, Roberts and his wife finally set out for their 10-day trip through The Last Frontier.
'Breathtaking'
The trip started with a three-day land tour, embarking from Fairbanks to first see Denali National Park.
"We went up through McKinley Park, saw a moose on the side of the road, eagles. The snow was probably at -- what, 2 feet, 3 feet, something like that," Roberts said. "Then we rode a train from McKinley Park to Whittier, which is just south of Anchorage."
From there, they embarked on a seven-day sightseeing cruise, which included some stops on land, though the view from the ship was incredible all on its own.
"The first two days of actual cruising, we went through the glaciers, and man, you're talking about beautiful; seeing the ice on the water, seeing the glaciers, being close to them -- it was just breathtaking," Roberts said. "We saw a whale, as we were out on the sea, come out of the water and did a flip back down."
Their first stop was in Skagway, where Roberts knew the Chief of Police, JJ Reddick, was an Arkansan.
"I had carried him a challenge coin and a patch. I didn't know -- I should've known, but I didn't really plan; we were in Skagway on a Saturday, so we walked to the police station there and met the dispatcher at the time that was on duty, exchanged patches and challenge coins with her. He was off, wasn't going to bother him," he said. "We had a good time there."
Skagway is within the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where its late 19th century buildings are preserved for their historical context within the Alaksan gold rush.
From there, the Roberts headed to Juneau, the capital city of Alaska.
"I didn't know this, but the only way to get there is by boat or plane," Roberts said. "We did a whale watching excursion where we saw a lot of whales that were coming out of the water, diving, doing the flipping of the tail. We saw some sea lions out on a buoy out in the water -- they were fighting for position on the buoy for the sun, I guess. We saw some sea otters swimming around."
Juneau was also where Roberts got to see one of the animals he was most excited about catching a glimpse of.
"We saw eagles and we really got to get up close to a couple of them. I'd made mention to a couple guys that lived there, I said 'they're beautiful,' and he said, 'we call them pretty buzzards.' I wish our buzzards looked like that," he said. "They're just beautiful animals to me. You could see them in the distance and see that white on their heads. It was awesome."
After that, they went to Ketchikan, the southernmost major settlement in Alaska.
"That was the only day it rained on us. It wasn't cold -- I was thinking it was going to be freezing. We had a coat on during the land tour, but once we got on the ship, it was cold up close to the glaciers but it wasn't a freezing cold. I think the three days we were on land during the cruise it was like 65 degrees," Roberts said. "The last day we got off the ship (in Ketchikan), it was raining, kind of cool. After a while it stopped raining and got up to probably about 50 degrees, and that was the coldest day we had."
Their last day on the ship was spent mostly preparing to return home via Canada. Roberts said they had to be tested for COVID and fill out all kinds of paperwork in order to enter the Great White North and then the U.S. again.
"But we made it and we had a good time," he said.
Far from home
There were a few things throughout the trip that Roberts said reminded him that he was a long way from home.
While it wasn't as cold as one might expect -- even in the summer, temperatures in the northernmost city, Utqiaġvik, which is north of the Arctic Circle, hover around 60 degrees Fahrenheit -- the tilt of the planet does give even southern cities in Alaska long summer days.
"One thing I couldn't get over -- I knew it stayed daylight out there longer. At 10, 11 (p.m.), I was out on the balcony of the ship, I took a picture and it wasn't (as bright as mid-afternoon in Arkansas) but it was still daylight. You could lose all concept of time because you're thinking it's getting to be 7, 8 o'clock, it should be darker out there, but you're looking at 10 o'clock and it's still daylight," Roberts said. "By 4 or 5 o'clock (a.m.) it was back daylight, so you had more daylight hours than you did night time."
"But in the winter time, it reverses. I couldn't imagine it being dark all the time," he added.
And returning to a serious heat wave in south Arkansas from the mild summer temperatures in southern Alaska was tough, he said.
"We got back late on a Wednesday night and it doesn't take long to say 'wow, we're back,' but I guess we make choices and this is where we choose to live," he laughed.
Despite the differences, Roberts said he would encourage anyone who, like him, has a fascination with the wild state of Alaska to take a visit.
"I highly recommend that if that's a bucket list item for you, do it. It was worth the three years in the making... We were blessed to go," he said. "I enjoyed all of it... Seeing the sights, seeing the nature, seeing the rivers running through the mountains and the snow... Every day it was something different, and it was tiring at times, but it was a good time."
Alaskan glaciers are seen from a cruise ship in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
Alaskan glaciers are seen from a cruise ship in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
A boat floats between a snow-capped mountain in Alaska in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
Alaskan glaciers are seen from a cruise ship in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
Alaskan glaciers are seen from a cruise ship in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
A mountain in Alaska is pictured in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
An icy stream in Alaska is seen in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
A moose stands near a road in Denali National Park in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.
Alaskan glaciers are seen from a cruise ship in this photo contributed by Ricky Roberts.