
Alaskan Retreater's Notebook
One Man's Journey into the Alaskan Wilderness
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Bel Davies
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By:
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Ray Ordorica
About this listen
In the fall of 1978, Ray Ordorica packed everything he thought he would need into his Toyota LandCruiser and drove north to Alaska. He came to a land he had never seen, to find something he wasn't even sure existed: a wilderness cabin he could use for a year or more to live, think, relax, read, and write. Ordorica found his cabin, fixed it up, and, although it was just an un-insulated 12- by 16-foot one-room log structure, he spent three winters in it in relative comfort.
Ordorica's life in that cabin fulfilled a dream he had had for more than 10 years. During his long winters in Alaska, it occurred to him that there must be many others who have put off an extended wilderness visit out of ignorance or fear. They have as many questions about Alaska as he had before he arrived: How do you cope with 40 below? How do you get water? Is it totally dark in mid-winter? These questions and many more gave Ordorica the idea to write the Alaskan Retreater's Notebook, an epic memoir about one man's journey into the Alaskan wilderness. With his wisdom, you will learn how to live with the country, and not against it.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2016 Ray Ordorica (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Upon searching for more it turns out this is not so.
Interesting and insightful
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primarily a list of items to bring along
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I would listen to it again.
I loved this book
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if you like Alaska the Final frontier try this
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Some words of caution/praise:
Caution: This is NOT an actual book to get if you want to move to Alaska. It touts itself as a practical journal, but the events described happened 20 to 40 years ago so the info is not relevant anymore at all. For instance he squats on a partially abandoned military base for a while which to me does not seem like a well thought-out plan nowadays. No use of internet, no relevant laws, nothing. Some portions also describe his life just living in cities going from odd job to odd job and those parts are not really interesting at all. Some portions are weirdly boastful about having 'a young girlfriend' and hanging out with rich directors of oil companies. A little tone deaf and not in touch with the theme of the book. He is also a self-proclaimed gun nut and writes articles for gun magazines for a living, so there is a LOT of gun-talk. Depending on your own interests, this may either be a plus or a negative.
Praise:
Large portions of the book do describe his life in Alaska and those are pretty fun to listen to. Mind you, he's not deep in the wilderness Dick Proenneke - style, just in a remote area. I liked hearing his somewhat eccentric tales. At one point he tries to shoot a hole in the ice to create a fishing spot and the way this obviously ridiculous action is described had me laughing out loud. His concerns and love for animals/nature/wildlife are also pretty touching and told in an engaging way.
What helps to sell all this is the top notch narration. Davies does not have the type of voice that I would normally enjoy, but it suits the material SO well here. I was honestly surprised that it wasn't the author narrating it, because he sounded exactly like I imagined a guy like Ordorica would sound. Due to this narration this book is like listening to a guy sitting next to you in a bar telling you interesting tales about his previous life. Nothing life-shattering, but fun for an evening.
This title is free on plus now and it is worth trying out in terms of time investment. if I had gotten it for a full credit I would have been a bit 'meh'. but if I had gotten it in a 2 for 1 sale I would have considered it a good deal.
Weird little book, still fun
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Pretty Good......
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Good Listen
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Brilliant ! Very inspiring read. Very inspiring.
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Exiting and Adventurous
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Thoroughly enjoyable
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