Logbook: Nuiqsut to Wasilla , entry 8: Kumi, Born and raised in Japan, Alaskan now

Kumi, left, and I spoke no words to each other until the airplane neared Denali. "I never get tired of seeing the mountain," she stated. I told her I never get tired of seeing it, either.

I suddenly felt a little self-conscious, because I knew the aroma of camp and whale oil was still heavy in my jacket. She didn't mind. "We're all Alaskans," she said.

Kumi was born and raised in Japan, where she met her American husband when he was serving in the Navy. They lived in San Diego and the Lower 48 for awhile, but weren't really happy down there. One day, he showed her a picture of Alaska and commented on how beautiful it was. He told her he would like to live there, but asked how she felt about that. She told him they ought to go ahead and give it a try. If they didn't like it, they could always leave.

They have lived here for two years now and Kumi says Alaska is the only place she wants to live. She works as a tour guide now, but I didn't quite get the details of her guiding straight. I believe many of the people she takes touring are Japanese, but when we got off the plane there were lots of friendly non-Japanese saying goodbye to her, too.

Masami sat across the aisle to the right. I did not get a chance to talk to Masami at all, so I know nothing about her story, other than that she was traveling with Kumi and they both spoke Japanese.