This piece was awarded 1st place in the Anchorage Press micro-short stories contest for story of the future category...who would of thunk it?

I suppose the drive to Nome is great; understand the road to Kotzebue will be finished in a couple weeks.  Red Dog Mine's been waitin' for a long time.

I wish my grandson could see a bear or moose or even a caribou.  Still find it hard to believe that the governor back in '03 had 'em shoot all the wolves and move the bears.  Some say he couldn't have foreseen that disease, starvation and genetic weakness would kill off all the moose and caribou, and the bears would be subject to plague and social disruption in their compressed habitat.  'Course I figured he couldn't see 'cause he was too busy lookin' at a few votes and dollars from some huntin' folks up to McGrath, a town you pro'ly ain't heard of 'cause it ain't there no more; nothin' left to hunt.

Guess it's nicer in some ways, no tourists on the Parks Highway, though Anchorage ain't much of a town anymore.  Older Native folks aren't to happy either, their kids think subsistence huntin' is the Nome McDonalds.

Wish my grandson could see a moose.

Judge's citation:
  "All of the judges liked the melancholy truths of 'The Road to Kotzebue,' especially that last wistful line.  This is a future that may not be so far away, and one that's a lot more complicated and believable than alien invasions."