What's It Really Like To Live In A Log Cabin In Alaska?

A real Alaska homestead in Kenny Lake, Alaska

A Look At A Real Alaska Homestead In Rural Alaska

The Alaska lifestyle is a difficult one, involving building your own cabin, hauling your own water, growing your own food -- and supporting it with seasonal work.

Neil Hannan, a homesteader in Kenny Lake, Alaska, in the Copper River Valley, shares his photographs of life on the Homestead.

Alaska homestead kitchen. (This is neater than most!)

This photo shows an antique wood stove, pots, pans -- and the cutout of a flying bird on the window -- to keep actual birds from hitting the glass.

Ten jars of wild Alaska blueberry jam.

All over Alaska, hardy people have built contemporary log cabins. There are far more log cabins -- built in the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and beyond than you might realize as you travel around the state.

In almost every case, it was an arduous process, with the cabins pieced together as funds and time became available. Many cabins had to be built during the harsh Alaska winters, because that's when Alaskans are laid off of their summer jobs.

Alaska homestead garden in Kenny Lake, Copper River Valley.

This homestead is in Kenny Lake,
one of the last places in America to be homesteaded under the Homestead Act.

Kenny Lake is located north of Valdez and south of Glennallen, in the Copper River Valley. It's a harsh climate, but not as difficult as some of the surrounding regions. The photos you see here represent an exceptional attention to detail on the part of Neil Hannan, who built this cabin and operates his homestead as a labor of love.

A winter's wood at an Alaska log cabin homestead.