Alaska is a different kind of place.
Alaskans are, by and large, a pretty patriotic lot. The Great Land has a lot of military presence, and a strong leavening of military retirees, and a big portion of the population has the frontier-style “leave me alone” spirit. Minding one’s own business is as Alaskan as the Aurora Borealis.
But sometimes we come together for uniquely Alaskan events, and one of those is the annual Independence Day Glacier View Car Launch, which has been going on since 2005. At this time of year in our part of Alaska, it doesn’t really get dark at night, which takes a bit of the thrill out of the traditional fireworks shows. There are some such shows nevertheless; there is at least one big display in the Anchorage area. But launching cars off a cliff overlooking the Matanuska River is surely a great substitute.
Anyway – if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is surely worth a million, and since I don’t have a million words nor the time to write them, have a look at RedState’s exclusive on-the-spot coverage of this patriotic event [find video at end of article].
This year’s attendance was estimated at 10,000. That’s right – approximately 1,000 times the number of attendees at the average Joe Biden campaign event. It was a great crowd. Lots of American flags, lots of America-themed t-shirts and other apparel, and regular outbursts of people chanting “USA! USA!” The event’s highlights included:
- A formation fly-over, not by Air Force fighters, but by Alaskan bush planes.
- A fly-over by a Coast Guard C-130 from Kodiak Island.
- Not only 30 cars launched from the cliff but among them were a school bus (driven from Atlanta, Georgia) and an RV with a boat and trailer (likewise driven from Atlanta). A half-ton Chevy pickup had the entire engine break loose and fly clear.
- At one point, we saw an Alaskan State Police cruiser chase a replica of the “Dukes of Hazzard” Charger off the cliff.
I hasten to point out that there were no people in the cars launched; a system of railroad rails is used to guide the cars off the cliff.
Previously on RedState:Four Great American Independence Day Events
The really amazing bit is what happened afterward. My wife and I (full credit to her for most of the camera work in the video below) waited until the crowd had thinned out before leaving. Among the last people to depart were a bunch of attendees – not working for the event, just regular folks who came to watch – doing an impromptu police call, picking up what remnants of paper and other trash the crowd had left behind, which wasn’t much. As conservative events tend to do, the crowd left the venue as clean as they found it, if not a little cleaner. And rest assured, a bulldozer was already standing by to clear the wrecks off the slope and push them down to the road, where they will be hauled away for scrap.
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Finally, one last point: Any of the enemies of America would be well advised to examine an event like this. These people aren’t urban elites, they aren’t corporate moguls, they are just everyday Americans enjoying the nation’s birthday in a uniquely American style. There was not one pro-Hamas protestor or pink-haired Pride wacko in the place, just regular folks, patriotic Americans.
And to those who would wish harm on America, I’d caution them to look at people like those in the following video, and remember that the wolf’s strength lies not in his fangs, but in his pack. We’re Americans, and we stick together.
[Editor’s Note: God bless America!]
If you are interested in seeing next year’s Glacier View Car Launch, watch Last Frontier TV’s media outlets for news and great vids of this year’s event. You can find them on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and their website.