Fall colors frame Knik River Road on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2022 in Knik River, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

The trees don’t really change colors where I’m from. Southern California is a place mostly devoid of seasonality, and I used to cherish the days the temperature dropped below 50 degrees, which meant I could wear my “big jacket.” After leaving California, I spent time in New York and Missouri, where I’d ogle at trees covered in yellow or vermilion leaves.

Neither place, however, comes close to Alaska in the fall.

My morning commute is one of the best parts of my day, and it’s made all the more special by the autumn foliage depicting a landscape in transition.

It was for those reasons that I found myself packing a cooler and queuing up music Saturday morning in preparation for a four-hour drive to Palmer, where I planned to get my fill of fall colors. While a storm pummeled the central Kenai Peninsula — I got home later that day to find that my power had gone out — it was a ridiculously gorgeous day in the Mat-Su.

An intermittent sun heated the day to the mid-60s and I was treated to seemingly endless streams of yellow blurs as I drove over hills and through the trees. Parked in front of Pioneer Peak, I drank cranberry juice from a mason jar while the sun warmed my car and leaves fell around me.

One of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, called upon wisdom from his uncle in a commencement address he delivered to the Agnes Scott College’s 1999 graduating class in Decatur, Georgia.

“When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud, ‘If this isn’t nice, what is?” Vonnegut told the graduates.

I first read that quote in college, as part of a compilation of Vonnegut’s speeches aptly titled, “If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young.” In the years since, it’s a message I’ve internalized and often find myself saying aloud. The grandiosity of Alaska has called the question to mind frequently.

“If this isn’t nice, what is?” I’ve asked myself while reclining at the base of Exit Glacier on a cool day.

“If this isn’t nice, what is?” I’ve asked myself while mushing through a boreal forest in Talkeetna.

“If this isn’t nice, what is?” I’ve asked myself while watching the sun sparkle on the surface of Kenai Lake.

I asked myself the same question last weekend, when I was flooded with warmth physically and visually by a perfect fall day in Palmer.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in Sports

Kristen Faulkner, who won two gold medals for cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympics, speaks to Andrew Elam during a meet and greet hosted by the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce at the Cannery Lodge in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Homer’s Faulkner, Snaric win Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Directors’ Awards

Homer’s Kristen Faulkner and Jackson Snaric were among the seven to win… Continue reading

Cook Inlet Academy senior Ian McGarry brings the ball down the floor for the 1A/2A Boys Gold team during the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Games on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at Grace Christian School in Anchorage, Alaska. (Bruce Eggleston/matsusports.net)
McGarry, Lowney represent peninsula at senior all-star games

Cook Inlet Academy’s Ian McGarry and Homer’s Channing Lowney represented the Kenai… Continue reading

Soldotna goalie Ryan Queen notches a save in front of Kenai Central's Christine Goering on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at Ed Hollier Field at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tuesday: Kenai girls soccer tops SoHi in season openers for both squads

The Kenai Central girls soccer team defeated Soldotna 1-0 on Tuesday in… Continue reading

Kenai Central's Chase Laker leads Soldotna's Ollie Dahl and Michael Davidson in the 1,600-meter run at the Soldotna Mini Meet on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna, Kenai track and field compete in Soldotna Mini Meet

The Soldotna and Kenai Central track and field teams got together for… Continue reading

tease
Saturday: Homer baseball tops Petersburg, Ketchikan

The Homer baseball team finished up play at the Ketchikan Round Robin… Continue reading

tease
Bears end season with sweep at the hands of Ice Dogs

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs swept a Friday and Saturday series from the… Continue reading

Morgan Aldridge leads riders down a hill at the start of Week 3 of the Soldotna Cycle Series on Thursday, July 18, 2019, at Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Sterling’s Aldridge wins duathlon at Lavaman Triathlon

Sterling’s Morgan Aldridge, 43, won the individual duathlon at Lavaman Triathlon 2025… Continue reading

tease
Friday: Homer baseball picks up 1st win of season

The Homer baseball team defeated Petersburg 11-3 on Friday at the Ketchikan… Continue reading

tease
Thursday: Homer baseball drops opener

The Homer baseball team opened its season Thursday with an 11-10 loss… Continue reading

Most Read