Columnist Steve Lopez heads to Nome, Alaska
Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez strains for a view across the Bering Sea from Nome, Alaska, hoping to catch a glimpse of Russia. He is looking into comments that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made, saying knows foreign matters because of her state’s proximity to Russia. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Steve Lopez, right, speaks with Nome, Alaska, resident Lew Tobin about Gov. Sarah Palin at Anvil City Square. Unlike Palin, Lew Tobin has actually set foot in Russia. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Statues of two of the “Three Lucky Swedes” at Anvil City Square and the restored St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, which is now a community hall, welcome visitors to Nome, Alaska. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Front Street is Nomes main drag, dotted with saloons and the ramshackle building where Nancy McGuire produces the Nome Nugget, a venerable Alaskan newspaper. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
A horse-drawn carriage rolls through downtown Anchorage, which many Alaskans refer to as Los Anchorage because of its enormous population -- about 280,000, according to 2007 U.S. Census estimates -- and sprawling suburbs. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Steve Lopez peers across the Bering Sea from Nome, Alaska. Some in the town support Gov. Palin, and some don’t -- but many prefer that she not claim to have foreign affairs insights based on geography. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
