After my first Alaskan journey, I wrote a column entitled Toby of Girdwood, Alaska [in Broad Ripple Gazette Volume 4 Number 16]. I met Toby through my friend Bill, who I knew from the time he spent in Broad Ripple.

Toby and Bill now live in Anchor Point, Alaska in a geodesic dome house. It was built by Jim Nelson and the construction began with the geodesic dome (invention credited to the architect/engineer Buckminster Fuller in the 1940s).

The rest of the house extends from the dome. Toby's mom (a real sweetheart) lives in the basement apartment.

Inside the dome is a six-paned window which I would estimate to be about 15 feet by 15 feet. The view outside the window is spectacular. Three volcanoes are visible in the distance - Augustine, Iliamna, and Redoubt. They can be remembered because they spell AIR from left to right. The volcanoes were venting during much of my vacation. Because the house sits high on a hill, a large stretch of Alaskan topography is evident. The night sky is dreamy through the dome window.

The space inside of the dome is the most unique area that I have ever experienced. It possesses a liberating flow that I would sure like to experience again.