I have had the fortune to work for the Alaska Fire Service. I have been able to fly around most of the state. I have visited many of the villages in the bush. The scenery/untouched nature is unrivaled, but a lot of the state is very similar to living on an island. A very small island, these villages have populations in the hundreds, there is no Safeway, or Sears. The only towns in Alaska I know of such stores are in are Anchorage, and Fairbanks. Some of the towns on the Kenai peninsula, or down the panhandle may too, I can't remember. The bush towns are isolated only containing a few miles of road withing the village. The only realistic way to get around is by airplane, with boats being a secondary mode of travel. Even where Jeff lives, there is only limited miles of road, with no way to the mainland except by boat or airplane. The interior is a place of extremes, temperatures run from -50s or more to +90. The daylight runs from none to 24 hours. The bugs are extreme for about 3 month a year.
All that having been said, I still go back every year. Even when wasn't working for the Fire Service, I still went on Vacation. I love the Kenai Peninsula, The Wrangell's, Lake Clark, Denali, The Brooks range, Juneau, Ketchikan. No where is there such isolation and such beauty.
http://www.ilovealaska.com/alaska/