A is for...

As promised... The challenge begins... With "A"....

"A" is for Alaska...  My husband Ricky retired in March, and my retirement gift to him was a two-week vacation to Alaska... Not a cruise to Alaska; but a boots on the ground self directed tour of Alaska, from Anchorage to Talkeetna to Denali to Seward and back...  It was the place he dreamed about but never thought he would see.

Alaska, land of the midnight sun.... And they aren't kidding about that.  We were in Fairbanks for the Summer solstice. June 21st... The longest day of the year.  In Fairbanks that day, sunset was at 12:48 a.m. And sunrise was two hours and 10-minutes later at 2:58 a.m.  On that night in Fairbanks, they have a baseball game that starts at 10:30 p.m., but never ends.  Why?  Well, if you hit the ball and get to first base the rule is you must drink a beer before you can run to second base.  At second base, the same rule applies, and so forth... Well, you get the picture... Those Alaskans really know how to celebrate sunshine!

Alaska, where there are only 2-seasons... Winter and tourist.  All the lodges we visited had opened mid-May and would close mid-September.  That's a very short tourist season... And Alaska has the whole tourist thing down to a science.  Every cab, shuttle, trolley and train... Is equipped with their own native Alaskan tour guide.  People literally go to school to learn to be a tour guide on the various transit systems.  In Alaska, tourism is a science.

I have 2500 photos of the beautiful Alaska.  This one, taken from the train between Seward and Anchorage.

Please don't get the idea that Alaskans are contrite or deadpan... They are anything but... We found Alaskans to be a lot like Texans.  People proud of their state and its beautiful natural resources.  Alaskans are in love with their state, and are proud to tell you that Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas (though a couple of times, I felt compelled to remind them that our population in San Antonio, Texas (1.2-million) was twice as much as the entire state of Alaska (600,000).  The fact  of which, astonished most of the Alaskans  I shared this little piece of Texas info with.

Did you know that 6 out of 10 Alaskans are licensed airplane pilots?  Alaskans don't need a permit to own or carry a firearm?  One of  the most dangerous wild animals in Alaska is the.... Moose?  That on a clear day you can see Mount McKinley from Anchorage to Fairbanks?   Did you know that a team of 16-dogs pulls an Ididarod driver and sled 100 miles in a race every year, and of the drivers that actually finish the 10-day race, they finish with an average of 10-dogs...  The rest of the dogs left at rest stops along the way for one reason or another.  Alaska, land of snowy mountains, tundra, waterfalls, forests, glaciers, rivers, salmon, Orca, sea and sunshine... And some of the biggest Mosquitoes you've ever seen...

Alaska, one of the most gracious and welcoming states in America.  "A" is for Alaska, America, Amazing ...
but glad to be back home... Down Here in French Lique...