Alaska has been on the 'must do' list for ever and a day, however, its not without its problems.
Firstly its really quite big ! It takes 2 days to get to, so you need more than a week or two; even a month barely enables you to scratch the surface of this wilderness state.
Secondly, the season is short – whilst it can be visited year round, realistically there are 3 key months: June, July & August, with July being the busiest (and conflicting with a busy season month for us in the Turks and Caicos).
Thirdly, its expensive (nuff said).
That apart, July 2013 was to be a special month, Josies 40th birthday, therefore apparently she was entitled to a birthday month (go figure).... and it needed to be memorable !
Approval was needed from work to get the month of July of work .. that done. A lot of planning and co ordination began …. and so began the great Alaskan adventure !
Things I discovered about Alaska:
Fact 1: Alaska's name is based on the Eskimo word Alakshak meaning great lands or peninsula.
Fact 2:
Sorry Texas, but Alaska is by far the largest state in the union and is over twice the size of Texas. From north to south Alaska is approximately 1,400 miles long and 2,700 miles wide from west to east.
Fact 3:
In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000 for Alaska. That works out to a mere 2 cents per acre. Alaska officially became the property of the United States on October 18, 1867. Seeing the purchase as a foolish move, many Americans derisively referred to it as "Seward's Folly".
Fact 4: Dog mushing is the official state sport. The Alaska Legislature adopted it in 1972.
Fact 5:17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska.
Fact 6:
An estimated 100,000 glaciers cover almost five percent, over 25,000 square miles of the state. There are more active glaciers in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world.
Fact 7:
More than 1/2 of the world's active glaciers are in Alaska.
Fact 8:Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
Fact 9: There is more than three million lakes in Alaska.
Fact 10:
Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas, the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.
