Happy Alaska Day!

State Motto - "North To The Future"

Since Monday October 18th is officially Alaska Day I thought I should give ya a few facts about this great State I now call home.
Alaska Day marks the anniversary of the formal transfer of the territory from Russia to the United States and the raising of the United States flag at Sitka on October 18, 1867. It is usually celebrated on October 18 each year.

State Song - Alaska's Flag
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue -
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last front

Alaska was the 49^th state it became a state on January 3, 1959.

State Nickname

The Last Frontier

Origin of the Name... Alaska
The word Alaska is from the Aleut Indian word "alaxsxaq" or "agunalaksh" that mean the mainland or shore.

Alaskan Mountain Roll Call

Mount Denali: 20,320 feet (Tallest in North America)

Mount Elias: 18,008 feet Foraker - 17,400 feet

Bona - 16,500 feet

Blackburn - 16,390 feet

Sanford - 16,237 feet

Vancouver - 15,700 feet

Churchhill - 15,638 feet

Fairweather - 15,300 feet

Hubbard - 15,015 feet

Bear - 14,831

Other Fun Facts

• Alaska is larger than the next four largest states combined
• Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in The United States
• Alaska is only 50 miles from Russia.
• The Malaspina Glacier near Yakutat is larger than the state of Rhode Island
• Kodiak Island is the 2nd largest island in the United States
• Alaska is 586,400 square miles...very big!
• Alaska has 29 volcanoes
• Alaska is 1,400 miles North to South and 2,700 miles East to West
• Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline...more than the rest of the lower 48 combined (This includes island shores)
• Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas... Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea
• There are more than three million lakes in Alaska
• Lake Iliamna is Alaska's largest lake with 1000 square miles of surface area
• The Yukon River flows 1400 miles through central Alaska and into the Bering Sea
• Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers which cover almost five percent of the state....More than in the rest of

Sadly enough We did not make it to Bethel this weekend. We were on weather hold into the late morning Friday and called the whole in service a wash once we had missed the vast majority of it by the time flights started floating along. Instead we...


Walked for a Cure... Connie had planned to walk for a Cure in Bethel this weekend. Since we didn't make it to Bethel, we had our own walk here in Quinhagak. Connie made us pink ribbons and all. Even Ani sported his ribbon. In talking about it we found that each of us had a loved one who fought the fight with beast cancer.

We had our 'bike joring' debut! It was just like ski joring except instead of sporting skis we were riding bikes. Ani enjoyed himself and is now sacked out on the couch. Ran into a rogue jellyfish out on the beach too. That was a first.

Ended the weekend with a trip upriver with Olin and Jack. Lots of bear prints out there folks no signs of hibernation yet.

"...I'll bring you into the land that I promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and give it to you as your own country. I AM God." Exodus 6:7