The Game Plan!

Hi, Everyone!

Welcome to our blog detailing our trip to, and subsequent year in, Alaska.  For those of you who may not be aware, Steve got a job clerking in Alaska and so we're heading up north to spend 13 months in the 49th state.

We're both very excited about our upcoming adventure.  Aside from the dorky awesomeness that comes with working on legal issues in a state where the Constitution turned 50 just last year, we're also eager for hiking, kayaking, skiing, and, of course, moose spottings in the middle of the city:

Source: http://community.adn.com/alaskology?page=2

Of course, we'll both have bikes . . . although Anchorage's trails have been a bit questionable this summer . . . Good thing we'll have bear spray!

The trip begins next Thursday, after Steve finishes taking the bar exam.  We'll be packing up his apartment and heading back to Detroit to re-pack the car, say goodbye to our families and begin our journey.  From the great mitten state, we'll be traveling across the US, making stops along the way to visit friends in Milwaukee, Madison, Portland, and a quick detour in Atlanta.  We'll also be making stops at a number of national parks along the way.  Towards the end, we'll hop on the Alaska Marine Highway to take a ferry from British Columbia to Juneau, and then finally into Anchorage.  Of course, we'll detail this all as we go along through stories and pictures, and you can follow along on the handy map above!

Some fun facts about Anchorage and Alaska before we leave:

• The city of Anchorage stretches 1,961 miles (about the size of Delaware)
• The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Northern America occurred in Anchorage in 1964.  It registered as a 9.2
• In Anchorage, the average HIGH temperature in July is 65 degrees and the average LOW in December is 21
• Most of America's salmon, crab, halibut, and herring come from Alaska (and we can ship it to you if you'd like!)
• Alaska has about one registered pilot for every 58 residents
• Alaska is actually the northern, western, AND eastern-most point in the United States
• The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times
• The state is also over twice the size of Texas
• The city of Nome, Alaska has frequently been the subject of movies and stories of UFO attacks
• There are parts of Alaska, such as Barrow, that get 85 days of consecutive sunlight (where it never sets) and 2 full months of darkness (with no sunrise)
• The state motto is "North to the Future"
• Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is ONLY accessible by plane OR boat (no roads in!)

Sources: http://www.anchorage.net/686.cfm, http://www.alaska.com/about/weather/, http://www.50states.com/facts/alaska.htm

If you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, please leave them here! We can't wait to hear from you!