Happy Alaska Day!

Happy Alaska Day!

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, AK on October 18, 1867. The U.S. bought the territory from Russia for $7.2 million dollars, which works out to under 2 cents an acre.  Alaska maintained its status as a territory until it became the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959.

No big celebrations here, but it does mean a 3-day weekend for some Alaskan residents.

[via]

In honor of Alaska Day, here are some more facts about the last frontier,

• Alaska is 2x the size of Texas.
• Alaska has 1/2 the world's glaciers (an estimated 100,000, covering approximately 5% of the state).
• State motto: "North to the Future"
• State flower: forget-me-not
• State bird: Willow ptarmigan
• State fish: King salmon
• Alaska has 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the U.S. (Mt McKinley, or Denali, is the highest at 20,320 ft. above sea level).
• There are more than 3,000 rivers, 3 million lakes and 70 active volcanoes in the state.
• Each year Alaska has approximately 5,000 earthquakes, including 1,000 that measure above 3.5 on the Richter scale. (Of the ten strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the world, three have occurred in Alaska.)

Today also marks 2 years in AK for Steve and I.  Time really flies when you're having fun! It still feels like yesterday, getting the news as I was standing in Walmart preparing for a drive down to South Carolina. Five days later we were boarding a plane, not knowing what was ahead of us. It's been an INCREDIBLE two years and I wouldn't change a thing.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the great state of Alaska TAKE IT.  This place steals a piece of your heart and you won't regret it for a second.