Return to Where the Eagle II Has Landed!

Wasilla, Alaska
July 23-24, 2000

We arrived early in Wasilla and will do a review at Yukon Don's Bed & Breakfast tomorrow night. We found a Wal-Mart only a block away and feel at home already! With the mountains of Anchorage in the background, we settled in for the night.

While at Yukon Don's, they gave us some very interesting trivia about Alaska and we want to share it with you!

• Has an area of 586,000 square miles....approximately 1/6 of the total landmass of the lower 48 states!
• Has 19 mountains over 14,000 feet
• Has 3,000 rivers
• Has 1,800 islands
• Has 3,000,000 lakes
• Has nearly 100,000 glaciers which cover 29,000 square miles
• Has 15 National Parks, Preserves and Monuments
• Has 117 State Parks
• Has 322,000,000 acres of public lands
• Has a total of 47,300 MILES of shoreline....which exceeds the total shoreline for the lower 48 states
• Is larger than Texas, California and Montana combined
• Is less than 3 miles from Russia
• Is the only state that is both in the eastern and western hemispheres
• The Alaska/Canadian border is equal to the distance from Boston to New Orleans
• The US bought Alaska from Russia from $7,200,000 (That is 2 cents per acre!)
• Became a state January 3, 1959....it's younger than Mike!
• Most of Alaska is still untamed wilderness
• Has 2-1/2 times the amount of coal found in the lower 48 states combined
• The Alaska pipeline has the capacity to move 2 million barrels of oil a day
• Juneau, the state capitol, can only be reached by air or water
• No highway extends across the state from east to west
• World War II brought about the Alcan Highway

This is a BIG place and we can only scratch the mere surface on our trip! We have experienced absolutely fabulous scenery and wild animals in their natural habitat. The highways can be a little rough in places, but if you drive slowly you will not only save your vehicle, but see more scenery and animals than if you sped by.

I'm not sure that this is where I want to retire....it's a little wild and untamed for my Yankee upbringing. But, those folks who are native to Alaska or have moved from the lower 48 wouldn't leave for anything. This is an outdoorsman's paradise!

Be sure to check out the REVIEWS and PHOTOS from our Spring/Summer Tour!