The ***OFFICIAL*** Weekend Singles' Thread -- "Alaska Singles Thread (January 05 - 07, 2007,)

various | 5th January 2007 | Proud_yank

[snugs]

The 49th State - The Last Frontier
by proud_yank

Having recently moved here, I thought an Alaskan Singles Thread would be pretty fun.

Alaska is the largest state in America, roughly twice the size of Texas (sorry Texas!).

Putting Alaska into perspective. The Aleutian Islands over California, and South-eastern Alaska over Georgia.

An interesting fact I learned the other day is that in addition to being the Western and Northern-most state, Alaska is also the Eastern-most state too. The Western tip of the Aleutian Islands is just West of the International Dateline.

Alaska can be separated into five regions. The Far North (Also known as the 'North Slope') extends from the Brooks Range (the Northern-most extension of the Rocky Mountains) to the Arctic Ocean. Here are some photos of the Brooks Range, and the North Slope region. Barrow is the most Northern city in America. For fun, here is Barrow's weather.

Most people in Alaska live in Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage), and then the Interior (Fairbanks). Temperatures in the interior are sometimes colder than in the Arctic. Western Alaska is famous for the finish of the Iditarod dog-sled race in Nome. Southeastern, and the Interior, are famous for the Klondike gold rush.

Juneau, the state capitol is located in Southeastern Alaska. As a staunch conservative, it makes me smile that the govt. is located somewhere that can only be reached by boat or plane :-).

The Regions of Alaska

There are lots of moose here, and you really have to be careful driving. In the winter moose will come down from the mountains, and casually stroll through downtown Anchorage. We had one right outside the front door of our main office today! Other animals here include caribou, grizzly, polar, and black bears, muskoxen, beaver, otters, wolves, wolverines, tons of birds, and lots of delicious fish!

Some other interesting info about Alaska....

At 20,320 ft., Alaska has North America's highest peak, Denali.
State bird - Willow Ptarmigan.
State fish - King Salmon.
State tree - Sitka Spruce.
State spore - Dog mushing.
State animal - Moose.
State flower - Wild Native Forget-me-Not.
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 frontier.

Here are some of my photos that I've put online so far

[DollyCali]

Night Kate.. crap.. you have arthritis already?

[ilovew]

Yeah, my elbow does this lovely popping thing every time I move it. It's nice.

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

So who is hosting the thread this weekend? Phil and I can still do it (as long as we are still one happy family), but are Hoodie and RR up next? No worries if that is the case.

[proud_yank]

No problem Bill. Sorry I haven't been around more this weekend. I really need to get more of my photos online!

Thanks to Dolly & Snugs for all their help too. Without folks like yourselves, FR wouldn't be the place it is!

[proud_yank]

You'd be surprised how durable some kayaks are. There is a graphite & something-or-other compound that you can put on a hull, which make it very abrasion resistant.

I will get lots of pics when/if I go ahead and do this. I think it would be a pretty fun thing to do, rewarding too!

[DollyCali]

I am still up.. still working on pix for a "project"..

that kayak would be an ambitious project. good it is durable. the ones I have seen are multi-type wood & to a high sheen. If I did that (and most say it takes at least half a year)..it would be hung in my living room as ART WORK..not taken into water!!!

lol

Sad note ..I only got out on kayaks a few times this summer. Normal is about 2 dozen times. Life got in the way...sigh

[proud_yank]

Hopefully you get out a bit more when it warms up. Or, feel free to visit 'Up North' and hopefully by then I'll have a second boat :-)

[DollyCali]

I used to kayak in Frozen/icy waters all the time. Now that I have dogs & they kayak with me, I dont' go in the really frigid times. A short time in this water is okay.. but the hours of a normal long outing would be disasterous/fatal for them

[DollyCali]

I would love to visit you. If i get there I would want to drive. bring dogs/bike etc. warm weather will be needed. I can sleep (and have/do) in my van

[Kate of Spice Island]

TY!

I have suupport now instead of dealing with undermining behavior. It sure is easier now.

[Kate of Spice Island]

Chippendales?

Did someone mention Chippendales?

[proud_yank]

That is definitely the way to visit Alaska! The drive is really neat, and it changes drastically over the entire trip. Each day is more scenic.

I stayed in my tent each night. During the warm months, there are camp stops along the way. You can pull off the road many places and camp too. With food in the car, my concern was bears.

If you ever get a chance to come up here, let me know. You'd really enjoy it.

[proud_yank]

Paddling around ice is fun, but with dogs.... I don't think so.

Not too far from here, you can paddle around ice anytime. I've got some decent paddling photos, but none with ice or snow, which are always beautiful.

Do you get out on Lake Erie at all? Nice and warm in the summers, and sometimes some fun waves too.

[defconw]

Hello, I had to work all weekend. See you all next weekend.

[rzeznikj at stout]

yep. we'll be here (i think)...8^)

[defconw]

:) See you then.

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

So what is the fate of the thread?

[snugs]

As far as I am concerned I go for sticking together if this is the case are you and Phil up for next weekend? Once this is agree I will post current schedule.

[snugs]

Are you and Rockin available to host not this weekend but next if so tentative schedule is:-

12 - 14th Max and Phil
18 - 21st Rockin and Hoody
26 - 28th - Kate (ilovew) and ?

[snugs]

Sorry meant to ping you to 499.