50 States Redux: ALASKA AGAIN

• I’ve become obsessed with the weather report in Fairbanks. Everyday I check the temperature and gasp. They’re currently experiencing a warming trend with a forecast high today of 31 below (all temperatures listed are Fahrenheit). How does one exist in conditions like that? Last fall at the Sophie Station Hotel I picked up a booklet “Staying Alive in the Arctic; A collection of Anecdotes, Facts & Lies about life in Alaska!” I chuckled at the extremes but now I’m beginning to understand it’s not that far from reality. Some tidbits that I’m glad have no relevance to my life:
• The red liquid within an outdoor thermometer is alcohol, not mercury. Mercury freezes at 38 below.
• 40 below zero is the only point at which the Fahrenheit and Celsius thermometers agree.
• Propane turns from a gas to a liquid at 44 degrees below zero – thus preventing one from being able to heat with it.
• Furnace heating fuel (#1) stops flowing adequately at about 60 below.
  

I also was amused by the admonishment “Never open your window if your room is too warm. Contact the front desk. Even the slightest crack can cause frozen pipes.” Well at 50 below, I guess so.

I’m eager to explore more of Alaska. The Alaska ferries are seriously calling my name. I wrote of my desire to explore via ferry in my 50 States in ’08 post

I would love to participate in the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon held every June in Anchorage.

And of course, I NEED to go to Adak, at the tip of the Aleutian Islands. Adak, Alaska is westernmost municipality in the United States. Only 316 people reside there according to the 2000 census. The only lodging available is in the former Naval Officers Quarters and it seems there’s little to do in the area aside from hunting and fishing but there is quite a cult of travels who visit just to say they’ve been there. It’s one of those experiences where the journey & the bragging rights are the best part of the adventure. Alaska Airlines operates flights each Wed. & Sun. from Anchorage, so it’s really not as far fetched as one might assume. Hmmm…. Adak, Aleutian Islands… sure sounds like A destinations to me!