Happy Birthday, Alaska!

Happy 50th Birthday of Statehood, Alaska!

We are honored to be here as Alaska celebrates this event. So were Wynona Judd and her mama, singing at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage to open their version of Wings over Texas celebration this weekend. They call it Arctic Thunder. I'll bet that was televised in your neck of the woods too.

In honor of this auspicious occasion, here are some facts about Alaska.

With 570,374 square miles, Alaska 1/5 the size of the rest of the USA. That translates to 7 South Dakotas, 8 Washingtons, 73 New Jerseys, 14 Tennessees, 8 Oklahomas, 12 Louisianas, 4 Californias or 2 Texas's.

Alaska is 47th in Population, followed only by North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Half of the 600,000 inhabitants live in Anchorage. Density of Population is 1.1 persons per sq mile.

Alaska has 100,000 glaciers covering 28,000 sq miles, 5 % of the state. There are 1800 named islands and 13 major volcanoes. The farthest islands in the Aleutians are closer to Tokyo than Anchorage. They are in the Eastern Hemisphere. 85% of the state is unlain by permafrost.

Alaska has the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world. 3,500 come to Haines in the fall and winter to feed on salmon. Grizzlies, bald eagles, humpback whales and wolves are in abundance and endangered elsewhere. Alaska has the longest salmon run in the world: 2,000 miles up the Yukon River.

Alaska has northern lights, 40 foot tides, active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, 3 million lakes, half of the world's glaciers, tundra, rainforests, cabin fever, mukluks, totem poles, potlatches, migratory whales, 27 species of mosquitoes, and the state sport of mushing.

Maximum solstice summer daylight in Fairbanks is 21:49 hours, winter 3:42 hours. Juneau has 100 inches of snow. Barrow's mean January temp is 13.4 below. Right here here in Kenai on the Cook Inlet it is 52 degrees with a wind chill coming off the water of something much below that, based on my chilly face after a walk.

Happy birthday, Alaska!