Friday 5

(Link in meme-roll)
Looking for Alaska

1. Alaska’s motto is “North to the future.” Where’s somewhere north you’ll be traveling some time in the future?

   We'll be moving Sparky into his first real apartment in about 3 weeks. It's about an hour north of here, which means his commute to his most distant workplace will be 35 minutes instead of 90. The nearer workplace will be about 6 blocks.

2. Alaska is the westernmost of the [continental] United States. What’s the farthest west you’ve been in your country?

   California. Specifically, San Francisco.

3. Alaska’s state flower is the forget-me-not. What’s something you really need to remember to take care of before the weekend’s up?

   Hmm, can't think of anything I need to do. Other people have lists of things; I have to work tomorrow and I have a funeral to attend Sunday but otherwise no commitments. Well, I suppose I should get a card for the funeral....

4. Alaska has cities named Chicken, Beaver, Pelican, Eagle, Badger, and Bear Creek. What place names near where you live are named after animals?

   We have some water named after critters--rivers, lakes, etc.--and some towns named after the water. But I can't think of any animal towns. There's a Beaverton 'area' inside the county, and much further places named after buffalo, eagles, and elk. Otherwise...not a lot of animal stuff. Mostly, the names around here are early settlers or places people came from.

5. What’s something interesting you know about Alaska?

   I suspect that there is probably a hefty percentage of residents with some Russian and/or Asian blood in their veins. It would be interesting to know how many people still speak Russian at home. I could go look it up but I'm lazy tonight.