Alaska, the land of beautiful snow covered mountains and wilderness as far as you can see. You've probably seen the photography or the documentaries. Or how about the movie, Into the Wild. I was born in Fairbanks, but do not remember anything. I've heard lots of stories by my brothers and sisters, but that was from 40+ years ago. What about today? I found Nichole Sauer, a recent transplant from Alaska. She had the scoop.

But that was a long time ago. What's it like today? Surely it's changed. I talked to Nichole Sauer, a longtime resident of Fairbanks and pretty new transplant to Vancouver, Washington. So has it changed much? Not really. It's grown some

Does it really stay dark all day during the winter? Pretty much. For about 6-8 weeks from mid December through mid February, there are only 2 hours of real sunlight. During the summer from about mid June through the end of July there are only 2 hours of night. The picture to the left is taken at 4 in the morning. This does cause a lot of Vitamin D related illnesses. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is highly prevalent. Alaska also has the highest rate of suicide as well as high incidences of rape, drinking, and drug use. On the other hand, Alaska also has the nation's highest ice cream consumption, go figure.

Does it ever get warm? No, it doesn't snow all year long. In fact it only snows from October through December, then it gets too cold. But it snows enough that it sticks around until May. The snow actually provides insulation. People get concerned when it doesn't snow much as they pile the snow up against their house for the insulation. In the winter it can get as cold as 80 below zero. At this point, school is optional. They have blankets for their cars and have heaters for their car engines that you plug in at night. They have an interesting law that says you have to pick up hitch hikers when it gets colder than 20 below. And yes, it does get hot. During the fire season, it can reach 100 degrees.

Tourism is the biggest industry in Alaska, especially in the summer. But they also do big business in fishing, crabbing and the pipeline. With fishing and crabbing, people can make enough in several months to last them for the remainder of the year. You can make $30-40,000 per month. Crabbing, though lucrative, can be very dangerous since it's done in the fall. The ice forms on the boats which you have to keep knocking off. If you don't, the boat sinks. In the winter you will find lots of Asian tourists. Their culture considers is good luck to conceive a child under the aurora borealis.

Speaking of the aurora borealis, Nichole claims that she really misses these light shows. They occur all year, but you can only see them in winter. They come in all colors, but you mostly see blue and green. It is said that if you whistle, they will move.

Do they have department stores? People in Alaska like to go shopping just like you and I. My mother used to talk about 'Sears chic' because Sears was the only big chain store at the time. Sears is still around, but they also have Fred Meyers, Safeway and Gottschalks plus the first Wal-Mart recently. They even have malls. Very small strip malls, but they do have malls. The prices may be a little higher then you're used to. In fact, according to Nichole, prices are about double what she pays in the states.

Let's talk about the snow. No, it doesn't snow all year long. In fact it only snows from October through December, then it gets too cold. But it snows enough that it sticks around until May. The snow actually provides insulation. People get concerned when it doesn't snow much as they pile the snow up against their house for the insulation. In the winter it can get as cold as 80 below zero. At this point, school is optional. They have blankets for their cars and have heaters for their car engines that you plug in at night. They have an interesting law that says you have to pick up hitch hikers when it gets colder than 20 below. And yes, it does get hot. During the fire season, it can reach 100 degrees.

Going back to Alaska is definitely a dream of mine. It used to be a thing about getting back to my roots, but over the years, it has just become a destination that looks beautiful and captivating. I don't think I'd want to live there, but I'd love to experience both summer and winter there.

By the way, the movie Into the Wild really was filmed there. Nichole says they hauled the bus into a wilderness area for the filming, then just left it there. Tourists used to flock to the area just to see it. Now it's just an eyesore in a beautiful area.