North to Alaska with the Clements

   Mark and Kim Clement shared a brief travelogue of their recent trip to Alaska at this evening’s meeting.  Recently Mark’s high school class held the 35-year reunion.  “Sparky” ran into an old friend, Mark DeVries was there, his first time back for a reunion.  He had spent 27 years in the Coast Guard, 7 of those stationed in Anchorage, Alaska.  Upon retirement he and his wife moved there, and he now works in Crisis Management for BP.  They invited Mark and Kim to come visit them in Alaska this Summer.

   Mark and Kim shared with us some lovely photos they took on their trip, and some interesting facts about Alaska.  First, Alaska is Huge.  At 586,412 square miles, it is the largest US state by area, over twice the size of Texas.  It is also the least densely populated state.  The state’s total population is just under 750,000 people.  Almost 400,000 of those people live in the Anchorage metropolitan area.  About 1 in 87 residents have a pilot license.  Because of the undeveloped terrain, flying is the most efficient means of transportation.  Mark and Kim visited glaciers and saw Denali.  They got to help out at his friend’s hunting cabin, and saw lots of moose. 

   They had a wonderful time on their trip and now have one more thing off their bucket list.  If you have the opportunity to visit Alaska, they can’t recommend it highly enough.  And if you ask them real nice, they might even share their pictures and experiences with you.