JIM COLYER IN ALASKA

I made a study of Alaska. Alaskan towns came from the Klondike gold rush of 1898. I will fly to Anchorage. I want the trip to include astronomy. That means the northern lights, the Aurora Borealis. Nashville-Chicago-Anchorage-Denali National Park-Fairbanks-Anchorage-Chicago-Nashville.

I may fly on 9/11 like I did to Hawaii.

National Parks are operated by the National Park Service which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

One Park stands out.

1 Denali National Park
Mount McKinley is in Denali Park. It is the highest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet. It is part of the Alaska Range. There is controvery about the mountain's name. The state of Alaska calls it Denali. The federal government calls it Mount McKinley after President William McKinley. Denali Park consists of 6 million acres of wilderness. There are glaciers and a sub-arctic ecosystem. There are moose, caribou, wolves and grizzly bears.

Cities:

1 Anchorage
Go from Anchorage north to Denali National Park by bus or train (Midnight Sun Express). 210 miles to Danali. 4 hours. Anchorage sits on the Cook Inlet, part of the Gulf of Alaska.

2 Fairbanks
Hook up with astronomy people. The northern lights can be seen 240 nights a year from Fairbanks. The best time to see them is from September through April because the sun stays up during the summer. There are red, blue and green waves of light. The lights are caused by the solar wind hitting gases in the upper atmosphere. The earth acts is a magnet, pulling the solar wind toward its poles. All planets have aurorae.

I may hook up with a northern lights tour, maybe with Astronomy Magazine at astronomy.com.

JIM COLYER
Contact: jim@jimcolyer.com