JCJ,
As a recent transplant to Alaska I can tell you that it is absolutely breath-taking and I am so happy to live here. I hope that you can someday visit and make your dream come true.

~ swl

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear. {Henry Wadsworth Longfellow}