Alaska Day Adventure

Alaska Day... it's our official state holiday that honors the formal transfer of the Territory of Alaska from Russia to the United States.  This event happened way back when on October 18, 1867.  Alaskans still celebrate it today - and for good reason. 

And what better way to celebrate this special holiday than by taking off on a sunset motorcycle ride through North Douglas and the Eaglecrest Ski Area?  Especially on a rare sunny evening when Juneau takes a break from her rainforest ways...

The view south from False Outer Point on Douglas Island.

The view north from False Outer Point on Douglas Island.

Alpenglow up at the Eaglecrest Ski Area.  John Muir quote.

Second time on a motorcycle.  First time on a BMW.  German engineering is zee best.

Best Capital City Ever

With low unemployment (4.8%) and high disposable income ($22,329), Juneau was recently ranked as the best state capital to live in (Smart Asset).  Data was collected on all 50 state capitals to determine the cities with the highest and lowest quality of life.  Frankly, I'm not surprised ranked number one - this city is pretty awesome.  As for the other end of the spectrum, lo and behold you can find the capital of my home state, Montgomery, Alabama, (and a slew of other states) ranked at the bottom.

According to the report (couldn't have said it better myself):

Located in the Alaskan panhandle, Juneau is unique in a number of ways. Along with being the Northernmost state capital, it is the only capital city that is not connected to the rest of its state by direct roads—surrounded by glaciered mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, Juneau is reachable only by ferry or plane. That inconvenience has played a role in a decades-long debate over the possibility of moving the Alaskan capitol to a different city. The numbers indicate that the capitol is fine where it is, however; Juneau ranks first out of state capitals for dining and entertainment establishments, and second for disposable income. It also has the sixth lowest unemployment rate.

C'mon already and move here!

A Safe Place

Great news!  Juneau was recently announced as number six on Movoto's list of the Top 10 Safest Places in Alaska.  To create the ranking, data was pulled from the FBI 2012 crime statistics for the 20 places with crime reported in Alaska, and statistics were generated from there.  (Yes, only 20 locations in Alaska had reports of crime - wild, huh?)  Cordova placed first as the safest community in the Last Frontier, and Juneau wasn't far behind.  According to the article:

With a population of over 32,000, it may come as a surprise to some people that Juneau, a relatively large city for Alaska, made our top 10.
But as the numbers show, larger doesn’t always mean more dangerous. After all, Kotzebue has less than 4,000 residents and it came in among the worst-ranking.
Back to Juneau, though. In 2012, the capital city had the eighth lowest number of violent crimes in the state (353 per 100,000 people), the 10th lowest number of property crimes (3,376 per 100,000) and the 9th lowest number of crimes overall (3,729). None of these included murder.

Movoto is an online real estate brokerage site, complete with an informative blog and eye-candy property photos.  Their blog, recognized by Forbes and CBS News, is known for its unique approach to city-based research.  Check out Movoto online or through the Apple App Store.

Aerial view of downtown Juneau, September 24, 2014.