First-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been named as John McCain's running mate, CNN and The New York Times reported this morning. Palin is known as a political reformer in her native state who defeated her primary opponent by blowing the whistle on party corruption--and for support for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Palin is expected to appear momentarily with McCain in Dayton, Ohio for their first campaign event. She will also join fellow Republicans Tom Ridge and Mitt Romney, both of whose names were mentioned in the veepstakes, at a Saturday rally in Washington, Pennsylvania.

A self-described "hockey mom," former journalist and one-time Miss Congeniality, Palin was nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda" in high school, which should look great on a campaign poster. In her first year and a half in office, she created a climate-change initiative and served on the National Governors' Association Natural Resources Committee. She has five kids: Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow and Piper.

Related Stories:
· Surprise Pick of Female Governor [NYT]
· McCain Picks Alaska Governor Palin [CNN]
· Ted Stevens' Alaska Map [Jaunted]
· Possible Presidents coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jmedkeffphoto]]]> egw 2008-08-29T11:18:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/15/125639/048

Climbing the icy peaks of Alaska can be scary, but not as scary as approaching a cute waitress or waiter. If you dream of glaciers, we've got your hot places to warm up in the largest city of our northernmost state.]]> egw 2008-08-15T15:00:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/9/135439/2107

What started in 1970 as a one room, Alaska themed wood cabin bar, Chilkoot Charlie's (known as Koot's to locals) has turned into Alaska's most famous drinking and live entertainment pantheon. When the original owner, Mike Gordon, bought the former piano bar, he promised to triple gross sales at his new establishment with the oil boom taking place on the north slope.

In the 38 years since, not only has Koot's tripled sales exponentially, but it's slowly consumed every business around, expanding into themed sections that include a Russian room, a swing bar (the dancing kind!), an outdoor patio and two areas for live music every night.

Previous performers have included everyone from Metallica to Eddie Money; Alaskan acts also take the stage. The long list of accomplishments has earned Koot's quite the reputation: In 2000, Playboy named it the best bar in America.]]> DanielR 2008-07-09T15:00:13-05:00 61.198049 -149.90376 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/7/3237/00002

The concept of getting a beer while you go see a movie is big in Europe, but here in the states, theater-pubs are few and far between. Leave it to the state whose motto is "The Last Frontier" to push the boundaries.

The Bear Tooth Theatre Pub is the spot in Anchorage to see a great movie on the cheap and have beers brought to your table/booth combo by young outdoorsy cuties. Located in the Spenard neighborhood of Anchorage--a place that was once known for its hookers and low-grade meth--the pub's part of a gentrification wave that also features espresso on just about every corner.

The Bear Tooth also happens to be one of the best places to see live music acts in Alaska. Case in point: On July 26th, Wilco will perform in the parking lot of sister location, The Moose's Tooth, just down the street. This might not sound that remarkable, but for Anchorage, it's like MC Hammer performing at your 8th grade dance in '91. Tickets are $35, but to see Wilco under the midnight sun with about 1,500 other people, that's a steal.

Related Stories:
· Bear Tooth Theatre Pub [Official Site]
· Moose's Tooth [Official Site]
· Alaska Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sir Mildred Pierce]]]> DanielR 2008-07-07T11:30:12-05:00 61.196219 -149.90681 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/30/224958/937

Although Anchorage is a somewhat bustling city of 300,000 people, skyscrapers, great nightlife and one of the best bars in America (Chilkoot Charlie's), it still remains on the edge of some truly wild territory filled with animals much larger, tootheir and hungrier than humans.

This fact was sadly reiterated on Saturday night when a teenage girl riding in an all-night bike race was mauled by a bear who was foraging near the course in Far North Bicentennial Park. The young girl was outfitted with bear bells and two lights so as not to scare any wildlife, but a state biologist says that gusty winds on the night of the race and the rush of the creek might have made it difficult for the bear to hear her approach. That, he said, might've spooked the animal and caused the attack.

Two weekends prior, a bear charged at a pair of runners in the same area--though that's not stopping Alaskans from getting out to enjoy nature. Says one local:

It's not going to stop me from going out of the house and enjoying the short summer. But I'm thinking we should buy some bear spray.

Related Stories:
· Terror on the Trail: Bear Attacks Teen [Anchorage DN]
· Bears coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kradlum]]]> DanielR 2008-07-01T11:00:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/20/22720/2303

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 12 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Well race fans, it's hard to believe we've actually arrived at the season finale! Eleven teams started out at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles on this once in a lifetime adventure, and traveled over 30,000 miles across four continents to get to the finish line. This was the quickest Amazing Race ever; it took teams only only twenty-one days to run the course. Ron and Christina began on a long mission to learn to work together, and their harmony finally paid off in the last few episodes. Nick and Grandpa Don have managed a great race, and Don is officially the oldest coot to ever make it to the final three.

TK and Rachel have focused on enjoying the experiences and each other, rather than the million dollar prize. These are three solid teams--and not necessarily the ones we thought we'd see in the finale. Will the Ron and Christina train plow through to a number one finish? Will TK and Rachel build on their big turnaround from last week? Will Grandpa Don simply run out of steam along the way to the finish line? All the answers and more after the jump!]]> Todd 2008-01-20T22:07:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2005/11/17/103018/61 The latest issue of Hemispheres lets us in on a little-known secret, you're lucky if you've got a layover at Anchorage Airport. Sure, it's not exactly a travel hub, but it is the point place for many NW cruise beginnings.

The airport's just undergone a $240 million makeover and it was money well spent. Head to Concourse C where you can gaze out at the magnificent vista of the Chugach Mountains to the east and the Alaska Mountain Range to the west through a 56,000 square-foot bank of windows.

Want to watch a movie? Stop in at In Motion Pictures and rent a DVD player and movies for around $12 a day. There's also a play area for kids. Or maybe you've got work to do? Wi-fi is everwhere already.

Some of the best parts are the kitchiest. They've got stuffed Kodiak and polar bears in Concourse B, perfect for picture taking. And you can easily store all your fresh hunting and fishing catches at the airport's cold storage lockers for $15/day. That's something you don't see at Logan or LAX.

Related Stories:
·   Terminal Bliss:Anchorage [Hemispheres]
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