I'm from Minnesota and I love winter. Minnesota winters are colder than the inhabited part of Alaska. I think you have to be born in the cold to get along with the cold.

We got quite a laugh about ten days ago when a reporter on Good Morning America was reporting live from Times Square. He said it was so cold that everyone needed to wear a ski mask. He said his face was so cold it felt like it was going to freeze and fall off. The temp was 18 above zero with no wind!

Winter is a good reason for spring.

jor.. you may be right about some locations of Alaska, and this is not intended to outdo Minnesota or any other state, honestly,, but do remember that Alaska is the largest state, with many regions and climates.
One reason I'm grateful not to live in Fairbanks or north of there is the extreme below 0 temps. I grew up in moderate winter weather in Homer, but now, in Kenai, we have winters of - 20 to -30/35, and that is cold enough. Now when I lived in the Aleutians, it was warmer and rainy, sort of like S.E Alaska, some snow, but not long lasting.
I agree that if you are raised in the cold, you are a different breed, and it is a matter of pride getting through the winters(of course, we do an escape trip or two, and we ski, snowmobile and other outdoor activities). Having fireplaces and good heat sources are essential. Just opposite of people suffering in heat and humidity with their air conditioners blasting at work and home and in transit.
Sometimes, I wonder how long I'll be able to last as a "year rounder" before my dh and I join the thousands of other snowbirds and buy a place in Arizona or similar. I guess being spolied with low population and clean healthy living keeps us going, as well as being in a great place to raise our kids.
Does everyone else have that one relative in a warm climate who seems to love rubbing it in about how warm it is where they are? LOL!
Happy travels! Hurry up spring too:), J.

Lots more sun in Indianapolis, too. But the ice is just awful! It makes it really difficult to go out for a walk because you never know when you're going to slip and break a tailbone or something. I dream of sunny Florida. How many more weeks 'til spring break?

It is a glorious 40 degrees today....Cannot get too excited...Spring is not here yet.

Well...our warm spell is over. We are back to the cold temps again...burr...and to top it off, I am going to upper Michigan this weekend. BURR....