Pamela Drennan:  

Tying the knot within a year after graduation, Joe and I have been married for 38 years. Our daughter, Angela, is married to Aaron. We have two grandsons -- Dylan (5) and Connor (2). The boys call me Kitty Mama -- an apt description, as five cats reside in our home. Through our adventures living outside Colorado; we've determined beyond any doubt -- there's no place like home. We've lived in southeast Aurora since 1991. In 1986 Joe was offered a position with the FAA, as an air traffic control specialist in the Alaska Region. While Joe attended the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, I distilled 13 years of marriage down to what would fit in a 5' x 7' trailer. We drove 3,275 miles up the Alcan highway, before it was paved; pulling a U-Haul trailer. After three months of on the job training in Fairbanks, the FAA loaded us and our possessions on a Convair 580 and flew us 110 air miles west of Fairbanks to Tanana. This native village of 350 Athabascan Indians is located at the confluence of the Yukon and Tanana Rivers. There is no road access -- you fly in and fly out; except during about eight weeks during the summer when the Yukon River is navigable. Living in the Alaska bush was the most remarkable experience of my life. The Yukon River was a mile wide, 50 yards from my front door. Break-up is awe inspiring! We were 60 miles from the Arctic Circle. That means 24 hours of daylight May through August. In the winter we got about 1 1/2 hours of twilight; darkness the rest of the time. Our daughter tells people that she walked to school when it was 47 degrees below zero and pitch black. On the positive side of winter -- the aurora borealis is the most spectacular phenomenon you will ever see! In 1990 we lived in southern California, where you could see the fireworks at Disneyland from our diving board. That Thanksgiving, after an 11 months absence from Colorado; I flew home for the holiday. As the plane emerged from...Expand for more