In your travels around this vast state, one constant is the warm and welcoming people happy to share culture, waves, languages, art, food, and knowledge of the land. From the northern lights in Fairbanks to bore tide surfing in the Turnagain Arm, from Talkeetna to Anchorage and from Palmer to McCarthy, here are Alaskans in their own words, and why this magnificent part of the country makes you feel so at home.