Conquering Alaska

My friend Jim is a travel fanatic. He is also a list man. He is intent on stepping foot in all 50 states and their capitals, as well as all of the national parks. When Jim checks any of these off his lists he boasts that he has "planted the flag" there. Recently, he bought the book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die. I fear this was a mistake. One of the last times I saw him, not long before his 30th birthday, Jim flipped through the book with me. He sounded chagrined that so much of this impossible list represented unconquered territory. "So much to see," he said.

alaska-plate-1.jpg Alaska's new tourism promotion is designed precisely for people like Jim. The state's travel industry association has posted billboards in Seattle, L.A. and Minneapolis, showing the Alaska license plate pictured here. Apparently, the association's research has shown that lots of Americans have Alaska somewhere on their own travel to-do lists. "We want to get people thinking about Alaska now rather than later," spokesman Dave Worrell told the AP.

Some will surely find this approach a bit morbid. It's not flowery like "Virginia is for Lovers," or wholesome like the state slogan I grew up with: "New Jersey and You: Perfect Together." (I can still hear Gov. Kean's voice saying that.) But Alaska's approach is daring enough that it just might work.

A note to Alaska, though: your campaign won't work on Jim. He already planted his flag on your turf several years ago.