Some laughed in 2008 when vice presidential candidate and then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin told ABC's Charlie Gibson "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," but she wasn't wrong. On the tiny island of Little Diomede, 661 miles northwest of Palin's hometown of Wasilla, the 117 Alaskans who live on the island's rocky face live practically within spitting distance of Big Diomede Island, Russia. The two islands are separated by a scant 2.5 miles of Bering Strait (which is frozen from mid-December until June) and an invisible international boundary. There's one school, one clinic, and no running water. Transportation to the mainland is dangerous and unreliable. But those who call Diomede home can make one claim most Alaskans can't -- they really can see Russia from the front porch.
"Sarah Palin's Alaska" started its eight-week run on TLC Sunday, Nov. 14. While the former governor gives viewers nationwide her own tour of the Last Frontier, Alaska Dispatch will take a look at the state as it's experienced by residents across the state -- urban and rural, young and old, from all walks of life. You've seen "Sarah Palin's Alaska" -- now welcome to Our Alaska.