It's not actually green...

The story goes that war broke out among Norwegian Vikings long ago. Some fled by boat. They discovered a green island and settled. Afraid that their enemies might pursue them, they sent word back that their island was actually an ice-land, but that another island, more distant, larger (and covered by ice), was inhabitable green-land. Unfortunately, the true story of the naming of Greenland is more complicated but I like this one better...

We stayed right next to the airport in the small town of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland for just one night. There's not much here but the landscape is beautiful. The houses and buildings around the airport are all painted bright colors. We were told by a local that they are painted this way to make them easier to see on the ice. Not sure if that's true but it's a nice burst of color in an otherwise fairly mono-chromatic landscape. 

Greenland is the largest island in the world and it's climate is of great interest to environmental researchers. We saw this NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory on the ramp at the airport. Deb and Danielle charmed their way onto the plane for a close up view inside!