What does your future look like?

Sometimes life takes you where you want to go, and sometimes it doesn't. But there is a vital part of the journey you can control: your family's peace of mind. Some 68 million adults in the United States have no life insurance and many of those who do are covered for only four times their annual salary.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month; this is the perfect time to ensure that your loved ones have what they need to help them achieve a safe landing.

To learn more, stop by your local service center, call (866) 222-7868, or visit AAA.com/insurance.

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SAVINGS
Get big discounts on easy truck rentals

Whether you're moving into an apartment across town, a college dorm down the road, or a house on the other side of the country, Penske can help you get your items there safely and without spending a lot of money. AAA members save 12 percent on one-way truck rentals, plus an extra 10 percent when booking online. Penske also gives AAA members a 10 percent discount on local rentals and a 12 percent discount on moving supplies. For details and locations, call (877) 222-7924 or visit gopenske.com.

For other exclusive member savings, visit AAA.com/discounts.

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MILESTONES
Alaska: Our 49th state turns 50

1867
U.S. Secretary of State William seward OKs purchase of Alaska territory from Russia for $7.2 million.

1896
Gold is discovered in the Klondike. Thousands of fortune seekers will pass through Alaska on their way to the Yukon River valley.

1959
On January 3, Alaska, bigger than Texas plus California plus Montana, joins up as the 49th state.

1977
First gallon of oil enters the 800 mile-long Trans-Alaska Pipeline at Prudhoe Bay.

2008
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin runs for U.S. vice president on the Republican ticket.

Let AAA Travel introduce you to exclusive savings on cruises to the Last Frontier. For more information, stop by your local service center, call (800) 529-3222, or visit AAA.com and click on "Travel."

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POSTCARD
The Galápagos Islands

By Kristina Malsberger

Hermits, castaways, Howard Hughes—spending a lot of time alone can lead to strange behavior. Case in point: the Galápagos Islands, an isolated archipelago over 600 miles west of Ecuador where the resident
animals—salt-sneezing iguanas, bloodsucking vampire finches—are like no others on the planet. "A little world within itself," Charles Darwin called it after arriving in 1835 as the naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle. He left with enough notes and specimens to inspire his theory of evolution and the landmark treatise On the Origin of Species.

Today, visitors to what is now Galápagos National Park may feel as if they've stumbled into a casting call for Animal Planet. Blue-footed boobies perform goofy, elaborate mating rituals; 500-pound giant tortoises mosey across the sands; flightless cormorants stay put. The lack of natural predators also means many creatures are amazingly fearless. Curious sea lions may amble up to investigate: "Hmmm, tennis shoes, shorts, baseball cap—another Turisticus americanus." Let's just hope they can consider our species highly evolved.

AAA can arrange your trip to the Galápagos Islands or nearly any other place on earth. Call (800) 529-3222, or visit AAA.com and click on "Travel."

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TRAVEL PLANNER

September

SAVE Enjoy National Public Lands Day on September 26 with free admission to all national parks and monuments. For a complete list of parks, visit nps.gov.

PLAN AHEAD Australia celebrates the arrival of summer on December 21. AAA can assist you with lodging and transportation.

DON'T FORGET Hear about the latest travel tips and advice at one of author Anne McAlpin's packing workshops. Admission is free. Call (877) 422-2359 or visit AAA.com.

October

SAVE Get up to $9 off tickets to Disney on Ice at Portland's Rose Garden Arena, October 22 to 25. To learn more, call (503) 963-3889.

PLAN AHEAD Book now for the outdoor holiday markets held across Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland. Europe's Christmas Markets, our eight-day tours, depart from November 27 to December 6.

DON'T FORGET Disneyland does Halloween with not-so-scary decor and festivities. AAA members can take advantage of special Disney packages and save 10 percent at select restaurants.

Let AAA help you get where you're going safely and on budget. Visit any service center, call (800) 529-3222, or go to AAA.com and click on "Travel."

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NEWS FLASH
No-cost car inspections return in October

October is AAA Car Care Month. Stop by any participating Approved Auto Repair (AAR) facility throughout the month and receive a complimentary 40-point vehicle inspection designed to identify potential problems and help you avoid costly repairs. For the AAR facility nearest you, call
(800) 222-4357 or visit AAA.com and click on "Automotive."

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YOUR CAR
Are fuel-efficient tires worth buying?

By Adam Ashton

That depends on how you roll. The better a tire retains its shape, the less energy it uses to turn. Fuel-efficient tires offer the lowest such rolling resistance, as it's called, and they usually come fitted on new cars. Replace them with an ordinary set and your mileage might drop, a cost not included on your new tires' price tag.

That's changing. Proposed California regulations, for example, would require manufacturers to report rolling resistance for all tires sold in the state, and the California Energy Commission plans to release a consumer shopping guide ranking tires by 2011. The federal government is considering a label of its own, so in coming years these babies should be burning rubber.

That, however, is literally what some models do, so shop carefully. According to the Transportation Research Board, low resistance could come with reduced durability. You can bet your brake pads that labs are at work designing fuel-sparing radials that are also tougher and
safer–factors the proposed labels would rank. Right now, the sole group providing ratings for rolling resistance is the subscription-only consumerreports.org.

To learn more, visit the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center at afdc.energy.gov.

For help buying, insuring, and maintaining a car, visit AAA.com and click on "Automotive."

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SPOTLIGHT
DVD aids new drivers' skills

The interactive DVD Driver-ZED (Zero Errors Driving) puts teens in a virtual driver's seat. Developed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the
full-motion interactive video features dozens of scenes—such as a child running into the street or a dangerous passing situation—that computer users can access and react to. Driver-ZED is $9.95 for AAA members and $14.95 for nonmembers. To order a copy (for PC only) for your teen, call (877) 422-2359.