Life in Alaska this winter has certainly been an unusual one!! 

First of all, we were blanketed by so much snow, then it turned frigid subzero temperatures and then, the snow all turned to ice, thus making this one month of  amazing photos to take.  I was so happy to have my camera with me!!

The snow season really began around Thanksgiving when we got a large amount of snow.  (  See my first blog).  It was a great beginning to a great season of skiing. I was deterined to learn to be a better skiier this year.

Then, all hell broke loose!! 

Teh weather patterns became unstable, one could not look at the Satellite  weather map to determine what might happen that day becasue things changed so fast for a few days anything went.  Sheesh!!

It all began again, right around Christmas day when the snow fell.  I was housesitting in Eagle River for the chicken lady ( LOL) and loving every minute of it!!   the snow fell fast and furiously so that when I went to her house, I got stuck in the driveway but with the help of ice melt, was able to whittle myself out of the snowy situation and check in on those lovely chickens.  Organic eggs are so wonderful and I had no idea she was selling them to peeps at the university so now I am on her list to receive organic eggs.  There is nothing like eating right from the chicken nest!! 

New years Eve came and I was determined to make it a happy one.  Fortunately for me, I met some great people who invited me to this dance and I met some more great people.  I explained to them that I was doing a lot of research on a planned trip to Australia.  One of the ladies told me to talk to her sister who was sitting right next to her.  ” She lives in Australia” !!  I was so happy, she began to give me all sorts of info.  It was like the meeting was meant to be!!  The one lady’s husband was so sweet, he kept asking me to dance, he was a perfect gentleman.  No wonder I have such a great connection with older people.  Guess it goes to say that I got along better with my older brothers and sisters growing up than those my own age.  So, I adopted them as my new parents and my new aunt!! 

They helped to make my New Years Eve party great fun!!

I had met a grat guy just days before and I got the surprise of my night when he showed up.  It was so nice to see a good friend.  I had met another guy and we danced quite a few times.  However, neither one of them could be more than just friends.

My resolution for the new year was to make chnages in my life.  I wanted to get out more and meet new people and just enjoy life. I was not going to let anyone or anything hold me back. Not even the weather. 

With the new year came frigid cold temperatures. I was dressing in triple layers for work ( and my job is an indoor job).  The thermometer had dipped as low as -30 here in Anchorage.  Many places had lost heat during that time.  It was not really because the heaters or water piped busted, it was becasuse the frigid temperatures made it impossible to keep warm especially for those that sat all day.  Thankfully, my job is not a sit down job.  

While the temperature in the waiting area behind me measures 52 degrees and everyone else was complaining that it was cold, I was loving the nice change.  It was refreshing.  Everyone kept telling me how cold it was in my office, I loved it!!  There is no ventilation in my office so I open the back door which empties out into a waiting area.   The air and cooler temps make my work easy to enjoy.  I loved it.

As I was driving toward home one day, I looked over at the sunsetting and was shocked to see what seemed like a mountain range on fire!!

The mix of the frigid temeperture and sunset make it look like a fire.

From subzero one week to record breaking temperatures in Jan of 50 degrees, Anchorage had an Eighty degree temperature change in a matter of less than a week!!  Schools closed down becasue of icy road conditions, public bus service was dismantled and somewhat tweaked when it did run.

But as people were warned to not be outside for very long and the ski team cancelled races, I felt compelled to share the fact that each one of us that were alive and in Alaska were all a part of history.   Not many people can say they lived through this amazing winter.  The snow was not a factor, it was the cold.  And then, yikes. like the cold was not warm enough, a heat wave hit us!I was not going to let the cold deter me from doing anything.  while most people I know were huddled up at home, I got out and about and met more people.  At one time, I headed over to the public library to see if  my books for classes would be availble for me to borrow.  I was bummed when I did not find them there.  Oh well!! I went outside and found the waterfountain frozen in time.  One could tell and see it was cold, it made for some very nice photo shots.The ice had formed on here so amazingly.

Who says subzero has to be ugly?

One bus had to stop on a hill because of a six car pile up up ahead and as it stopped, the bus began to slide backwards down the hill with its passengers in tow.  That area of town and other areas, were closed by the city because of icy road conditions.  Craziness!!!

As  Anchorage thaws out its streets, we all hope to slowly return to work and school after the MLK holiday on Monday.

Frigid Temperatures to Icy Roads

This last month has been hell here in Anchorage as far as the weather goes.

Two weeks ago, we were in zubzero temperatures,wearing triple layers of clothing to stay warm and buying space heaters for places that could not stay heated very long.

The Nordic Ski Team here in Alaska had official races scheduled two weeks ago and had to cancel the races for three days before doing only a couple qualifying races to get the racers placed for the next set of races.   For the Ski Association to cancel races, that is a huge step.   Skiiers were so cold when they came back they had to run to the showers to warm up.

Experiencing these temperatures in Anchorage was a thing that had not happened in like fifty years!! It was a shock to many!!  Residents were all warned to not expose themselves in the frigid air for too long of a time. The skiiers were in danger of injuring their lungs if they raced, residents were in danger of frostbite or something more dangerous.  This winter has been wacky.  Anchorage was colder than Barrow, AK, the more northern tip of Alaska!!

We were so relived the day the thermometer got above Zero degrees.  But little did we all know what was about to happen!!  The winds came up, the rain began to fall and then.. we could hardly drive much less walk on the streets or sidewalks.

I live at the bottom of a hill and it appeared to me that the mositure all ran downhill ( makes sense huh)!!  and it was like a skating rink without the wetmop effect.

I tried to get going but my car kept sliding backwards and downhill.  There was a car parked on the side of the road and I knew if I kept trying to go up I would eventually hit the car.  Each time I would attempt uphill battle, my car would do a 360 180 or a 90 degree  turn.

I then  chose to park my car and walk to my destination. This was a good choice since I had not been doing much exercising lately anyhow.

I got out of my car and whop!!  I fell into a puddle of water and fell straight to my knees.  My neighbors who had just slid down the hill in their car into a snowbank saw me fall.  They were trying to get out of their car and came to help me up.  That was so sweet of them.  The one found a large cardboard box at which time we sat on the box with our knees and used our hands to transport ourselves across the street the the evermore icy parking lot.   My pants were soaked up to their knees so I went to change out of them.

When I came back, they had pulled the chains out of their trunk ans were trying to get them on but did not know how.  Since I was no help, I told them I was going to walk to my destination.  One of them had an extra pair of Yak Trax and gave them to me to use.

So I walked for about an hour, it was slow, but I made it and only fell on the ice twice.

The forecast is for high winds and freezing rain overnight.  I cannot help but wonder if the city will be shut down for a third day.

Hoar Frost aligns the trees all season long this winter.

2009 began literally with a bang this year.  As the party I was at saw the city’s fireworks go off at 8 PM AKT and then our party began.

At midnight, I told my friend Carl who I had been dancing with ” It’s over”!! That last crappy year is over.  He had no idea why I was so happy about it.. but, yes he agreed and we both agreed to a year filled with dancing and frienedship if nothing else.

I ” resolved” to make this year a new year..literally!!   Old things are going to pass away and Yes, there will be new things!!

The first thing on my list was to get rid of my job at the college.  That is in process!!  The next thing was to get rid of someone pretending to be a sheep, but actually a wolf  out of my life.  That is furthering along as time progresses and I use my well intended ignoring skills when he happens about.  Yes, life will be better with those two changes.

Next, I am taking a class which excited me to no end.  

Growing up and through the years, weather has always fascinated me.  I took meterology classes in Middle and High schools and aced them.   Now, for a science lab, I am taking Meterology. 

As I sit typing this, I cant help but think what a day its been!!  First of all, I get up and find out all the schools and the unis are closed due to poor road conditions.  I was thrilled.  

Although the roads were proclaimed by the city to be unsafe due to icy conditions, I ventured out back to my workplace to grab my school books and my pc so I could make today a productive day.  The roads were bad, but not worth shutting down the whole school system for.  Perhaps they were bad earlier, but around 9 when I was venturing to work they were wet, sloppy but not the conditions that were reported.  I was told the main hiway in and out of the city was shut down.  It was running smoothly when I got out there.

So, my goal was to find a quiet place to sit and write out a resume and job search from the net.  Yes, I had a productive day today.  I got that accomplished.  I will continue to look at other places beyond what I did today, but it is a start. 

As I sat here, I would look out across the Chugach Mountain Range I could see a  multitude of frontal systems move through the area with a low pressure system sitting over Anchorage.  I saw the scud move across the city as well as the sun came out for a few minutes also.  But for the most part, the sky was overcast all day. 

Overcast skies are a welcome sign for us here.  The last few weeks we have seen bitter cold temperatures and clear blue skies.   Those two things together which were not only during the day, but the nites were clear as well, gave us these incredibly cold temperatures where most heaters could not keep up.  I loved it thogh as my office was very comfortable.  I did have several layers on and my movement made me very comfortable indeed.  Now that the temp in the building is back up to 72 degrees, I am peeling off layers already and its only 25 degrees outside.

Anchorage is funny that way, when its too cold out, we all complain about the weather.  but when it warms up and the city begins to clear the roads again, they quickly turn to ice and everything gets shut down.  Everything that is excepts the trusty library!!