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.
