Winter Wonder

Remember how I posted about the “dusting” of snow we got around Halloween? Well, that was just the beginning. It is now truly winter in Anchorage. It’s snowed roughly every other day since Halloween weekend, so we now have about a foot and a half (at least) of snow on the ground. Temperatures have also plummeted quickly. It was 45 degrees the Monday before Halloween (just 3 weeks ago). This coming Tuesday, the projected high temperature is 11 (yes, as in degrees Farenheit).

Despite the cold temperatures and snowy conditions, it’s actually pretty amazing here now. It’s gorgeous! And the air doesn’t feel as cold as it actually is. The winter air in Anchorage is much drier than the winter air back on the East Coast. The lack of humidity therefore makes the cold feel really reasonable, and it helps that it’s not too windy. It was about 20-something today, and I went outside to shovel wearing a sweatshirt, gloves, scarf, and hat – no coat necessary. Though if I wasn’t shoveling, I definitely would have worn a coat.

It’s also really, really pretty – an actual winter wonderland. Of course, this means it’s not great hiking conditions. Time for Jay and I to find some reasonably-priced cross-country skis packages so we can learn how to cross-country ski. Jay’s also thinking of signing up for a dog mushing course. Though we’ve yet to get into winter sports, I am at least enjoying the new snow boots I bought last winter. I can trudge through snow up to my knees and not get cold or wet. Fun stuff!

The roads aren’t too bad (though they’re not great). Anchorage doesn’t salt their roads. They sometimes put down gravel. And I use the word “gravel” loosely. Last week, a piece of “gravel” (a.k.a., a pretty large stone) flew up and hit our windshield when Jay was driving. It took a chip out of the windshield, so Jay had to get it repaired so our whole windshield wouldn’t crack. Thanks, Anchorage road crews! A disturbingly high percentage of the cars on the road have cracks running across their windshields. Now I know why.

The road crews also don’t use regular snow plows; they plow the roads with road graders, which are pretty cool-looking. Despite the lack of salt, with the traffic packing the snow down and the road graders clearing the streets, the roads are usually pretty passable right after snowfall. Jay also got Blizzak tires for our car, so we’ve been completely fine in our little Yaris on the roads up here. We’ve hardly had the tires slip, and the car’s been stopping on a dime, even in several inches of snow.

So we’re fine driving; the other drivers are our main concern. People up here don’t drive all that well. You’d think they would after they re-test everyone who relocates from out of state! A lot of people drive too fast (or way too slow) for conditions. And I’ve noticed that far too many drivers just pull out from driveways and side streets into major roads, whether traffic is coming or not. So I’m not surprised there are a lot of accidents across the city every day – snow or not. The other morning, it took us 40 minutes to get to campus from our house (which is usually a 7-minute ride) because a car hit a school bus on a snowy morning. Fingers crossed nobody hits our car this winter!

Snow and road conditions aside, the one big change in living here is that it is really starting to get dark. Anchorage does not get 24 hours of darkness in the wintertime; only areas farther north, like Fairbanks or Barrow, get full days of darkness in the winter (and full days of sun in the summer). But it is getting darker and darker in Anchorage, until the shortest day of the year, December 21, when there will be about 5 1/2 hours of sunlight (sunrise around 10 a.m., sunset around 3:30 p.m.). We’re losing about 5 minutes of daylight per day, and we have been losing light since the summer solstice (June 21). Keeping in mind we just turned the clocks back, the sun comes up around 9 a.m. and sets around 4:45 p.m. (give or take). It’s weird going to work in the morning in the dark when the clock says 7:30 or 8:30 a.m.

When the sun comes up, it feels like the late afternoon sun all day. The sun doesn’t end up directly overhead anymore. It comes up over the mountains to the east, rises just a bit higher than the mountains, then moves in a straight line across from East to West. Luckily, my office on campus is on the side of the building that gets the sun, so I get to enjoy some warm rays during the daylight hours. Sunsets are spectacular, though, with the pink of the sun reflecting off both the clouds and the snowy mountains. So pretty! So far, the best part of all has been the incredibly bright full moon. It’s almost as bright as day when the sky is clear of clouds and the full moon is out. We haven’t seen any northern lights yet, but we’re hoping to soon.

Well, time to bundle up on the couch for the end of Sunday night football. Warm blankets, hot chocolate, football, and my hubby. G’night!

********************************************************************************************

Remember, if you click on one of the thumbnails below, the larger picture will open in another tab. Enjoy our latest photos, courtesy of my iPhone.