Gravel on the Alaskan winter roads

Just a quick note: As I just heard a bunch of noise in the parking lot while working, I looked outside, and was reminded that they don't put salt on the roads here in Alaska; they put down gravel instead.

First significant snowfall - Wasilla, Alaska, October 29, 2010

I woke up this morning (October 29, 2010) to find the first significant snowfall of the winter here in Wasilla, Alaska. We had a snowfall a few days ago, but it immediately became warm the next day, and all the snow that was exposed to sunlight melted. This snow, however, looks like it's going to be with us until next April.

This first photo was taken with my iPhone while looking down at my car (on the left) and my neighbor's car:

First major snow on the car (Wasilla, Alaska, October 29, 2010)

I woke up this morning (October 29, 2010) here in Wasilla, Alaska to find the first significant snow on my car. We had a smaller snowfall a few days ago, followed by melting the next day, but it looks like this snow is going to be with us until next April.

Wasilla snow, October 29, 2010 (ice on trees)

From the comfort of my Wasilla, Alaska apartment the morning of October 29, 2010, the snow and ice on the trees from our snow shower last night looks beautiful.

Wasilla snow, October 29, 2010 (parking lot)

Here's a view of what I woke up to this morning (October 29, 2010) in Wasilla, Alaska: A bit of snow and ice, the first precipitation of the year that looks like it's going to last until next April or May.

Planning a trip to Haines, Alaska

I was reading an Alaska travel book recently, and they make Haines, Alaska sound really wonderful. I don't know if I'll be able to get there this fall (er, winter), but if not, I am definitely going to try to get there next spring.

Here are a couple of quotes from the Alaska travel book:

Haines is casual, happy, and slightly odd.

If you're looking for the mythical town of Cicely from the television show Northern Exposure, you'll get closer in Haines than any other place I know.

And Haines has bald eagles -- always plenty of bald eagles.

Number of cars with studs in their tires

I just came back from my usual afternoon walk here in Wasilla, and during the walk I counted the number of cars with studs in their tires. No, I didn't look at all the car tires, lol. If you've never been around cars with studs in their tires before, you don't have to look at them, you can just listen to them; they make a distinctive "zipping" sound as they drive down the road.

Anchorage, Alaska sunrise - October 27, 2010

This is a view of the Anchorage, Alaska sunrise, at 10 a.m., October 27, 2010. This photo was taken from the seventh floor of the Alaska Regional Hospital, so I'll assume I was at an elevation of about one hundred feet above ground level. The temperature was cold, probably in the mid-twenties.

A dimly lit Alaska highway

I had to drive into Anchorage this morning (from my apartment in Wasilla) for a 9 a.m. doctor's appointment, and it occurred to me that I've never driven here in the dark before. To be more accurate, I have driven north to Denali in the late-night dark, and the area north of Talkeetna is so rural I naturally didn't expect there to be lights on the road, but today I was surprised at how few lights are on the highway as I make the "rush hour" commute from Wasilla to Anchorage.

The drive back from Talkeetna

(Notes taken from my voice recorder.) Driving back to Wasilla from Talkeetna (and my stay at the Talkeetna Roadhouse) early this morning, I've encountered one other car on the fourteen mile stretch of road known as the Talkeetna Spur Road. Although there's no snow on the ground here, it's a chilly 26 degrees Fahrenheit, and the small ponds on the side of the road are covered in a thin sheet of ice.

Talkeetna Roadhouse photos

Talkeetna Roadhouse Photos: Dateline: Friday, October 22, 2010, Talkeetna, Alaska. As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, last night was my first night here at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, and I thought I'd share a few photos from the experience so far.

First, here are three photos of the "common area" travelers are welcome to use when staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse:

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo 3

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo #3. If you're staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, you're "welcome to use this common as your home."

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo 2

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo #2. If you're staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, you're "welcome to use this common as your home."

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo 1

Talkeetna Roadhouse common area, photo #1. If you're staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, you're "welcome to use this common as your home."

Sunset at the Talkeetna rivers, October 21, 2010

Sunset at the Talkeetna rivers, October 21, 2010. I don't know if this happens every fall, but the river has receded about 100', exposing a lot of rocks you can't normally see in the summer months. These are all the white/gray rocks you can see on the bottom-left of the photo. The months of September and thus far in October have been very dry, so I suspect this is uncommon.

Talkeetna Roadhouse - Moon rising over the Fairview Inn

A view of the moon rising over the Fairview Inn in Talkeetna, Alaska, taken from the corner of he Talkeetna Roadhouse. (October 21, 2010)

First night at the Talkeetna Roadhouse

Talkeetna Roadhouse, Talkeetna, Alaska: I decided to take a couple of days off and come up to Talkeetna for a change of scenery. I'm staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, partly because of the low price, partly for the adventure, and partly because I always wanted to stay here.

Best Wasilla Mexican restaurant

It feels like an oxymoron to write "Great Mexican food" and "Wasilla" in the same sentence, but I was just reminded of how good Senor Taco in Wasilla, Alaska is. I haven't been there all summer because of a gallstones/gallbladder health issue, so I'm just coming back from my first trip there since May, and I have to say, I'm in heaven.

"It was a cold and windy day ..."

With the temperature at about 35 degrees, overcast skies, and winds up to thirty miles per hour, it's a pretty chilly October morning. I'm going to go out for a walk shortly, and I'll definitely be bundling up.

Again I'm amazed by the wind here. On 95% of the summer days you couldn't even notice the wind, I'll gust at least 25% of the days in late September and thus far in October have had a noticeable wind.

A very slow Wasilla sunrise

With a clear sky this morning, I noticed a faint glow of sunlight on the horizon at about 7:15 this morning, but now at 9:00 a.m., the sun has yet to rise; the faint glow behind the treeline just turned from some sort of light source to a red sky, then pink, and it's now a yellow glow, still beneath the horizon. Assuming the sun still isn't up by 9:15 a.m., that's a very slow 'sunrise' of about two hours.

(The red sky reminds me of a phrase my mom used to say: "Red sky in morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailor's delight.")