Winterizing the car (Living in Alaska)

Alaska car winterizing: With the temperatures in Alaska now dipping into the 20s, I walked over to the local car shop yesterday and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow to have them put my winter tires back on the car. I'm told that if you wait until after the first snowfall to put your winter tires on, you'll run into insanely long lines, so I thought I'd just get this over with. I wanted to wait until November, but I don't really drive too much right now, so doing this now is probably just an extra 200 miles on the winter tires.

Living in Alaska in October

As another quick note, I have to say, living in Alaska in October hasn't been bad at all. It hasn't snowed again since I drove back from Seward, and the weather these last few days has been spectacular, with cool temps in the forties, but 100% sunshine.

How I Sold My Business

Not much outdoor activity lately, as I've been editing and releasing my new book/website, How I Sold My Business (HowISoldMyBusiness.com). I've written the story as a diary of everything I went through in the process of selling my small business. I'm currently up to the part about talking to a business broker, and working on a business valuation.

Alaska moose safety (Exit Glacier, Seward, Alaska)

A moose safety sign near Exit Glacier in Seward, Alaska.

Alaska bear safety (Exit Glacier, Seward, Alaska)

This is a bear safety sign near Exit Glacier, in Seward, Alaska. I love the line, "Play dead unless it starts to eat you, then fight back." Um, yeah, thanks for the advice, that's much better than "Pass the ketchup", lol.

The Alaska Permanent Fund (and PFD checks)

When most people refer to the Alaska Permanent Fund, they're probably referring the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks that are distributed to Alaska citizens in October of each year. Citizens receive the dividend checks just for living in Alaska. These checks average about $1,200 per citizen per year, so a family of four will receive a check for approximately $4,800 every October.

However, there are differences between the Alaska Permanent Fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, and several other "Permanent Fund" entities, and I'll try to weed those out here.

The Alaska PFD checks are in

Wow, twice lately I've tried to go shopping, and the local stores are just packed. The first day I assumed we had a bad weather report and it was going to snow or ice, and everyone knew it but me. (I don't listen to the radio or watch television.) So when I went to the grocery today and the stores were packed, I had to ask what was going on.

It turns out the PFD checks (Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks) have come in, and everyone is rushing to spend them.

A morning without frost

Nothing major to report, but this is the first morning in a week where we haven't had frost on our car windows -- which is pretty weird, because the Weather Underground reports our current temperature at 31 degrees. Somehow we're having a mild rain which isn't becoming ice ... which is welcome.

Alaska sled dog photos

A friend (who I'm told likes sled dogs) celebrated his birthday yesterday, so in honor of his birthday, here's a series of Alaska sled dog photos, taken when I went on a sled dog ride with the Seavey family in Seward, Alaska. As you can see from that link, these are all real Iditarod sled dogs.

This first photo was taken right as we were getting ready to start the ride:

The height of the Sun in Alaska at noon in early October

Ever wonder how high the sun is in Alaska at noon in early October? "Not too high" is the answer.

As you can see, the sun isn't anywhere near straight overhead. My best guess is that it's about ten o'clock high, maybe a little lower.

It's just a wee bit hard to drive with the sun in your eyes ... where are my shades?! :)

The Alaska sun at noon, early October

The height of the Sun in Wasilla, Alaska at noon on October 6, 2010.

A friendly wolf in Canada

I ran across this wolf driving to Alaska on the ALCAN highway back in 2007. This young wolf was curious about me, but you could almost see it's partner saying, "Dude, come on, we have to get out of here." This pup stopped twice to look at me before it finally ran off.

Alaska sun - staying low in the sky

I wish I had taken a picture at noon today -- I'll try to remember tomorrow -- but the sun is staying very low in the sky these days. I was out and about at noon, and the sun was constantly in my eyes, probably about 10 o'clock high at best. I haven't worn sunglasses in many years, but I can see where a daily commuter here would really need them.

The wind she just keeps blowing

For over a week now the wind here in Wasilla, Alaska has been blowing like crazy. Some guys at the local car mechanic shop told me it has gotten up to 100 mph before in the winter, which freaks me out a little. I knew Wasilla was in a valley, but it's not something you really think about during the summer, unless of course you're on the mountains of Hatcher Pass and looking back at Wasilla. But apparently in the winter, being in a valley in Alaska is a big deal.

Sophia's KafeNeo - a Greek restaurant in Palmer, Alaska

I made my first excursion to Sophia's KafeNeo, a Greek restaurant located in Wasilla, Alaska today, and I came away pleased.

I arrived at Sophia's a little after 2 p.m., and had plenty of time to meet two of the owner's. Today's order was simple -- Gyros -- and was very good, almost exactly like back home in the Chicago, Illinois area. I had some fresh fruit with it, which consisted of a thinly sliced apple topped with cinnamon, and simply put, it was all good.

The 1964 Alaska earthquake facts

1964 Alaska Earthquake Facts: I've become really interested in Alaska earthquakes this year, as we've had four good size earthquakes I can recall. (The USGS website says we've actually had thousands, but most are too small to feel.) When I did some calculations last week and learned that the 1964 Alaska earthquake was more than one million times more powerful than the 4.9 magnitude earthquake we had recently, well, let's just say I became very interested in it.

Storm damage in Wasilla, Alaska

When I got back to Wasilla Sunday afternoon, my local neighborhood looked like a disaster area. I knew there was the earthquake Saturday morning, and a lot of wind in Seward, but there was no damage like what I was seeing around me in Wasilla.

Alaska earthquake - September 25, 2010

I went down to Seward, Alaska for a short vacation this week, and woke up to a 5.5 magnitude earthquake just after 4 a.m. Saturday morning. True story about the earthquake: I was in the middle of a dream when I suddenly heard the song "Rock The Boat" playing as someone grabbed my left wrist. I then woke up to hear something rattling in the hotel room, and before I could think of who I was, where I was, or what to do, the earthquake stopped.

Beautiful green water in Alaska

One of the really beautiful things about the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska is the emerald green water that can be found in the local rivers and lakes. The following two photos were taken on my recent trip to Seward, Alaska.

This first photo is a long-distance view of Exit Glacier in Seward, with a beautiful green stream in the foreground.

The termination dust has landed

As I drove back from to Wasilla, Alaska from Seward on Sunday (September 26, 2010), the "termination dust" was floating all around the car. Termination dust? That's local slang for the first snow of the winter season, indicating the end of the summer has arrived.

Here's a view of the termination dust on one of the mountain ranges here in Wasilla. This photo was taken from the Wasilla Walmart parking lot: