Watch your step

When I woke up this morning, I first noticed the immense amount of snow outside my window and that it was coming down pretty hard. I looked on the net for what the temperature was (So I know what to wear, of course boots) and noticed that we are in the midst of a storm advisory. When i think of storm advisory, I think of wind and rain. Nope, this is a snow blizzard storm advisory, up to ten inches of possible snow and decreasing temperatures(possible ten below tonight). But there's one thing you have to be most careful of when it snows this hard, and that's the ground that you are walking on. As snow begins to accumulate and gets smashed down day after day, it becomes frozen solid ice. The streets are like hockey rinks, the sidewalks like greased pavement, and take nothing more than a half step at all times. As I pulled out of the parking lot I watched as a man and woman crossed the road with coffee in hand. The women was taking her time, while the man walked as though he was perfectly fine. As you may have guessed, two seconds later the man slipped, his feet flew up in the air, and he was on his back in the middle of the street with hot coffee all over him. Although I felt sorry for him, because I know how much that hurts, I couldn't help but laugh. I didn't feel too bad, because the woman he was with laughed as well, shaking her finger at him while he still was on his back. I made fun of them before I got here, but I definitely have to thank my mom for getting me the first pair of shoe spikes that have saved me from being the idiot in the middle of the street many times.

Take a look at Fairbanks

I found another site that I thought may be interesting to all of you that read my blog (not very many, haha). It's a site that has pictures from all over Fairbanks, mostly in the summer, but they are really nice photos that give you a sense of where I am living and the beauty that it holds year round. I haven't checked out all the albums, but if you can see, it is a nice town in a beautiful setting... just way out in the middle of the largest U.S. state. Check it out! Let me know what you think!

http://www.alaskaphotographics.com/alaska_fairbanks_photos.shtml

See what it's like

I can't believe it took me this long to find this site!!! On the local newspapers website, which I read everyday, there is a link to a camera that sits just outside their office building. The camera is on about a ten minute delay, but it's pretty cool for people to see what it's like here in Fairbanks, especially during the Winter. Go to www.arcticcam.com. See what it's like here in the Last Frontier!!!

Shoveling

As the snow continues to fall for the last three days, the one thing that I have to remind myself to do everyday is to shovel some of the snow around the house. Because it gets so cold here, if you don't shovel the snow early enough it turns into ice very quickly, which is very dangerous during the Winter time. Every morning before I go to work, my roommate and I both grab the shovels and make sure that we at least get the previous nights snowfall and clear the usual paths and the backyard area. It is quite the task. In the Interior we also have some morning rituals that you may not find in other places. First, you have to plug your car in at night to make sure that your radiator heater is warm throughout the night and that your car starts the next morning. Some people have auto starts, which will start throughout the night if the car reaches a certain temperature, but other folks, like myself, have to plug the car in to the side of the house or the garage area. This means walking to your car in the morning at least twenty five minutes before you want to drive it and letting it heat up throughout.
Second odd thing about the Interior, is that once you get used to the cold, it doesn't really bother you at all. This morning was just below zero, which wasn't too bad, which means if it gets to about fifteen or twenty, it will feel like a heat wave to many people in this town. At thirty degrees, I am more than comfortable with a nice fleece or sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Who would have though a California Kid would say zero degrees isn't that bad?

Everyday Sightseeing

When I first got to Alaska, all I heard was talk about how cool the wildlife can be throughout all times of the year. After my friends and I were done sledding on sunday, we got stuck behind a car that was taking it's sweet time to take a picture of three moose on the side of the road. What really made me laugh is when my two friends and I started yelling at the car to move and that it was only a moose, nothing special. I find it funny that once you get used to the lifestyle up here and the wildlife roaming all around you, things that once used to be so fascinating can become just another small event within your 24 hour day.
But, I did see a beaver the other night. That was pretty awesome. Beavers up here are abnormally big compared to others, because they must contain more body fat and fur to survive the frigid temperatures of the Arctic. The one I saw had a tail that looked almost two feet long and was the size of a medium stature dog. Whoa!!

October!?!?!

October throughout most of the country is time to look at all the beautiful leaves falling from their branches and enjoy the ever changing colors of the landscape. Here in Fairbanks October is practically the opposite of anything like that. September was a time of change, rapid change at that, and October has turned into quite the cold and snowy month so far. This morning we reached almost subzero temperatures, which isn't that cold, if you've been here through a full winter. But, we also received over six inches of snow this weekend, which meant sledding all day long on Sunday. Cowabunga!!