Christmas Snowflakes and Earthquakes

We were worried for a while that we wouldn't have a truly "white Christmas" here, even though we live in Alaska. The snow has been sparse, and what has accumulated has been washed away by the rain that followed these past few months. Yesterday, however, we awoke to falling snow.

I've been here for a year and a half, and was here last winter. But, I have to admit that I have never in my life seen snow like I saw yesterday (and I've seen a lot of snow, having lived in Utah and Montana for most of my youth, and having lived in Connecticut for a while during winter time). The snow that fell from the sky yesterday was the perfect powder. It was the consistency of instant mashed potatoes before adding the liquid. The snow was light, crisp, and the flakes were perfect "snowflake" shapes complete with the "arms" extending from the center with pointed ridges. It was as if Jack Frost spent Christmas Eve cutting out perfect snowflakes, then let them fall from the sky on Christmas Day. The flakes were large, and looked like flat glass shards that could be broken in half instead of melted. They were so dry and lacking in moisture that they couldn't be packed into any sort of snowball at all and ran through my gloved fingers like sand on a beach. It was a magical day, except for the earthquakes.

We had an earthquake during the morning while opening presents, and another in the afternoon while we were watching a movie on the television. While earthquakes are nothing new in Alaska (we live in the state with the most earthquake activity and active fault lines of any US state), living now in a house perched on a mountainside above a river it didn't make me feel safe feeling the jolts and hearing the house creak the way it did. I told Alex it is a fear of mine that the hillside will sluff like the hillsides along the fault in Anchorage did during the 1964 earthquake, and our house will slide down the bluff with us in it. Both earthquakes registered at about 3.5 on the scale. Neither would have made our house slide into the bluff, but I can just imagine the headlines "Christmas Quake Of 07 Turns Hillside Home Into Sled For Owners On Eagle River Bluff."

In spite of the jolts, we had a wonderful Christmas day. It was a wonderful White Christmas!

Why I love the Parking Garage

Ok, so I don't love the parking garage itself. I have a parking pass, but most days when I try to find a spot, it's filled and I end up having to park on the street. Nothing like paying a meter 5 minutes late and already having a ticket on my windshield! I did love the parking garage this morning though. Not only did I find a spot, but the view of the city from the 7th level really is beautiful. I got a bird's eye view of the inlet. It's not frozen yet, but it will be soon. The whole city was still dark, the sun hadn't come up yet. It was only 9 am. Everything I saw, buildings, the inlet, the sky, the roads, was all the same color, a hazy shade of gray/blue, and really quite beautiful and peaceful. Anchorage really is a nice city. I like it because it's big enough to give me the "city feel," with traffic in the morning, buildings over 2 floors tall, more people than I see in Eagle River, and the bus station always makes me feel like I'm around "city folk." Sure, Anchorage has its crime, its homeless, its "city issues," but hands down, there's no place else I'd rather be right now. I'm looking forward to winter, when the Christmas lights are out in full force, the shops are decorated with colorful decorations and everyone is excited about it being December. Seeing Anchorage from the parking garage helps me appreciate it more, cause I can see the "bigger picture" that Anchorage is, not just the street view I get from down below.

Gull Rock Trail Hike

A group of five of us hiked Gull Rock Trail yesterday. It was amazingly beautiful. I'm still enraptured daily by the beauty that surrounds me here. I don't understand how some people can live in Alaska their whole lives and never go anywhere or do anything. I can't imagine living here and NOT getting outdoors. There's so much to do here: biking, hiking, walking trails, sightseeing, backpacking, camping, fishing... the list goes on and on, and somehow doesn't include television and video games! AMAZING!

The hike was a little over 10 miles round trip. Not a lot of elevation, but with as little hiking as I've done this spring so far, it was still a bit strenuous for me. There were sections that were muddy with tar looking mud. Of course, the dog decided she needed to lay down in every mud puddle. Here's a great blurb about the trail: http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/seward/rec/trails/gull.htm

There were sections of the trail that were still patched with thick sheets of ice. We had to cross several streams across ice bridges. I wish I could put all the pictures here and walk through each step of the hike (there are some pictures on my gallery page). But, the hike took almost 4 1/2 hours round trip, a little too much to write a step-by-step account. All the aches I'm feeling right now were worth it. It was an amazing experience. The weather was wonderful, low to mid 70s (yes, we even hit 70 in Alaska), slight breeze, blue skies with an occassional cloud. It was the perfect day, and one I'd relive over and over, if I wasn't looking forward so much to every single day I experience here!

This weekend, we are doing 2 hikes. We are doing a night hike of Southfork on Saturday, and a day hike on Sunday of Turnagain Arm. I'm excited. One thing the hike of Gull Rock has convinced me of is that I REALLY need to walk more and get in better shape. We are planning to do the 24 mile hike of Crow Pass from Girdwood to Eagle River in mid June. That will be a two day trip, with a camp over at the half way mark. I don't want to be lagging so far behind that I become bear bait!

So many trails, so much time to do them all! I LOVE living here!