Winter fun! When in Alaska, do as Alaskans!

Well, now that winter has set in for the next few months, we are trying successfully to embrace it. Don and I took cross country ski lessons. It is amazing when it is 20 degrees with blowing wind or 4 degrees without wind, one can actually get hot! The first night of lessons the wind was blowing so hard, it was blowing me across an open space without me even moving my legs! We learned the basics, how to slow down, glide, go up hills and saw a few things demonstrated that I can't do. It can be fun and hard work.

Don and I went out to practice, and I screamed ( I can hear my children laughing) when I went down the hills too fast. There are small tracks to put your skis in and then glide on each foot. When going downhill, I can double pole and not use my legs at all. That day I "crashed and burned" twice, including once hitting my neck and head hard. It is not easy for me to get up when I fall, so Don usually pulls me up.

Don had heard about a 1/4 mile speed skate track and went try it out. It is only one of six in the country. The ice wasn't too smooth and he wasn't very impressed.

As you can see there are icicles everywhere. Some are very long and pretty.

The mountains are white and pretty. That picture has a sunset glow on them. The sun rises about 10 am and sets about 3;45 pm. The sun is so low in the sky at midday, I am not sure if it is rising or setting.

Last night we had about 5 inches of snow. The backyard looks pretty deep and the front has a berm between the sidewalk and the street. All of the neighborhood streets are icy. The main roads have tracks in them, and the highways are clearer. I also fell on an icy street and hurt my wrist earlier this week. Fortunately, it healed in a few days. I was annoyed at myself for not having on my cleats and will be more diligent about it in the future.

So far the snow is still pretty and I sometimes think it is not too cold at 15 degrees!

I think that white stuff is here to stay... for at least four more months

Even though I describe myself as "not a winter person", I am trying to embrace the cold and find benefit in it. As you can see the patio furniture is quite covered in snow. We had about 8 inches on Thanksgiving and another 4-5 on Saturday night.

Don had his first downhill ski on Friday after Thanksgiving at Aleyska Resort ( second photo) with a coworker. The area is about a forty-five minute drive from home. They had a good time, but said it was icy and there were too many obnoxious young kid snowboarders.

This week we began cross country ski lessons at Kincaid Park which has lighted trails. There were an amazingly large number of adults and children out skiing. The first day was about 22 degrees with severe winds. It was so windy, the wind blew me across a flat meadow on my skis without my legs moving at all! It was incredibly cold. Even though I was slow, I was proud that I did not fall and kept moving. Tonight it was a balmy 4 degrees and we actually got hot! I forgot my boots at home and missed half the lesson when I went to retrieve them. I was still tired after only half a class. We practiced going downhill with a wedge which I wasn't too good at. Then Don took me to the trail which is groomed meaning it has tracks formed by a machine. It was pretty cool and I improved rapidly. I got new gloves shaped like a lobster claw. They are supposed to be warm to 20 degrees below. They were inexpensive at $29 and actually did keep my hands warm. It is supposed to be very cold for a couple of days and then snow all weekend.