Snow, Snow and more snow!

This has been a very cold, snowy winter in Anchorage. We have had 107 inches officially, and I think much more at our house. Our snowfall is about twice the average and has broken some records. The January average temperature was 2.7 degrees. Many days it was below zero and minus 14 took my breath away literally! Almost everyday I still get out of the house, twice my car was stuck in the driveway and once it was so deep I couldn't even back out. A friend picked me up for our bridge Christmas party that day.

We have had some problems with the furnace being able to keep up with the cold and it was replaced. Also we had to have the roof shoveled to prevent leaks. We have huge icicles now and all of the streets and lots in town are icy.

Elmendorf Airforce Base Eagle Glen Golf Course

This was my first time to ski at this golf course. It was almost all flat with just one small hill. The free course was groomed. and the map provided distances. We saw moose tracks but no moose. The m ost challenging part was the drive which was not plowed. Fortunately, I rode with Dodie. Also on the event Kitty, Vicki, Lonnie and Zo along with many of Mary Jane's Tuesday hikers. We had lunch at the club house. It was fun and near 30 which seemed springlike!

Girdwood, AK

This first week of February, I went on a church retreat to Aleyska in Girdwood. It snowed 11 inches in Anchorage and 20 inches in Girdwood with 3 feet of snow at the top of the mountain. I would have "bailed" on driving the 40 miles on my own, but I had prearranged a carpool with a women, Christina Schegel,who grew up in Cordova and didn't mind driving. The retreat was emphasized the wisdom of women. I met many lovely ladies from my church and the community. We had time to cross country ski which was fairly challenging ungroomed after all the snow the previous day.

You know you are in Alaska when ....part VIII

it snows for 13 days in a row, your town has 24 inches of snow this month and it is only the middle of November.

you hear the snow machine come around at midnight to scraping the curbs to widen the street.


cars going through traffic circles wibble-wobble from side to side on the ice after hitting the curbs.

you see an 18-wheeler hauling off snow to create a snow mountain somewhere.

the snow mounds next to the driveways are already hip high.

it is five degrees outside and you can still have fun cross country skiing with your girlfriends!

Half-Hikers

The Half-hikers are a newly formed group among the Petroleum Wives Group. I am one of the group founders. We hike, bike or cross country ski at a comfortable pace for about 5 miles or so. This hike was on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which is also a popular biking spot. Not enough snow yet to ski. We saw two moose and decided they were a mother and calf.

Last night it snowed about eight inches. so next week it may be time to ski

Women Listen Fly Fish Retreat

The weekend of August 19-21, I was asked to be a staff member at a fly fishing weekend for a women's cancer support group. It was held at LaVerne Griffith Camp in Wasilla. The weather forecast was rain, but fortunately, It did not rain as much as predicted.

There were about 11 women participants and 8-10 staff members, including Jan Schnorr and Cindy Crawford. They are the two women teaching me to fly fish. Throughout the weekend we helped the women learn how to make knots and when to use them. The perfection knot is used to connect leader and line. The improved clinch knot is used to put a fly on. We fished from float tubes which are small individual seats that you sit in while wearing chest waders and cast from them. Fun and tricky at first.

Wet flys sink and dry fly float. You try to match the fly to the insects the fish are feeding on.

We stayed in cabins with heat and had a separate shower building. All of the meals were provided. The staff was able to fish when the ladies were having meetings.

It was a fun weekend and I also learned about fishing and caught a large rainbow trout.