To Fairbanks in October

"That's exactly how it felt during the big one in 1964," Keith said.

I dialed through the radio stations.  Music was playing.  I flipped through the tv channels.  Reruns of late-night talk shows were playing.  It wasn't until 9:30 a.m. did I hear on the news that the quake measured 6.2. Another source reported 6.7.

Since the earlier photo of the valley was so light, I tried again later.  The sun was setting.  The sky is lavendar and aqua, my favorite colors.

When I saw the photo in PSP, I thought I'd ruined it.  That large spot of red stripes by the road is a plastic fence that our next-door neighbor erected across the right-of-way to keep snowmachiners from mowing down his shrubbery.  Eventually the shrubs will be buried in snow.  When a snowmachine rides over the top, it collaspes the snow and smashes the plants.  The snow acts as insulation to keep the plants from being killed by the cold.

Here's the whole photo.

Today the snow stopped falling. The sky is still white with clouds. I made a composite photo showing the contrast between last Sunday and today. The photo I took of the valley was mostly white; so, I am not posting it.

The temperature is staying in the twenties.

A light dusting of snow had accumulated on the deck this morning.  The sky is totally overcast.  By afternoon, the snow is coming down steadily.  The flakes are so airy that they don't show up well in a photograph.  The temperature is 23 F.  When I went outside to take the photo, I slipped on my shoes.  I was wearing sweat pants and a tank top.  It's not cold enough for a coat ...yet.

The sun is shining brightly across the Tanana Valley.  Layers of stratus clouds extend horizontally across the clear blue sky, still blocking my view of the mountains.  The temperature is 27 F. (-3 C.).  It looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day!

The sky is blue, and I can see fluffy white clouds to the south which obscure the Alaska range from view.  The sun is shining through the trees .  The clouds pick up an ethereal quality when the sun is low on the horizon.  The colors of winter in the north are unique.  I try to catch them in my photography and art, but nothing quite captures the iridescence.

The temperature is a balmy 41 F. (5.C), and the snow had compacted down into about an inch of ice on my deck.  I can hear someone spinning their tires going up the hill.  I wonder why it is that people know that winter is coming, but they wait until after the first snow fall to put on their winter tires?  Sam's Club reports a two-week wait for mounting new tires.

All the paved roads and highways are totally clear of snow down to the blacktop.  Only the side roads and shady places still have patches of ice.  Intersections are especially prone to building up slippery spots in the stopping zones.  Highway crews regularly spread a thin layer of pea gravel to help motorists get traction to stop and to start again.

Thanks to Martha, who posted a comment on the main page of pamelajoy.com, Alaska Dreaming has it's first blog.  The purpose of this web log will be to update the monthly diaries with daily activities that to me seem bland and mundane, but to those hoping to move to Alaska, I hope you'll find the experience... well, educational at least.  Perhaps we can put a smile on your face along the way.