Hikers (1 male, 1 female) near the Arctic Valley ski area in northeast Anchorage were reported to have fallen yesterday during a storm. When rescuers arrived, it was discovered that they'd fallen because they were struck by lightning. The male hiker was able to walk, but the female, injured more severely, had to be carried out – a three-hour rescue.
Federal and state officials are visiting the villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, assessing damage from the severe flooding due to ice jams earlier this month. Many homes and other structures were literally destroyed by the ice floes. At the same time, there’s a wildfire burning north of McGrath (west-central Alaska).
As of this morning, it was at 12,000 acres, and is only four miles north of McGrath. The people living there are understandably nervous. That fire, along with several others including those near Sleetmute and Lime Village, were started by lightning on Tuesday.
There has been a strange rash of deaths and severe injuries due to young people climbing out of, or falling off of, moving vehicles in the Anchorage area. Apparently this is the new thing to do. As I mentioned to a friend recently, I did some particularly bone-headed things in college – like driving my '68 Dodge Super Bee on the highway at three times the speed limit - but climbing out of a moving vehicle is not among them.
The National Park Service has discontinued its search for a Colorado man who was doing a solo climb of Denali – sorry, that’s Mt. McKinley to you folks Outside. He hasn’t been seen in a week.
Gas prices in Anchorage rose to $2.61/gallon, last week. Prices elsewhere in Alaska are higher. The reasons appears to be a) gas speculators continue to drive prices up, and b) Memorial Day. Gas prices have always gone up right before Memorial Day, as far back as anyone can remember.
Psalm 22:27-28: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he ruleth among the nations.”
3 comments:
I can attest to the Memorial Day effect. Our trip to the west coast started on May 10th and we got back very early on sunday May 24th. The price of gasoline in that two week period rose from $2.17 to $2.40. Priced at the same station near our PA home.
I offered myself and the use of my big truck to a neighbor who needed to haul a bunch of brush and junk from the garage this weekend to a dumpster at his own place of business in the city. (They have a useless SUV out here).
He offered to put some gas in my tank when we were done, but I declined as the gas was too high at 2.45, told him he could get it next time.
The next day the gas went up to 2.65. ouch
Joated and Brigid, I feel your pain. We're up to $2.67 now. My last tankful was at $2.35, courtesy of a discount from buying groceries at that chain store. The next one will be more painful, with a 32-gallon tank.
I rarely let it get more then half-empty, these days. Yes, I know it's the same amount of miles driven, and the same number of gallons used, but two bouts of $43 are less psychologically painful than a single $86 purchase.
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