08 February 2017

Morning in Alaska

At 0430 this morning, it was eight degrees with a nearly-full moon peeking out of the clouds.
 
So when the Fox News feed locked up, we listened to the silence ... which was punctuated by wolves howling on the mountainside above us.
 
Have I mentioned how much we love Alaska? :)
 
 
 
The morning DJs, on whatever I was listening to, kept insisting that there was dense, freezing fog. But I didn't encounter any. It's cold enough that thick ice patches located at most intersections wasn't as slippery as they could have been. Most anyone who drives in the big city has learned by now that Anchorage clears the snow with two Caterpillar graders, followed by a Zamboni.
 
 
I can think of a lot of things I'd rather be doing, but none of them pay as well as sitting here at this desk, so the conclusion is obvious.
 
But first ... coffee.

11 comments:

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev.Paul,

Did someone say coffee?? Enjoy that cup!!

griz said...

Good morning Way Up North!
COFFEE, the motor oil that keeps my heart pumping!

Take care, be safe.
God bless.
Griz

Rev. Paul said...

Sandy, what do you mean, "cup". It's cups, ma'am. :)

Griz, you betcha. It's not a vice, but a necessity!

Rob said...

So your world is just like mine???

Rev. Paul said...

Rob - without any supporting evidence or anecdotes, it's tough to say. ;^)

Old NFO said...

Coffee- GOOD! :-)

Suz said...

"the roads are plowed by a grader followed by a Zamboni"....

I love this!! I live on a road on which this is practiced!! And, no, I don't live in Alaska...but I have discovered that western MI has not heard of this great invention called sand, which when applied to icy roads works very well to help keep folks out of the ditches...which when I think about it, they don't really have many of here in MI either, unless it is between fields to help drain the swamp. Now upstate NY is a different story!! They have both sand and deep ditches. Don't ask how I know...lol.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Heh heh. Zamboni. Completely plausible...

Rev. Paul said...

NFO - concur! Kaladi Red Goat, or Silverhook, or Bustelo (in that order). Nothing else will get the eyes open.

Suz - glad you like the Zamboni concept. Anchorage's street dept works (when they do, at all) by scraping the lanes bare, except for intersection. Those, they leave covered in ice so that drivers can't stop nor turn. The rationale leaves us confused. And I won't ask you about ditches. :)

TB - it appears to be the truth, if we must go solely by the evidence of the streets.

Fiona said...

The Zamboni comment was dead on,I laughed out loud and Ralph asked what was so funny, he has lived in the south and has not experienced as much winter as I have :)

Rev. Paul said...

Fiona, I asked one time why they scrape all the traction-providing snow away, only to expose the slick snowpack underneath. I was told that half the drivers want a couple inches of snow to drive in, and the other half want it all gone ... they get complaints, either way.
It figures. But I'm glad you liked the Zamboni comparison. :)