Low Temps, High Prices

In Deadhorse, up on the North Slope, they have temps in the teens, with snow. Yep - global warming in action!

Not.

Meanwhile, we're having normal temps (upper 50s in the daytime) with the inevitable falls rain fronts, and lots of wind, here in southcentral. Could be worse.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, our gas prices ($3.23/gallon in south Anchorage) have prompted another cry for investigation from two - count 'em, two whole legislators - in Juneau.

According to the talking heads on local news, our prices tend to remain about 60 cents above the national average. But more on that in a bit.

Right now, we're 80 cents above. But the operators of our sole refinery (in Nikiski, in case anyone's keeping track) insist it's the law of supply and demand. Since they're all by their onesies, there's no competition, and therefore no reason to drop the price.

In 2008 - the last time anyone investigated high pricing - there were two functioning refineries. The one in North Pole hadn't yet closed; yet our prices were in the neighborhood of $4.37/gallon.

Why? Glad you asked.

"That's what it would cost," the refinery owners responded, "if we were to ship the crude to California to be refined, and then returned here for consumption."

"But that's not what we do," local reporters told them.

The reply was an oh-so-expressive shrug. Apparently, that's what we getting this time, too.

So.

Why are prices so high? Because the refinery can charge whatever it likes. Yes, it's capitalism in action. But is it reasonable, or greed? Only you can answer that.

It's not like we can go anywhere else for our gasoline.

Hold On, It's Coming

The weather has turned noticeably cooler, and is due to get colder still over the next few days. It's snowing here and there around the state, and that line - 300 miles north yesterday - is now only 150 miles north. Tonight's low is supposed to dip into the 20s... won't be long, now, before winter's upon us. 

Older Daughter and I will be buying and installing snow tires on Saturday, as both our 4WD vehicles are currently without them. Not a good thing, here.

'bout That Time

It rained most of the night, and is still misting & foggy this morning with temps in the mid-30s. The snowline will have crept much farther down the hillside, once the clouds lift enough for us to see.

I'll need to dig the snow tires out of the garage & toss 'em in the back of the truck for the "seasonal changeover" as it's called here. They'll be on the truck until April ... or May, depending on when the roads clear off.

Just another part of the rich pageant of Alaskan life. :)

Autumn-to-Winter: It Rained Again Last Night

and the night before that, and ...

Showers at night aren't such a bad thing, although we've finally gotten to the time of year where it's dark at drive-time again. The trees have mostly turned various shades of yellow and orange, with the occasional red highlight here and there. In another month, the mad rush to get the studded snow tires put on for winter. For better or worse, that's an absolute necessity here, as anyone who's ever slid helplessly through a red light while praying not to get creamed by cross-traffic can tell you. We don't get ice so much as we have a few inches of very hard-packed snow which closely resembles the bobsled track in the Winter Olympics. Studs work very well on such surfaces, thankyouverymuch.

As we enter the Tunnel O' Winter, the darkness isn't necessarily a bad thing, either - the swirling snow* is pretty in the headlights. I love the crisp feel of the air when it's at minus 20 or colder, although the lack of humidity at those temps can dry your eyes and throat in short order. But we acclimate quickly, and I find by the third day of such temps that I don't even close my parka. It's refreshing, to me.

Go ahead and call me Nanook, polar (or grizzly) bear, or what-have-you ... but I love it. The snow sparkles in the sun like fields of diamonds, and the air is so clear it seems you can see forever. Seeing the winds blowing plumes of snow off the peaks above town ... the hoar-frost so thick that it makes everything the same color ... the snow crunching under my boots when I walk ... the excitement on the faces of skiers and snow-boarders as they head up the hillside to the ski areas ... lakes and creeks frozen over, and ice-skaters have such fun ...

It's lovely, and can't imagine living anywhere else.



* No, it's not snowing in town; only in the mountains at the edge of town. But we'll have snow on the ground in another few weeks. That's just part of Alaskan life.

Snow Report

Okay, so I've mentioned a couple of times that winter would soon be here. I just didn't know it would be today.

There was a goodly amount of snow on the mountains above town, this morning, when the rain lifted for awhile. Now, the good folks at AccuHunch have issued a snow advisory for the hillside again tonight. And it's only 47 degrees at nearly 1 p.m., so that high of 50 today seems realistic. Overnight, though, all bets are off.

As long as the snow in town waits until the leaves have fallen, so that we don't lose tree branches and power lines, then bring it on!


~~ h/t UpinAK & UAF for the photo