Winter Wonderland?
I guess the term “wonderland” depends on who you’re speaking to. Winter? Yes. Wonderland? The jury’s still out on that one. I happen to think the fresh snow is beautiful, and I usually welcome the onset of winter with a little bit of excitement. I love the pureness that the snow lends to the landscape. I love the contrast of blue skies against sugar-coated trees. I enjoy the sense of quiet that settles over everything, and the way you can hear your own footsteps amplified in the silence.
With that being said, I don’t particularly care for driving in winter - and especially early winter. In early winter, fresh snow covers ice patches and I find myself driving 10-15 mph under the speed limit, because I’m afraid of going off the road. Driving slow on multi-lane roads isn’t too bad, as those who are more confident - or are in a hurry - can go around me. But when I’m driving down a two lane road like Badger Road (which has sections like an ice skating rink), I’m much more stressed out - particularly when vehicles come up on my tail. I’ve had this happen to me, even when there are vehicles in the ditches on either side of the road! As the season progresses, and the snow doesn’t fall as much, the roads will become better graveled, and the small rocks will embed in the ice and create more traction.
Some of you reading may not realize that in Fairbanks (and perhaps all of Alaska?), we do not salt the roads. The salt does little to melt ice, as it’s too cold (imagine -30F to -50F). And if we could melt the ice, it would refreeze immediately and create even more driving hazards. While gravel does help provide traction on snowy roads, it also makes pristine windshields an incredible rarity. I think I have 4-5 dings in my windshield, and Steve has huge “bullet-like” indentations in his. We won’t replace the windshield until our vision is obstructed, because the odds are pretty good that we’ll get dings and cracks in the next windshield too.
