Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

The sun came out a couple of days ago. What a big difference it makes on my mood! When it’s overcast, it feels so much colder than when the sun is shining. And there’s nothing I love more than pure white snow and deep blue skies. Such a beautiful color contrast.

Friends of mine were traveling last week, and I was stopping by their house to check on things. The river runs right behind their house, so I took my camera with me on the first day that the sun came out.  There’s ice in the river, and it’s closing in from the sides, but there’s still a wide strip of open water down the middle. It’s nowhere near thick enough to even think about stepping on, but in some places I did see bird and squirrel tracks.

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Yesterday, Steve and I had errands to run on Fort Wainwright. Now that Steve is retired, our trips on post aren’t as regular as they used to be. We go to the army hospital for healthcare, we do our grocery shopping at the commissary, and we use our bank branch located there.  Because we’re not there everyday, I sometimes feel like we’re not as ‘connected’ to the military. At times it seems like army life was so long ago. Especially now that many of the families who we came to AK with have left Fort Wainwright, or are preparing to PCS to another duty station.  Steve’s been retired for more than two years. That went fast.

Last summer (June, 2008) there was a dedication ceremony for the 172nd SBCT Memorial, which is located in Fort Wainwright’s Monterey Lake Memorial Park. Steve was deployed with the 172nd SBCT in 2005-2006. During that deployment, 30 members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 207th Aviation Regiment, and Alaska Army National Guard died.

A few weeks after the dedication, I visited the memorial park. At the time of my visit, there was a group of uniformed soldiers walking along the pathway. I started to follow them, but became overcome with emotion. I went back to my car instead. I’m ashamed to say I never went back.

Yesterday, Steve and I finished our errands more quickly than anticipated. Snow was falling, and everything was so peaceful and quiet. I don’t know what made me think of the Memorial Park; I asked Steve if we could stop there before going home.

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The snow started in the middle of the night, and is still coming down.  It’s not heavy; more like a fine mist of flurries, but it’s sticking. It looks like we have about 3/4 inch of accumulation.  Snow is in the forecast for the next four days, so I think this is THE snow.  Despite the complaints you may read come April, when there is still snow on the ground and I’m antsy for spring to arrive, I can honestly say I’m happy to finally see the white stuff.  It just wouldn’t be October in Alaska without snow.

2010 ALASKA CALENDAR

The calendars have shipped from the printing company and should be delivered to me sometime this week. Last week, I sent out an email to those of you who pre-ordered a calendar(s) with information on how to make payment. If you pre-ordered a calendar, and did not receive this email, please contact me directly at susan@susanstevenson.com.  Thank you to those of you who have already sent payment via checks or PayPal. I will notify you when your calendar(s) ships, so you can keep a lookout for it/them.

FIRST FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6th

This weekend, I will be setting up at the Space for Movement Studio for the First Friday event on the 6th. There will be matted and framed Alaskana photography, as well as a few dance prints on display. In addition I will have notecards, greeting cards, and unframed prints available.  I believe the studio is open for First Friday from 5:30-9:00pm. If I find out differently, I’ll let you know. If you live local, stop by and say hello! You can pick up some information about the various dance classes offered at the studio. I love my Middle Eastern Dance class: it’s great exercise and a wonderful way to keep busy during the winter months!

AURORA APPEARANCE

A few days ago, very early in the morning, I was coming home from the airport, after dropping off a couple of friends for their vacation to the Lower 48. I had my camera with me because the aurora forecast page was calling for a moderate chance of seeing the northern lights.  The stars were bright in the sky, so I took my camera and tripod out in front of my house to take some photos of the constellations. At that time of the morning (6am), the big dipper is turned on end, with the handle pointing almost straight down. I’d never seen it any way but with the handle pointing straight out to the left, so I took a few photos.

When I saw the preview in my camera screen, I noticed that the camera had also picked up the slight green tint of the aurora.  It was nearly invisible to the naked eye, and at first I thought what I saw was just wispy clouds moving in the sky.  I took some more photos.

The first photo is of the Big Dipper and aurora (I animated it with yellow lines so you can see the constellation):

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