Sorry about the delay in posting! I'd like to say I've been too busy, but honestly....just been lazy. :)
Alaska State Fair
First up, I went to the Alaska State Fair over Labor Day weekend. It was a windy, cloud covered day, but we managed to avoid any significant rain (at least til the drive home). It is smaller in scale than the Wisconsin State Fair, more on scope with the Dane County Fair. That makes sense given the much smaller population in this state. I was able to try some good food including fried fish, cream puffs and chicken on a stick. They were all fantastic. I also tried cheese curds...now I know I'm from the dairy state and have high standards when it comes to fried cheese curds, but they were not my favorite. It was a nice day and fun to get out of the city for a bit. The fair is in the "valley"in the city of Palmer, AK about a half hour from Anchorage.
MAJOR Wind Storm
Craziness last week! We had a MAJOR windstorm come through the area. I remember sitting in my apartment watching out the patio door. It was unlike anything I've seen. The trees, flags, anything not strapped down was flying all over the place! My outdoor parking spot is right under two very tall trees. I was absolutely convinced those trees were going to be on my car in the morning (fortunately and surprisingly that was not the case). About 10:30 the TV went out and about fifteen minutes later EVERYTHING went out, my lamps, the streetlights, everything...that's when I realized I had no flashlight! I went to bed, but kept waking up every two hours to see if my fridge/freezer was back on. Fortunately my power was only out for about 8 hours, some in the city were without for 3-4 days.
There was a fair amount of damage with trees and power lines down. I got up the next day and went to work like normal...only to discover the governor had called off state employees in Anchorage! Yes, the storm was bad, but it never occurred to me that we wouldn't have work! I can't imagine winter storms aren't more limiting than this storm....but hey, it was a day off! I am now on the texting list for government call offs! :) It was predicted we would have another wind storm yesterday. I headed to the store to get a flashlight and some supplies. Walmart, Target and the grocery store were all COMPLETELY out of flashlights! So...I bought some fire starters to light candles if necessary. Of course now that I was prepared, nothing really happened. Anyway...the whole experience was unlike anything I've ever seen in Wisconsin. I heard wind gusts got up to 130 mph. I can only imagine going through part of a hurricane would be similar?
Termination Dust
As part of the recent windstorm the "termination dust" can be seen on the mountains.
Definition: the first, light dusting of snow; on the very tips of the mountains. It's a warning, the first big snow is just around the corner. At work I was told typically about six weeks after the termination dust we can expect snow on the ground!! Guess I better invest in those snow tires!
Side note: I'll be in Wisconsin this weekend (Sept 21-24), say hi if you're around!
