Chinook

is not a word I ever really heard as a child growing up on the east coast, or as an adult in the midwest. However, when I stopped to get gas at the start of the New Year, the man behind the counter asked me what I thought about the Chinook.  I didn't have an answer for him, because as I previously stated, I am not really familiar with the whole idea of a Chinook.  In fact, it sounds vaguely like something that should be in the western movies that Steve likes to watch on AMC on Saturday mornings.  Actually, the whole gas station confused me.  The name is Tesoro and sits on the corner down the block from work.  There are the pull up pumps with a little hut in the middle about the size of a Fotomat hut (I know, I am really dating myself here).  I got out of the car with my credit card in hand and stared at the pump.  It caught me quite off guard to realize that there was no way to pay at the pump.  I actually had to go into the little hut and talk to the attendant. Imagine that, huh, real human contact! The inside of the Tesoro hut has enough room for 1 1/2 customers to stand in it, and a teeny little counter where the attendant stands.  The inside of the walls were covered from floor to ceiling with photos. Color photos, faded black/white photos.  Photos of kids, dogs, birthday parties, Christmases, family picnics...  It was overwhelming and I didn't know where to look.  I think in the corner there were some small, bright, colorful dresses that looked like they were childsize and maybe came from Mexico, but my senses were reeling in this tiny little hut.  It was 7:30 in the morning and pitch black outside, the weather had finally hit above the 30 degree mark, but inside this hut it was a fiesta for the eyes.  And than the gentleman behind the counter asked me what I thought about the Chinook winds.  I don't know, I confessed, I'm from Wisconsin.

Back at the pump I was once again feeling like an idiot because I couldn't figure out how to pump the gas.  It took a few moments before the synapses fired in my brain and I realized I had to flip the handle on the pump to turn it on.  No push button start on these pumps, no pay-at-the-pump.  Wow, it felt like a time warp.  Anyway, back to the Chinook.  I did what anyone does these days when they don't know what something is.  I googled it.  According to Wikipedia - a Chinook wind is a warming wind from the ocean into the Pacific Northwest, or in this case, Alaska.  And a warm wind it was.  We had a days of above freezing weather, and even rain.  Not enough to melt the snow, but enough to lower some of the snowbanks so I can almost see over them when I try and pullout into the street.  The warm weather lasted for the majority of the week, but over the last couple of days it has drifted back below the freezing mark and today the temperature never reached 20.  I guess the January thaw is over and the Chinook has blown itself out.

One other weather thing I noted was the difference in weather reporting.  Early in the week the weatherman reported a chance of snowshowers overnight, and would than move on with his report.  Back in Wisconsin, any snow forecast was also accompanied by predictions of accumulation, be it 0.5 inches or 5 inches, the weatherman told you what to expect.  So when I heard snowshowers and there was no accumulation mentioned, I did not give a second thought to amounts.  And every morning I woke up and swept two inches of snow off the car.  The lesson learned - Alaskans don't seem to worry about accumulation unless it is more than 4 inches.  At least in Anchorage anyway.  However, as I said, we had this warm up, and even the snow showers have stopped.  The air is dry and for the most part very clear. 

I have noticed that my days appear to be getting longer.  I googled some information and discovered that on average the sun rises here about 3 hours later than it does in Wisconsin, although the sun sets at the same time.  However, on my daily drive home it appeared that the sky was staying lighter a little longer each day.  On average we are gaining over 3 minutes of daylight every day and you in the Midwest are gaining over a minute.  I had guessed that the gain in sunlight had to be huge since in the summer we have only a few hours of night.  Or so I have been told.  Actually, that answers one of the questions I had last week about are there fireworks on the 4th of July.  And the answer?  No - no fireworks on the 4th of July because no one would be able to see them.

Yesterday I was working for a few hours and got a text msg from Tara that someone had found Riley.  So I called home and discovered that Riley had squeezed through the fence. He was home and safe, but the dogs no longer have the run of the yard and the doggie door has been closed off.  And poor Rosey had just figured out how to use the darn thing.  Also tops on the list of chores for this week - get them tags with this address and phone number. 

This morning I took the dogs for a nice walk.  The weather was a balmy 13 degrees, and the sun had just begun to come up, but there was no wind.  The last two days have produced a lot of fog around town.  Driving in it on the way to work is ghostly since it is also dark.  But then the moisture freezes on everything coating it in a layer of hoar frost, so this is how things looked when I walked around.


view to the left



the rising sun and the frosted trees

the view up Sand Lake Rd. This is a plowed pedestrian path.  They are all over town.  Makes it easier for all the bicycles I guess



an intrepid chickadee.  I read an article in Alaska magazine that said Alaskan chickadees were the smartest due to the harsh weather conditions they had to face.  The only other birds I have seen are Ravens which are everywhere, and magpies which are more elusive



The view down Raspberry St.  I live off this street

back on to Terry Street!

Home Sweet Home.  Notice how the fireplug is protected.  I'm thinking there have been problems with plows in the past.

The only other thought I have to share this week is about personal space.  One summer day on a visit to WI from NY, my sister mentioned how aware midwesterners were of personal space.  In the crowds of the city people often invade your personal space.  Whether that is from necessity or because they aren't as aware of personal boundaries, I really can't say.  But I do know that when we lived in WI people would move to get out of each others way.  There is certain level of politeness to it - perhaps a recognition of personal boundaries and a desire to not want to invade someone else's space, but also a desire not to have someone in your space.  With all the available space in Alaska you would think that maybe people would be more cognizant of personal space, but that's just not the case.  Maybe it's the cold and dark that makes people squeeze together.  The crowd at WalMart is like Filene's Basement on Bargain days.  Makes me miss the Wallyworld in WI with its wide open aisles and people who give each other space. 

Keep warm and enjoy the lengthening of the days.

Until next week!