Hello from cold Alaska,

Yes, this past week has been cold, close to 20 degrees below normal for the highs  And we have had snow.  I even have pictures to prove we had snow.

This shows snow falling and on the cars

Snow on crab apple tree next to our steps

Interesting picture from daily paper.

Elva and I went to the start of the Equinox Marathon last Saturday (9/21/13).  A thermometer near the start said 18 degrees.  The paper said it was not quite that cold, but it was plenty cold.  It is one of the toughest in the nation because it goes up a big hill or small mountain.  Runners ascend 1500 feet up Ester Dome Mountain and then back.  It started on the campus of University of Alaska.  There were nearly 1000 runners this year.  We have a few pictures of the start.  The first thing they do is run up a very steep hill.  Interestingly, a man from Iowa City won the marathon.  Nearby army base supplied a cannon to start the marathon

Almost ready to start.

Starting up the hill

Some are at the top of the hill while others start.

A community theater group is doing "Odd Couple - Female Version."  We walked about  a mile in the snow last Sunday afternoon to watch it.  It was good for many laughs.

The mountains/hills around Fairbanks are mostly deposits from glaciers many years ago.  These are the White Mountains.  The mountain the marathon ascended was one of these.  South of Fairbanks on a clear day the Alaska Range mountains can be seen.  Denali or McKinley is a part of this system.  These mountains have been pushed up by shifts in the "plates" deep underground.  This system of mountains start in Alaska, go through Canada, through the United States, through Central America, through South America and end close to Antarctica.  So the Alaska Range mountains are more like those in Colorado and in the Andes in South America.  They are high and rugged.  Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America.  It is one of the main attractions for tourists who come here.  Most of the time it cannot be seen because of clouds, even if you are close to it.  Fairbanks is over 100 miles from the Alaska Range.  If a person is high enough around here and the weather is clear those mountains can be seen from here.  One day we were at the University of Alaska, which is on a hill, and got these pictures.  One of these is McKinley but we are not sure which one.

West end of Fairbanks in foreground, and a bit of the river that runs through town.  That is the river that is across the street from our apartment.

Elva started volunteering today at Anne Wien Elementary School.  She helps in a kindergarten/first grade combination class.  It is the same school where Ellen Axmear (from English Valleys) is a speech pathologist.  She gave us a tour of the school last week and helped get things rolling for Elva to get started.

We continue to enjoy ourselves.  Time is going fast.  It is already time to pay the rent again!

God's blessing to all

Larry and Elva