Friends   ---

Reading the various brochures about Fairbanks we suspected January would be a slack month.  And it is.  The Christmas season is over.  It is still dark much of the day.  Several people have said that it is a good month to find a favorite recliner, curl up with a good book and a warm blanket  -- and take a nap!  I've been doing that more this month, I just don't bother with the recliner, book and blanket.  The result is equally as satisfying.

Though the sun rises late and sets early, we can see the more daylight already.  By March 20 the daylight and dark will be the same world over, except near the poles where the sun rises once and sets once per year.

We still take our daily walks.  Some days are very cold, but if we bundle up it is not too bad.  Today there was a little wind, perhaps 10 mph, which made it feel colder.  This has been a mild winter so far, with only one day colder than 40 below.  There is usually about a dozen days colder than 40 below.  A week or so ago it was colder in the lower 48 than here in Alaska.  It was about 20 degrees colder in Iowa than here.  That happens sometimes.  But when it is the other way around, it is much more dramatic.  Sunday morning it was 72 degrees warmer in Wayland than here.

The complete weather forecasts here take about a half hour, that is the state forecast.  That includes marine weather because there is a longer coast line here than all other states combined.  It also includes flying weather because there are many villages that have no road connection.  And, in the winter, many back country roads are impassable.  And, Alaska is huge.

As you can see it stretches from northern Florida to central California.  If there was a a forecast for all these states it would take a long time too, just like here.

We have heard that when it is 40 below, and a cup of boiling water is thrown into the air, it will evaporate before hitting the ground.  Well, we tried it when it was 20 below and nearly all of it evaporated.  In the picture a few steaming drops of water are falling toward the ground.  We could see in the snow below the picture that a few drops did not evaporate.

A girl from here goes to college in Alaska.  She is so amazed at some of the questions people ask that she sent some to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.  Here are the top ten according to the paper:
10.    What time do you turn on the northern lights?
9.      How do you keep the animals inside Denali National Park?
8.      Are all your vegetables frozen?
7.      You can drive to Alaska?  I thought it was an island!
6.      If Alaska and Hawaii are so close, why do they have such different climates?
5.      What kind of currency do you use and what is the exchange rate?
4.      You are from Alaska?  Can I see your green card?
3.      How do you know what time it is when it is always dark?
2.      Do you have to use snowshoes or a dog team to go everywhere?
1.      Does everyone still live in igloos?

Whether you have gone to college or not, I am sure you are smarter about Alaska than the students who asked these questions!  Remember the TV program "Are You Smarter Than a Second Grader?"  Well, you are probably smarter than college students, at least some of them.

Thanks for staying connected.

Larry and Elva
God is love