Friends,

Several times it has been warm here in Fairbanks when it is cold down there.  It is that way again.  Temperature is -4 in NW Ohio, 5 in Iowa City, 0 in Sturgeon Bay, and 24 here.  All you people who are getting tired of the cold weather better come up here!  Walking is much nicer than when it is 20 below.

One of the big events here is the Yukon Quest.  It is a dog sled race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse in Yukon Territory.  It is nearly 1000 miles long.  The starting point alternated between the two cities.  This year it starts in Fairbanks.  The number of teams is the smallest this year it has ever been.  There will only be 18 teams and the most teams was 48 in 1988.  It could be a dying event.  It might be replaced with snow machine (snowmobile) races.  People don't have dog sleds for practical uses any more, but there are a lot of snow machines.  It would be like "tractor pulls" replacing "horse pulls."  We have volunteered to help set up a meal for the mushers but have not heard much yet.  The race will start on the Chena River just a couple blocks from our apartment and go past our apartment.  It starts February 1.

One activity here is skijoring.  It was totally new to us.  We had to ask what it is.  It is  being on skis and being pulled by something - horse, car, snow machine, or (usually here) a dog or team of dogs.  We asked the guy in the picture above if we could take his picture.  He said he didn't care, but this was the first time he had ever tried it and did not think it would go very well.  He suggested finding some one else for a picture.  We only saw one other person skijoring but he was too far away for a good picture.  This guy indeed did not do so well.  There should be a harness for the person and for the dog or dogs.  And the dogs should be trained.  This dog did not know what to do.  The man just had a rope tied to his dog.  We took this picture to give some idea about skijoring but the results for this team was disappointing.  The person too far away for a good picture was probably going 8 mph and had a smooth operation.

Elva and I call these snow lumps.  They started as small bushes and by this time of the winter they have been completely covered with snow.  We have had over three feet of snow this season.  Some of the early snow melted.  Some sublimates.  It settles.  There is still probably over two feet of snow where nothing has bothered it.

It is cloudy here far more than I expected.  So colorful sunsets are rare.  Here are a couple from a few days ago.  The first one has electric lines across it.  The bottom electric line is mostly covered with snow.  Pigeons and ravens probably landed on the top wire often enough to get the snow off of it.

 The days are getting longer.  The average daily low temperature and high temperature have just started going up again.  People are getting optimistic.  I still want -50 degrees or so, I have experienced -40 while in college so that was not so impressive.  Elva thinks I am crazy.

God's blessings to all.  Enjoy winter!

Larry and Elva