Friends of Alaska,

We went out to see the norther lights again last Friday, 4/11/14.  They were not real good.  Partly no fault of the display itself, but because there was a bright moon.

Also the aurora was not so good because the daylight had not yet all gone away, and that was around 11:30.  In the picture above you can see that the sky is not totally dark.  The following picture shows a hill with a bit of cloud going to the right.  But notice how light it still is at nearly midnight!  So we were not so impressed with the northern lights but we were impressed by how long it stayed light.  It is quite light when we go to bed (10:00) and when we get up (5:30).

For much of the past couple weeks it was warm in the lower 48 (Iowa and Midwest) and about normal here.  That meant that it was about 50 to 60 degrees warmer there than here.  Some days were around 20 here when it was 80 in Iowa.  Now we have warmed up and you have cooled down.  Right now, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, it is 45 here, 27 in NW Ohio, 30 in SE Iowa, and 27 in NE Wisconsin.  The geese have started to migrate back.  The warmer weather has brought "breakup."  No, Elva and I still like each other, but the snow cover is breaking up and soon the ice on the river will break up.  The snow is melting, and many places it does not have a place to drain away.  So it just builds up water and slush.  That makes a mess for our walks.  We got wet feet today.  Any four year old would have enjoyed splashing through the water - but it was less exciting for Grandma and Grandpa.

We went to a miners trade show last Thursday.  I wanted this picture of a big front-end loader because it is made by the same company as some farm equipment.  This was inside.  At some mines they have the huge loaders that haul over 70 tons of rock at once, but they are too big for this show.

 We took this picture because Elva's maiden name was Stryker.  At least one Stryker has become famous.

Thanks for your interest in Alaska.

Praise God for Easter!

Larry and Elva