Here is the driveway and the thermometer on the porch:
Saturday, October 22, 2011
First Snow
Last week (October 13th) was our first measurable snowfall of the year. It was a little late according to some people but that's ok, it will be hanging around for a really long time! We only got about 2 1/2 to 3 inches, but it is so cold none of it is melting. The thermometer read 10 degrees that morning and as one of my friends would say "welcome to the icebox"....
Here is the driveway and the thermometer on the porch:
Here is the driveway and the thermometer on the porch:
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Evaporation fog
Woke up this morning and the thermometer on the porch read 18 degrees F, the coldest yet! No significant snow yet, but it is on the way. The ground and all the trees were all white with frost, in the sun it sparkled like diamonds.
The lake across from the cabin had a thin layer of steam fog advecting across the surface. It is caused by a cold air mass passing over a warm moist surface, this is also why it as known as evaporation fog. In this case the lake has not frozen over yet and is warmer than the air temperature (even though that lake is no where close to being warm enough to swim in).
The lake across from the cabin had a thin layer of steam fog advecting across the surface. It is caused by a cold air mass passing over a warm moist surface, this is also why it as known as evaporation fog. In this case the lake has not frozen over yet and is warmer than the air temperature (even though that lake is no where close to being warm enough to swim in).
Sourdough Fuel
I had mentioned before that the cabin is heated by heating oil. Today I finally got my fuel delivered by Sourdough Fuel. It was definitely a new experience. It's basically a traveling gas station that comes to your front door. I know I probably sound silly, but it's not every-day-living when your house, I mean cabin, is ran off of oil from a tank that sits right outside your stoop.
Anyways, the delivery was this afternoon and the delivery man pulled the hose from the tanker and filled it up. He said the oil comes out at a rate of 55-65 gallons a minute. It literally took him longer to back the truck up than to fill the tank. I think he thought I was crazy because I was asking questions and taking pictures, oh well!!!
Anyways, the delivery was this afternoon and the delivery man pulled the hose from the tanker and filled it up. He said the oil comes out at a rate of 55-65 gallons a minute. It literally took him longer to back the truck up than to fill the tank. I think he thought I was crazy because I was asking questions and taking pictures, oh well!!!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Wickersham Dome
Last weekend we had this great idea to head to the arctic circle. It's about 150 miles north of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway. Alex and I got a really late start thinking that normally 150 miles wouldn't take that long, but we both didn't know that the Dalton Highway is a dirt road that follows the pipeline all the way to the Beaufort Sea!
I'm not sure if anyone knows the t.v. show Ice Road Truckers on the Discovery Channel, but the ice road that the truckers travel on is filmed on the Dalton Highway. We started out in the afternoon thinking we would be back before sun down, as we got further away from town we both realized that this trip would not be doable.
To make it feel as if the whole day was not a waste Alex and I found a trail and went for a hike. We pulled off the highway and turned into the Wickersham Dome Trailhead. These trails are designed for mushers, so we didn't have the time or resources to do any of the full loops (20-30 mile loops and some go out 100 +). We just did an out and back, which was roughly twelve miles round trip. It's really neat, these trails are maintained by BLM and there are cabins along the trail that you can reserve and stay the night. It would be neat to snow shoe or cross country ski in and stay the night. The trails/cabins would be perfect for viewing the aurora borealis.
The whole time walking through these trails I was nervous we would run into a bear or moose. There was a lady and her dogs who we stopped and talked to for awhile. She had her gun and bear spray on her and that didn't calm my nerves!! All we saw though were a ton of moose and caribou tacks, oh and fox poop!
I didn't get a lot of good pictures, it was overcast and really hazy. I tried to get some good ones and here they are.
We took the Summit Trail and made it to the summit:
This would be perfect for viewing the aurora, there is a fire pit and the view goes for miles:
I think I forgot to mention it was cold!! We estimated that it was maybe 38 F, there was snow in the shady spots and the creeks were frozen over:
The only animal we saw was a ptarmigan. They are normally a brown color in the spring/summer months, but during the winter they turn white as snow:
The view from the summit looking toward the arctic circle. The picture doesn't do it justice and I wish the camera wouldn't pick up so much haze, but it was beautiful from the top. There was a cloud bank off in the distance sitting on the Brooks Range and seeing that made the whole trip worth it.
On our way back the sun was starting to set and I snapped this shot:
I'm not sure if anyone knows the t.v. show Ice Road Truckers on the Discovery Channel, but the ice road that the truckers travel on is filmed on the Dalton Highway. We started out in the afternoon thinking we would be back before sun down, as we got further away from town we both realized that this trip would not be doable.
To make it feel as if the whole day was not a waste Alex and I found a trail and went for a hike. We pulled off the highway and turned into the Wickersham Dome Trailhead. These trails are designed for mushers, so we didn't have the time or resources to do any of the full loops (20-30 mile loops and some go out 100 +). We just did an out and back, which was roughly twelve miles round trip. It's really neat, these trails are maintained by BLM and there are cabins along the trail that you can reserve and stay the night. It would be neat to snow shoe or cross country ski in and stay the night. The trails/cabins would be perfect for viewing the aurora borealis.
The whole time walking through these trails I was nervous we would run into a bear or moose. There was a lady and her dogs who we stopped and talked to for awhile. She had her gun and bear spray on her and that didn't calm my nerves!! All we saw though were a ton of moose and caribou tacks, oh and fox poop!
I didn't get a lot of good pictures, it was overcast and really hazy. I tried to get some good ones and here they are.
We took the Summit Trail and made it to the summit:
This would be perfect for viewing the aurora, there is a fire pit and the view goes for miles:
I think I forgot to mention it was cold!! We estimated that it was maybe 38 F, there was snow in the shady spots and the creeks were frozen over:
The only animal we saw was a ptarmigan. They are normally a brown color in the spring/summer months, but during the winter they turn white as snow:
On our way back the sun was starting to set and I snapped this shot:
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Pipeline
If you were ever wondering where a lot of (all) the oil the U.S. likes to hoard comes from, well here you go... It all begins in Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska's northern slope where the largest oil field in North America is located. It spans a wide 15 miles by 40 miles. The oil is sent through a pipe, which travels 800 miles from the north slope to Valdez, Alaska. Not only does it travel 800 miles, it crosses 3 mountain ranges, 34 major rivers and 800 smaller rivers. Pretty neat, huh!?!?!
Last weekend a friend of mine, Alex, and I wanted to get out of town, so we cruised a couple miles north and stumbled upon the pipeline. The pipeline travels above ground, as well as, below and the pipes have a diameter of 48''. Here's the pipeline:
If you can click on this picture to enlarge it you should read the pipeline history and stats:
Last weekend a friend of mine, Alex, and I wanted to get out of town, so we cruised a couple miles north and stumbled upon the pipeline. The pipeline travels above ground, as well as, below and the pipes have a diameter of 48''. Here's the pipeline:
If you can click on this picture to enlarge it you should read the pipeline history and stats:
Sunset
So here it is...as the light travels from the sun to earth it is considered to be white light and as it travels through the earth's atmosphere a portion of that light scatters off molecules and other particles (dust, air pollution etc). This scattering gives the bright blue color that is visible to us at the surface. A British physicist, Lord Rayleigh, discovered this phenomenon and is known as Rayleigh Scattering. At sunrise and sunset the path through the atmosphere is longer and the shorter blue and green wavelengths are completely removed leaving the longer red and orange wavelengths. When clouds are visible in the atmosphere they also help to scatter light, which is known as Mie Scattering. With out the clouds to scattered the light the horizon at sunset is a light red/orange color while the rest of the sky remains blue.
But enough science! Check out this sunset right outside the cabin...
A few minutes later:
Several minutes later from the porch:
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