Where Can A Person Find Some Real Snow Around This Place?? 2-29-12

That's right... Anchorage doesn't have enough snow... we had to go find more! Actually, there's a little more to it than that.  I got involved with volunteering for the Iditarod this year, and one of the ways I volunteered was to host an out-of-state volunteer.  There are several "local" volunteers, but there are a lot of people who travel to Alaska just to be able to volunteer during the race.  There aren't enough hotel rooms for everyone, especially since there are also a lot of people who travel to Alaska to watch the race (usually the ceremonial start that is in Anchorage, but not always). So hosting a volunteer (or volunteers) is one of the many ways a person can volunteer.  Did I use the word volunteer enough in this paragraph?  (More on the Iditarod will come in the next post!)

The volunteer that stayed with me is from CA, and it was her first time being in Anchorage.  We had a common free day and she loves photography too, so we went for a drive to see what scenery we could find.  We decided to drive south along Turnagain Arm to the Kenai Peninsula.  Here's what we found:



This is how snow is/was cleared off the tracks.



Turnagain Arm... with snow showery clouds. They were pretty thin for the most part, but it was snowing pretty hard as we drove through them!

Driving south on the Kenai Peninsula...


Turnagain Pass... check out the snow on either side of the road.  Along with the "rumble strip" in what appears to be the middle of the lane.  The lanes in winter around here really have nothing to do with the lines that are painted in the summer.  A lane is formed as people drive through, and that's the lane until either the road is cleared or the snow melts. It actually amazes me close the winter lanes are to the real thing, especially within the city of Anchorage!

This is a pullout... note that the carved snow is as high as the tops of the vehicles! So... maybe 5 feet high?  And the snow is coming down pretty good here in this photo, too.

Texture shot... Now those are some snowy trees!

Back along Turnagain Arm... it was sunnier on the way back to Anchorage... less snow showers.

I didn't really expect that we'd see much wildlife, but we did spot some dall sheep right next to the highway. They're all pretty young, but there is one that looks to have been born last year. In the first photo, that's the edge of the road in the bottom of the photo.  They aren't usually this low in elevation, so it was a treat to see them there!

This is the youngin'...

Back in Anchorage, we decided to do a quick drive into Kincaid Park to see if we could find any moose.  We didn't find any, but I thought this tree was pretty neat with all its snow.

This is Westchester Lagoon, with one of a few maintained outdoor ice skating rinks in town.  Just another free activity around here! Can't beat the mountain view in the distance, either. :)

'Til next time...