Want to Talk About the Weather?

Supposed to get down to 5 tonight. And it's only November 4th. Machupichu that's cold! So, I wear a hat when I go outside. And gloves. And a scarf. And I'm considering getting myself a face mask. Luckily, Anchorage is just as pretty cold as it is warm. This first picture is the view from the rooftop of a parking garage where I parked for a meeting the other day. The cloudy vapor that you see below the mountain range is actually "ice fog," which is really fun to scrape off the windshield in the morning, esp. when it's 5 degrees outside.

Finally managed to spend some time in the office today and whipped out the camera for a few pictures. This second picture is of a mountain called "Sleeping Lady," which is west of Anchorage across the Cook Inlet. According to the locals, the mountain is called Sleeping Lady because it resembles a lady reposing (her head is on the far left, with her hair coming down the side of the mountain). It's hard to tell in this picture, but the name is quite fitting.

As the sun went down, it lit up the Aleutian mountain range (at least, I think it's the Aleutian mountain range) for a lovely view. Mind you, I took this picture around 4:30 or so. It is nice to have a west-facing office and be warmed by the afternoon sun, esp. when it's 5 degrees outside (have I mentioned that?).

One last picture - the view as I walked out to the car this evening. Note the cute little Honda CRV in the background on the right (the one with the Maryland plates) and the complete lack of any motor vehicle that isn't a 4x4. Although my scientific survey of Anchoragers came up with conflicting results on the necessity of studded snow tires, all of the locals agreed that an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive is a must for winter driving in Anchorage. I haven't made up my mind yet on the whole studded tire thing, but a remote starter and engine block heater are looking more and more likely...