Eagles are flying again

These pictures show the conditions of Gastineau Channel the last few days. Normally, at low tide, the eagles, ravens, crows go down and eat whatever is exposed. With this ice on the ground at low tide, not a lot of food.
Today the eagles are at the Channel again. They are flying back and forth and the ice is disappearing quickly. We have 36 degrees today so that alone must be making the birds more comfortable.
The Eagle picture is by a mall during the 20 degree weather. They go for higher perches on warmer days.

Icicles

I went in to a shop downtown to get a cup of coffee. When I was walking to the truck I saw the icicle on the ground. I looked up and saw some huge icicles. I took these pictures.

As I walked away, I thought, I could have been stabbed by an icicle while walking in downtown Juneau. It had fallen just after I walked by after all. The investigating officer would have gotten a laugh. How would that look on a tombstone: Stabbed by an icicle.

8 inches of new snow

We had two feet of snow Thursday night and 4 inches yesterday, then we had 6 inches last night and a couple of inches today. They keep downtown Juneau (as well as main roads) plowed very well. These pictures of downtown about noon.

I did make it up to the ski area and made one run. I still feel like someone just starting out with snow boarding, but I will try again tomorow. I did not even use chains going up to the ski area. They do a great job of plowing. So many people have plows on their rigs, everyone plows.

7:50 AM and dark

It is pitch black outside. Maybe we have heavy clouds.

Snow Day! 2 feet of snow

We got two feet of snow through the night and we could get up to another foot today.

School cancelled! They never cancel school here! A neighbor and I shoveled 2 feet of powder snow. Who needs the gym when you have lots of snow. I got to sleep in an hour.

Snowing - 24 inches?

It is snowing like crazy outside this evening. There is a storm advisory saying that we will get at least a foot but more likely 18 - 24 inches of snow. The past two days the crews have been working like crazy to move the big piles of snow around town. With this new batch of snow they feel they need the space to make new big piles of snow. Bad News: They are talking about rain possible for Monday - that would be ugly.

The pictures are of my school's playground after it had been tramped down for two days.
It warmed up to 10 degrees and it was noticeably warmer. My sister in Western Washington State has been warned to expect flooding in her neighborhood. Yikes.

My School

This week has been interesting. We have had lots of snow for kids to walk on to pack down and that is almost complete. The kids are even cross country skiing. One class after another are putting on skis and moving about on the skis. Even little first graders are skiing. We have a trail that goes up into the forest. It was 5 degrees today but no wind. The concrete outside the gym door buckled up in the cold so the door is left open during the day. My room is next to the gym so my room is COLD. I need long johns tomorrow.

It was super sunny today - but very cold, straight sunshine. I wish I was able to get out and take a picture today, the mountain tops were shimmering in the sun. So beautiful today.

Frozen Downtown Juneau

Here is downtown Juneau - the historical part that people see as soon as they get off the Cruise Ships. It has snow. This area gets about 1/2 of the amount of snow that I get where I live, about 3 miles away. I am very impressed with how they shovel and plow consistantly during snow storms. Speaking of storms, it is 10 degrees and clear skies. We are supposed to get 30+ MPH winds. Friday, we are supposed to get another foot of snow. I got out of school today and saw a wonderful clear dark sky with the moon in it - beautiful!

4 feet of snow on the playground

Today we had 4 feet of snow on the playground. The kids walked through the snow making trails. The snow was higher than the swings, so the kids dug the swings out. The kids went down the slides straight into snow. It was interesting to watch. As the day wore on, the snow got tramped down. The temperature has been about 15 degrees so the snow is powder and easy to walk through.

I did not have a camera so you get to see pictures in my neighborhood.

Skied to Mendenhall Glacier!

A GREAT DAY! The weather was 20 degrees +, no wind and up to a foot of new powder snow. I had to decide if I wanted to hit the slopes or cross country into Mendenhall Glacier. I figured Mendenhall Lake would be totally frozen and I was right. I just brought my cross country skis back yesterday. I went for the Cross Country trip. I knew I would have to put chains on to get to the Ski Slopes too.
It was so wonderful!!!!!! I skiied into Mendenhall and touched ice which is 200 years old! How amazing is that! Kallen: I think I finally figured out why I like to work. It is allowing me great opportunities to do the outdoors stuff which I thrive on.
I have loads of pictures of skiing through the woods, on the lake and of the glacier.
My truck, with a broken back window, drove like a champ - didn't chain up. Hooray!
Back to work tomorrow. What a great way to end a vacation. (Skied had one i but it looks wrong to me.) I feel like a competent cross country skier but I do like learning snowboarding- Thank you Ashley for insisting that I learn it. I am going to be sore tomorrow or Tues. My body is saying, "What did you do?" already.

Overbooked and bumpy ride!/ Juneau snow

I am back in Juneau. In Seattle, they were begging for people to stay back because they were overbooked. I was first on the list. The plane was overweight and they could not fill all seats. They loaded the plane and just before they closed it up, they told me to get on the plane - so I am back in Juneau. There were at least 8 people who were begging for a seat.

We flew into KetchiKan and we got bumped around and did a hard landing. It was snowing like crazy. They unloaded and we deiced and waited for the weather to break. Finally, and hour later, the pilot started the engines and drove it to the runway. They double de-iced it and we got on the runway and he gunned it. We got a shake, rattle and roll ride out of KetchiKan. It was bumpy and a hard landing going into Juneau too. But I am back in Juneau and it is super snowy.
Pictures are of my neighborhood. The green pickup is mine and it had the rear window broken out when I was gone. Nothing was taken - just smashed.

Vacation ending

I fly out tomorrow and head back to Juneau. I grabbed my cross country skis and hope to be skiing into Mendenhall Glacier on Sunday (or Snowboard.) We got a couple inches of snow last night in Portland, OR. We also got 3 inches of rain the last 24 hours which means we have Rivers and streams running high. I had a very lazy vacation because of the monster snow storm. Last year at this time, we had so much rain that a whole town was covered with 5 and 6 feet of water.

I feel refreshed and ready to get back to teaching. Time sure flies.

The pictures are of Mendenhall Glacier before the new snow and the lake fully iced over. My plan is to cross country ski on Mendenhall Lake to the Glacier.

Happy New Year! Rain in Portland.

It is raining hard in Portland. They are talking about rivers flooding. The worst flooding happens if it rains up in the mountains.

House Boat: I used to think that it might be kind of neat to live in one. You know it is a bad day when your house is partially submerged!

Wish all a happy New Year!

Portland Pictures

Portland has a basketball court in a volcano, the only one in the US. Portland has the Willamette River going through it and many bridges on it.

Portland vs Boston

I was given two tickets to a basketball game yesterday. I was able to take my Grandson to see Portland play Boston. It was a good game and Portland won during the last minute. The Celtics were the world champs last year so it is a big deal. A daughter and her fiance were also at the game so that was kind of neat.

Wolf at Mendenhall?

A wolf at Mendenhall Glacier? Yes! For the past 6 winters a lone wolf hangs around Mendenhall Glacier. I just read about him and he is back evidently. He will go up to animals and people and wants to play. The article says he as never been dangerous but to keep pets on a leash. I will be back in Juneau next week and will check it out.

One Year Ago

A year ago, I was packing for Bush Alaska. I flew into a village in Jan 2008 and got out of an airplane in minus 25 degree weather. I was scared shitless when I stepped out of the airplane - what the hell did I get myself into? I was on the Yukon River by the Bering Sea. I was 8 miles up from the Sea. The Yukon in Jan had 3 Feet of ice and snow when I flew in. I settled in, taught and time flew by. I goofed off in the summer and decided to go to Juneau this year. I am now on vacation in Portland, OR. I will put a picture of the Columbia River on this later. The Columbia is comparable to the Yukon in size BUT THE YUKON WAS FROZEN SOLID from October to May.

The year 2008 produced new experiences for me. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to bounce around as I am presently doing. The best news of 2008 is Obama will be President. GW needs to go back to Texas! The country would have benefited had GW been in Texas the past 8 years.

Super Snow in Juneau!

I got a call from Juneau and it has been getting massive snow. There are avalanches around Juneau. They wanted to know where my truck keys are because they need to clear the road it is parked on. I guess there has been feet of snow and more snow is expected!

It is raining in Portland, OR.
The picture is of Multnomah Falls, OR.

Bridge of the Gods picts

Bridge of the Gods, Celilo Falls

Before Pictures, I have to explain the history:

The Natives tell of the time that a rock bridge went over the Columbia River where the present Bridge of the God is. The Indians say their ancestors could walk over the rock bridge from what is now Oregon to Washington State. This was a sacred place for fishing. Beneath the Rock Bridge was Celilo Falls, which was a series of rock croppings that the water fell down. Imagine hundreds of waterfalls over an enormous area which the entire big river had to go down. This caused a constant mist/fog. The salmon would swim up the waterfalls, rest and then swim higher in the mist. The Indians would catch salmon here. Seven different tribes used this as their fishing hole. They would find a place to sit and catch salmon for themselves and their tribe. The Bridge of the Gods now rests where all of this took place.

Present Day: Celilo Falls is gone: An Electrical Dam was put in and Celilo Falls was covered up. The original Bridge of the Gods made of rock is lore, told from generation to generation. The Indians still fish here. They are allowed to use dip nets on this stretch of water.

I had to hike in to get the pictures. Usually you drive but there was too much snow for my little car.

More Gorge Pictures

I went back to the Columbia Gorge and took a few more pictures. The early traffic was fine and the road was white with snow. Coming back, with warm weather, the roads were slush and bounced me around a lot. It was a bit sunnier today, so I am hoping the pictures will come out lighter. This is Multnomah Falls. I also went to Bridge of the Gods - pictures later. You can see the green from the trees and moss too. A little color and the lighting seems to be a bit better.

Christmas in the Gorge

These pictures are Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. When it gets snowy and below freezing, I like to get out there and take pictures. It is spectacular normally but even moreso with snow and ice. I had white roads the whole way and we had a constant snow, so the pictures seem kind of dark.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, health and happiness to you!

This picture is of the Community Tree in Douglas, Alaska.

Merry Christmas Eve!

I hope all have a wonderful Christmas Eve! I am snowed in here in Portland, OR. We have a white Christmas and then some. I made it up the hill to my daughters house and they have over 2 feet of snow! I have a bit over a foot of snow where I am. I have never seen this kind of snow before in Portland.

At 7:30 AM, it was not snowing. I thought, I will drive out up the Columbia Gorge and take pictures of Multnomah Falls, which must be frozen (very rare sight.) Change of Plans: IT IS 8 AM and snowing like crazy so I will watch the snow fall.

Wishing you the best this Christmas Eve Day.

The picture is of the Alaska Governors mansion in Juneau, AK.

Foot of snow, bigger drifts

Weird: Portland, OR and a solid foot of snow with drifts of 3 and 4 feet. I dug out the car with chains and immediately drove into a drift - so I parked it for the day.
I see a fellow up the street who wants to drive but got stuck in a drift. The snow is powder - so it is easy to shovel.
This is suppose to continue through the week. People have been stuck at the airport for 2 days. Hope things are better where you are. I have not been up to see my Grandkids because I could not make it up the hill. The White Sentra is the car we took to the mountains (daughter's car). My car stays in the garage with snow, I do not want to put chains on it unless I have no other alternative.

UPDATE: SNOW RECORD IN PORTLAND, OR SET TODAY!!! 14 inches is a record and still snowing.