When Shawn and I went back home we were trying to explain what life is like here and some of the things we described were outrageous to people. For example;
*You must plug in your vehicle at 0 degrees or below..if you don't and you try to start it the next morning you may end up cracking your engine block.
*It gets below -40 here. The lowest I have seen is today at -47 however this winter is worse than last and I imagine I might see even further below temperatures. My tattoo artist has seen -65.
* If you are not careful you can get frostbite in seconds in the right conditions.
* Getting into a car wreck on I-4 is terrifying. Getting into a car wreck with a moose and you have a 95% fatality rate. Because moose are so tall you normally hit them in the knees causing them to fall into, literally into, your car. It's a 2500 pound animal, as my mom would say..."big wins."
*When I was driving Shawn's truck to and from work fishtailing and sliding were everyday life. In fact when my best fried Lacy visited I told her while we were driving to Wal-mart that; If we start sliding 1) You cannot scream. 2) You cannot grab me. 3) Grab on to the handle and ride it out. Now I have my little AWD Element EX and I no longer have that problem. :D
Something else that I learned on our trip is something that even I didn't know until I was in that situation.
Everyone asks you how long you're there for and when you go back to Alaska/Afghanistan. Now I realize that the people asking are only curious but please the next time you have military personnel and/or their family visiting please don't ask how long it is until we're separated again. I know that's not how you meant it but there is always a mental countdown as the sun sets on another day but being asked about it 3-5 times a day was like a constant reminder and every person who goes on leave will tell you that its a time to receive a temporary release from thinking about being a part from their loved ones and/or going back to a war zone. If you would like to know when we go back ask our parents.
Anyway life in Alaska today is very, very cold. It's actually the first day I've put on my heat. (The downstairs tenants have their heat on and heat rises. :) And there is frost/ice on the inside of my windows. When its this cold you shouldn't wear cotton as an underlayer because if you sweat and then go outside it can freeze to you and cause frostbite. You should also have everything covered...including the majority of your face.These temperatures, along with clear skies, are great for seeing the aurora. Apparently, and I could be wrong on the reason, but with the lower temperatures of late there has also been quite the increase in moose vs. car/train accidents. When it goes below -45 the schools close. It's -50 at Denali National Park today and the visiting center has been closed.
I guess that's all the fun facts I have for today. Now its time to turn up the music and start cleaning my house.
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