Friday, February 25, 2011

Closed for Business

What, you may wonder, does it take to shut down an Alaskan town, particularly one that is used to inclement (understatement) weather? This morning, the local radio station had a laundry list of closures to report: school district (all schools and district office personnel (usually they make admins come in, but it is that serious), North Slope Borough offices, courthouse, ASRC, UIC, hospital (only open for emergencies)...basically all services are closed. I do know some of my friends in the lower 48 are also experiencing school closures as I'm still on the notification lists for closures. BUT their towns are probably still open for business! Or not...

We did have an experience with canceled flights as we were in Anchorage last week and couldn't get home on our first try on Wed. night. That left us booked on the early morning flight from Anchorage...the classic milk run that leaves at 6:00 a.m. (OMG!...we got up at 3:30 a.m.).

Fortunately, this is Alaska and our airports do have their priorities straight...Starbucks was OPEN (have you ever been to SEATAC at that hour? Last time I had that pleasure EVERYTHING was closed). Anyway, the flight stops in Fairbanks, and Prudhoe Bay before arriving in Barrow (weather permitting). It's a 5 hour plane ride. That was the second to last flight into Barrow for awhile, so we're glad we made it.
It's so nasty, I am reluctant to go outside, but I did take this video from our window just so you could experience the "Blizzard of 2011" with me. The house doesn't disappear forever, but we are having some challenges seeing across the street today.The wind is HOWLING, the snow is BLOWING, the snow is SNOWING! No planes are coming in, so I'd be surprised if the post office is open. Really, why bother, no mail.


Undaunted, the doggies still think we should go outside and play. As they are the apples of my eye, I relented. Actually, I was curious. I wanted to see just how nasty it was. Apart from the occasional dog being blown sideways during ball retrieval it wasn't too bad. It really isn't too cold out, just blowing hard. Also, this gives you a good view of the 25+ Pepsi and Coke machines that live in the backyard. A few more blizzards and they will be totally covered (this could only make me pray for more blizzards)!
Raven finishes with her usual "mask" of snow. It still cracks me up so I have to include it whenever I can. I did experience a little difficulty getting back to the house. Seriously...I had trouble making my way through the wind. I would have taken a picture, but wasn't inclined to lose the camera in the gusts.

The only thing that is open today is the Anderegg Latte stand. So, enjoy the tales of "the great Barrow Blizzard" while I go sip my freshly steamed latte and sit by the fire.

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