Where in the World Am I?
Fairbanks, Alaska seems very different from the town I left just yesterday. Can you think of some of the differences I am experiencing? Have you studied about latitude yet? Millsboro, Delaware is at 38 degrees North and Fairbanks, Alaska is at 64 degrees North. See if you can find them on a map. Their distance north of the equator gives each location some very different characteristics.
Yikes! It's cold. Temperature is O degrees.
Fairbanks is beautiful and cold this morning with a steady snow falling from nimbostratus clouds. The residents of Fairbanks say that they don't get that much snow here, but they are predicted to get 7-10 inches today. Even the snow is different from what I am used to in Delaware! In Delaware, the snow is very moist, feels heavy to shovel and packs into snowballs really well. Here in Fairbanks, the snow is a light powder and crunches like styrofoam under your feet. It is difficult to pack it into snowballs.
It was really snowing at some points today. I believe that our total for the last couple of days ended up at 18 inches.
This morning I met all the PolarTREC teachers and staff. What a group! These are some of the most interesting people I have ever met. Everyone has such unique stories and life experiences. Everyone is also very friendly and very hard working. I can't wait for what this experience holds for us. Some of these projects are just incredible!
For lunch today, I enjoyed a local delicacy, reindeer stew. It was delicious!
This was a yummy lunch of reindeer soup!
One of the differences I noticed between Fairbanks and Millsboro has to do with the extreme cold. In fact, it gets so cold here that people have to worry about objects they leave outside. Which brings me to today's mystery photo. Can you guess what this is? (The answer will appear in tomorrow's journal.)
What is this? Any guesses?
Today was a great day! I can't wait for tomorrow and a chance to get outside.
Mike