I'm not sure why, but the volcano gods that are controlling Mt. Redoubt are smiling down on me. My flight out of Barrow into Anchorage went smoothly as planned. I called my cousin Francie from the baggage claim and she came to the airport to pick me up. I waited outside for her enjoying the "Balmy" -1°C (29°F). I tried making snowballs with the newly fallen snow, but it was still too dry.
Betsy Wilkening waiting in the Barrow Airport on first leg of the journey home.
The town of Barrow, AK from the airplane.
After a quick sandwich of smoked salmon (caught and canned by Francie and Jim Pekar), we loaded up the truck with sleds and dogs and headed out to a local course. Francie hooked up 6 of her 7 dogs and two sleds in series behind them. She gave me some quick instructions and we were off on the 3 mile course. As we were on the course she gave me cues as to where to slow down on the turns. We had to stop at one point when a giant tree branch got caught up in my sled, but I eventually liberated it. As we rounded one of the corners the smell of the evergreen trees filled up my senses. There are no trees in Barrow, and no vegetation smells this time of year. It was much trickier riding the sled through the winding tree-lined path than across the frozen tundra in Barrow. It was also a smoother ride on the new snow than the hard packed snow of the tundra.
As we were putting away the gear and the dogs back at the house, Francie noticed a young moose nibbling on one of the trees on the other side of the dog kennel. She said it was ok to get a picture of him as long as there was a fence between us. At this time of year they are very nitrogen deprived in their food cycle and can become aggressive.
A young moose helping himself to a bite to eat outside dog kennel at Francie Pekar's house.
At the end of the evening we melted snow to acquire the ash from Mt. Redoubt for my students. There was a big ashfall in the Anchorage area on Saturday 3/28. Much of it was covered under a fresh snowfall. As soon as the sun starts shining more, a lot of the snow will begin melting in the Anchorage area. The darker snow color will increase the melt rate since there will be a reduced albedo effect. The albedo effect is where the sun's energy is reflected off of the white snow back into the atmosphere, rather than being absorbed by the snow. It was one of the measurements that Holly Reay and James France performed out in their snow pits around Barrow everyday.
Mt Redoubt Ash on top of the snow in Anchorage, AK.
The alarm went off at 4 AM Saturday morning for the second portion of my journey home. As the pilot reached our cruising altitude shortly after 6:30 AM, he announced that volcano had just erupted again. (So much for a code Orange compared to a code Red.) There was a cheer that erupted on the plane as the travelers knew that we got lucky in leaving Anchorage.
Betsy Wilkening by saguaro cactus outside Tucson Airport
The remainder of my travel day was uneventful. It was great seeing all of my family again. They were a little unhappy with me when I suggested that we eat outside at a favorite Mexican restaurant. It was too cold for them with the wind blowing and the temperature only around 18°C (65°F).
Strawberry Hedgehog cactus in bloom in my front yard in Tucson, AZ
Cholla cactus in bloom in my front yard in Tucson, AZ
I took a much needed day off of school on Monday April 6th. I took my dog for a run and enjoyed seeing the mountains, cactus in bloom, quail, cottontail rabbits, and hawks. My first day back at school on Tuesday April 7th was frantic with a shortened day and standardized testing occurring. There was a beautiful sunset to cap the day off on a very warm day.
Sunset from my front yard in Tucson, AZ.
Sunset from my front yard in Tucson, AZ.