We went over 8 hours of daylight today. I’m sure that isn’t worth noting in the Lower 48, but in Interior Alaska it is worthy of a celebration. The fact that temps have been in the 20’s of late, only adds to the spring fever currently in the air.

I’ve heard, “Winter is almost over” a few times over the past couple of days, and the words chilled my bones. “What are you trying to do… curse us?” I asked in dismay. March is generally a beautiful month up here. The days are longer, the temps are usually higher, the aurora lights up our skies, and there are so many activities around town to get lost in.

With all that said, after a long northern winter, few things are harder on one’s mental state than a mean streak of minus forty to minus fifty degree weather in March. I’ve been through it, and it’s a cruel twist of the dagger.