Monthly Archives: December 2021

Coho Ho!

Artwork by Ray Troll

I hope all of you are having a great Holiday Season. Merry Christmas! Best wishes for 2022.


Happy Winter Solstice

Path of the sun, Nome, Alaska December 21, no year given


Short Days

Film Friday:

The view from The Hill; University of Alaska – Fairbanks campus

Camera: Leica M3; Film: Kodak 35mm, T-Max 100


Inverting the temp

Map credit: NWS-Fairbanks, @alaskawx

One of the many quirks of Fairbanks is the temperature inversions that takes place in the Tanana Valley and the surrounding hills. The temperature difference, as the map shows, can be quite substantial. Those living up in the hills, will leave relatively moderate temps, and drive down into increasingly chilling temps and the growing murk of ice fog.

It was -36F at the cabin on Monday morning, which does add to the motivation to return to life in the hills. But the firewood bin is full, the stack robber cleaned and throwing out heat of its own, and overall, life is just fine.


“Sled Team”

Oil on Board by Theodore Lambert; Circa 1944

Theodore Lambert was a musher, freight hauler and miner in Alaska, as well as one of our premier artists. His knowledge of the outdoor life in Alaska comes through in his paintings. Lambert, disappeared without a trace, from his remote cabin in the Bristol Bay area in 1960.


Quick Turnaround

Graph credit: NWS-Fairbanks

The low was -37F in Fairbanks on Saturday morning. By 10am on Monday, the temperature had risen to +25F. An increase of 62 degrees. Consider: It would be the same swing as going from 32F to 94F.

The 25F degrees was the warmest we have been since November 7.

It felt pretty nice.


Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Late October, 1941

Saber-toothed

Artwork by Ray Troll


Even by Fairbanks standards…

… This could be bad:

Don’t forget to plug in your vehicle…

The Pupmobile

A dog team pulling a pupmobile on the Seward Peninsula; Library of Congress

Mostly used out of Nome on the Seward Peninsula, the pupmobile, was a small railroad car that was pulled by a team of dogs. It was common practice in the first 2-3 decades of the 1900’s, as most of the railroad tracks had been abandoned, and sled dogs were the main mode of transportation.