Spring is trying hard to come to Interior Alaska!
In late April we had two 4-inch snowstorms and temperatures ranging from –5 degrees F to 50 degrees F. In the warmer periods, great slabs of snow came crashing off roofs, frightening humans and dogs alike. Surface melt water pooled in low spots where deeper ice had not quite melted. Sometimes these temporary lakes were iced over and sometimes they were bogs. Spring was teasing us!
Today it is in the mid 50’s and the sun is shining. The snow is almost gone and we begin to see tufts of green here and there. Mud (the kind that sucks off your boots) will be a perpetual hazard for the next few weeks. We expect the first ‘bird-sized’ mosquitoes soon.
But, hooray! the sun is rising before 5 AM and setting at 10:30 PM. It’s time to think about planting gardens, canoeing our rivers and playing golf at 10 PM.
The annual SP Kennel Adventure Tours to ANWR and the North Slope (see post of March 28, 2008) were spectacularly successful for all involved – tourists, tour guides and dogs. They are now a memory. The winter was long, the training was hard and the races were well run.
Aliy and Allen are now enjoying a spring vacation in Mexico. They spend 5 days fishing in secluded mountain lakes and 6 days lazing and golfing on the beach beside the Gulf of California.
Meanwhile, the dogs are enjoying long days sprawled in the sun, playing with each other in the dog yard and greeting the visitors who arrive pretty much non stop during the spring and summer.
Are any of you planning a trip to the Fairbanks area this year? Let us know. A tour of SP Kennel should be on your itinerary.
What’s summer like there?