Sunday, I was whining about our sky-high home heating bill for January. It's just about the only thing I don't love about winter. But while scanning through some old photos, I found this one. It reminded me that York winters aren't that tough to handle.
Taken on a four-month trip around the country while working on a 16-part series for the Record called States Of Youth, this photo shows caribou along the Alaska Highway that could have created a traffic jam-- if there was any traffic.
While January in York was cold, temps were mild compared to that trip. And although the Alaska Highway is now mostly a good paved road, winter presented unique obstacles-- and threats. To keep out of deep snow, animals used the highway as a path. On this entirely snow-covered road, I'd be buzzing around a curve and meet this--a herd of caribou. It made for some interesting emergency driving manuevers. When I finally slid to a stop, they just stood there and glared at me.
Temperatures started at -40 and climbed all the way up to -10, making driving with less than a half tank of gas dangerous. Slide off this road, and you'd need to keep warm until someone else showed up. That could be hours (or seasons?), depending on location. A few times, logging trucks forced me to the side of the road, and once into a ditch.
One of these days, I'll visit Alaska again in winter. It's starkly beautiful; it's absent of gawking tourists and clunky motor homes; it's cold; its people are extraordinarily kind. On the other hand, the long, dark arctic night smothers you like a dense black cloud and you pray for home and friends. At least, that's how it affected me. when you live there, it's called seasonal affective disorder. Tourists call it spooky.
Apparently, that's not something you get used to overnight. But next time, it won't be a solo trip, and that might make all the difference.
Winter isn't just a season in Alaska. It's a lifestyle. Someone once said that we can get used to anything but the stone in our shoe. Do you think you could become accustomed to Alaska winters?
