On Friday afternoon, while catching up the blog, I glanced out the window and saw a killer whale go by. We see them now and then, and have come to expect them in early February as a rule, but this time they weren’t way out in Lynn Canal, or over against the mountains on the far shore, they were practically in the dooryard!
A young male killer whale cruises in toward our veranda rocks (Photo: Aly Zeiger).
As I indicated yesterday, I’m back on the homestead after driving back from Fairbanks with my sister-in-law. Although I’d been a bit apprehensive about certain details of the trip, such as learning at the last minute that their big, hurkin’ 4-Runner is not, in fact, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, but a rear-drive, I figured we’d be okay. After all, she’d been driving the car around Fairbanks for more than two winters.
The roads were quite clear most of the way. Where they weren’t, traction remained good. The little trailer we towed turned out to be light and highly aerodynamic. The temperatures were high for the region, about mid-range of our recent low temperatures in Haines. I never wore the long johns I took along. I didn’t even use my heavier gloves. In fact, the moment I felt coldest on the entire trip came when Michelle, Aly and I, reunited, hiked through a heavy, sideways rain across the bay. It was probably about 40°, but we got drenched. Continue reading
