Don't Eat Yellow Snow

Well color me delighted.

A couple days after my last post, in which I griped about the lack of white falling from the sky, we got the first major snow of the season! Equipped with the Subaru and its new snow tires, a few warm layers, hat and gloves, I have been loving every second of it. I spent my childhood hoping for an epic snowstorm, the kind that would hang around for days, stopping transportation and keeping me home from school. Needless to say, it never came to New Mexico. So, all grown up, I sought out a location where I would get a heavy dose of the white stuff every winter. What better destination than Alaska, where people live in igloos and dog-sled to work (or so 6 year old me thought)? The reality is a bit different, but just last night my neighbor spoke of 8 ft tall mounds of snow left over from snowplows in her front yard last year. And people actually ice skate on frozen ponds here. On PONDS!

It's a fascinating new world, this snowy one. I had never even HELD a snow shovel until a few days ago, when Steph and I attempted to snow shovel our driveway, long after our neighbors had cleared theirs with snow plows and snow blowers and the snow shoveling skills we can only hope to one day posses. But, still, I loved it.
I creep down the snow packed streets around town, hands at 10 and 2, knuckles white. My concentration is as intense as my fear of sliding off the road and in to a snowy ditch is. I really, really don't want to get into an accident this winter. Despite this, I love the snow!








Downtown Juneau two days ago.


A beautiful Raven by the docks downtown


The tides really do fluctuate THAT MUCH!




Here is the new house, decorated, snowy, and a christmas tree in the window!


And looking down the street.. a winter wonderland!

On Thanksgiving, we started the day off with a short hike by Mendenhall lake. There wasn't too much snow, and the trail was mostly slush and ice. It was quiet and beautiful, and I felt thankful for living in such a stunning land.


The frozen lake


Weird chunks of ice






A fog was beginning to settle in the valley as we returned to the car

For dinner we made vegetarian tostadas, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and cranberry sauce. My sister was disgusted when she heard what was on our menu, but we loved it! We debated cooking a turkey, but resorted to tostadas for one reason or another!

Before the most recent dumping of snow, last weekend, we went out to the rainforest trail on Douglas island. We wore spikes on the bottoms of our xtra tufs and crunched along the trail with Forrest in tow.








Adventure pup!












Frozen waterfall on Douglas