11:23 PM
| Sunrise at | 7:43 AM | in direction | 102° | East-southeast |  |
| Sunset at | 6:22 PM | in direction | 259° | West-southwest |  |
If you have been following SPKennel's Blog, you have read Micky's account of their planned flight out to Rainy Pass that was diverted due to a winter storm over the Alaska Range. Yesterday was a glorious day - warm, sunny, the volcanos were visible down the inlet, Sleeping Lady basked in the sunlight, and Denali periodically lifted her skirts to better dance across the horizon.
Today I awoke to grey, grey, grey. Snow began to fall early in the day, but I didn't take it too seriously. Snow had been falling off and on since we'd arrived in Anchorage. By the time we got to Houston, it was clear the snow we had been experiencing was not a passing event. By the time I got to Talkeetna where we stopped for lunch with my son, I was worried about crossing Broad Pass. He gave me a few warnings about where the iciest sections would be and told me to look for a weather cam of the pass .. and that by the time we got to Cantwell, the roads would be clear as always for the rest of the way. He got the first part right.
We had blowing snow all the way up to the summit of Broad Pass. As we approached cars ahead of us, we would not see much indication that they'd passed on the road all that long ago. Then suddenly, we would see them ahead. They looked clear until you got in range to pass and then our car would be engulfed in snow kicked up from their moving vehicles. Coming upon three driving close together, I was forced to pass each car in order to get out and away from the blowing snow. They were moving more slowly and wondered why the second two were willing to travel in the snow wake of the first. At that point we still had over 200 miles to travel and I was trying to get to the Interior before dark where I was sure the weather would be better.
I passed one safely ahead of a curve, but then found myself not wanting to slip into position behind the others as I wasn't certain I wouldn't create a hazard for all of us. So I committed to pass and just completed it before a curve. Dumb, dumb, dumb. They were expecting me based on my headlights, though and had pulled far to the right and slowed down. I looked back and realized they were in tight caravan and I wouldn't have had any other choice, but pass them as a group - although I wished I'd remembered that stretch of road better and waited 1/2 a mile where the road was straight and clear.
Within 40 miles, we had crossed the summit of Broad Pass and as hoped for the roads improved dramatically. I was pleased that it was still early twilight thinking we might make it to Healy before dark. After passing Cantewell, it was windy, though, more windy than I'd experienced in a while. Snow eddies flowed across the road where it ran along the Nenana River, sometimes in enchanting curls and patterns when trees edged the roadway, other times in flat, straight, fast ribbons flowing perpendicular to the motion of the car.
As we passed Jeff King's home, I noticed the color of the sky behind the last ridge of the Alaska Range. The colors were dark green (almost black) in the lower elevations followed by total white above tree line. Then the white of snow capped peaks gave way to glistening grey. I thought to myself that the color was unusual and distinct .. and very, very beautiful juxtaposed with the mountains.
The wind blew hard across the bridge spanning the Nenana as we reached the last climb before descending into Healy and the Interior. As we drove into Healy, the car continued to be buffeted, but it appeared that the snow was lessening. I expected it to be dark soon, but was no longer concerned about headlights playing across snow.
Yet, that is exactly what I drove through for over 90 miles across the Interior. It was still not fully dark, although too dark to be considered Civil twilight so my eyes had not completely adjusted to night driving. So, if I put my headlights on low - which removed the reflection of blowing snow, I did not have enough distance in my lights to travel faster than 45 mph. If I put them on high beam, I could travel more comfortably, but needed to ignore near field snow flakes as they careened into the car. I negotiated the flats between the Nenana Bridge and Nenana by focusing on any thing that reflected the headlights in the distance. Still as I climbed one curve, a truck suddenly came into view. His headlights were not a problem, but the snow dust he kicked up in his wake was and I had to brake to be sure I did not go off the road way.
When we reached Nenana, I stopped to text my daughter (without driving) and when I got back on the road, fell in behind a truck pulling a trailer home. I could not see the road and repeatedly had to pull back to be able to find the road. Each time I'd see an oncoming car's headlight, I'd rejoice because during that time, the oncoming lane was clearly reflected. At one point, I wandered too far to the left and had to carefully move to the right since that edge had not been well defined. We came to the first long climb up out of the flats that puts the road on a ridge above the winding bogs and waterways of the Tanana River. I waited for the sign indicating the truck lane was ahead because I knew I would have a passing lane. But when we reached it, I was not comfortable increasing speed to the point that I could pass the truck/trailer easily. Fortunately, near the very end of this long climb it became more steep the vehicles slowed and far enough to the right I could pass without fear.
I passed two other cars on the ridge, and I did so while driving the rollicking speed of 45 mph. But, eventually, and mercifully, we were on the long descent from the ridge into Ester. Welcome orange street lights met us and once in the city of Fairbanks, the storm apparently lessened. Driving into our driveway, though, I felt the car slipping over to the right berm resulting from by my son-in-law's last ploughing. When I guided the car to the left of the tree circle so we could approach the garage we slid over a ridge in the driveway. It had snowed several inches since we left last Thursday.
I am grateful this Alaskan adventure that ended well.
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