Traveling to Anchorage for Break

Friday afternoon sunset...at 3:52pm.  The sun finally came over the mountains at noon.

On Friday evening, Katie and I had a sleepover at my house since Nathan was in Anchorage already.  We made pizza and apple-pear sauce.  We watched "The Painted Veil" and then stayed up talking until after midnight.  The next morning we both woke up before our alarms (at 6:30am) and then got ready for our trip.  She went back to her house to finish packing and I finished packing and got the cats ready for the week.  At about 8:15am I went to Katie's house and we had grapefruit and omelets for breakfast.  At 10:40, Carolyn came and picked us up in the Suburban and drove us out to the airstrip where our plane was waiting.  Then we took off and headed to Unalakleet.

The view from the plane on the way to Unalakleet as the sun comes up (11am).

 We spent about three hours in Unalakleet.  It was very windy but we braved the wind and walked around before our Pen Air flight left.

Unalakleet layover walk.  

The five-plex where Ellen and I stayed on the way to St. Michael in August.  The windows under the snow drift are where we slept.

Ice that had been pushed up on the beach during the "Snowicane".

 We left Unalakleet at 2pm and landed in Anchorage at 3:35pm on Saturday where Nathan was waiting.  Anchorage was under a winter storm warning with wind gusts to reach 100 mph We stopped by REI to buy snow pants for snow machining.  We also went to Tidal Wave Books (a used book store) that was next door.  After shopping we went to North Country Castle Bed and Breakfast where we are staying and brought in my luggage.  I changed out of my traveling clothes and we went over to the Hollands for dinner.  During dinner the power flickered off and on many times until it went out for good.  We lit candles and lanterns and continued dessert and conversation until 11:30pm.  There was no power at the bed and breakfast either.
The storm continued through the night and morning bring the temperature up into the forties.  This meant that is was now too warm for snow machining.