Not so Typical

So it's February, and it's raining here in Anchorage! The snow has turned to dirty slush and everything is dripping and soggy. I now officially know what it feels like to live on top of a slushy.

It feels a little crazy, and it's definitely not what I expected for an "Alaskan" winter. I'm quickly learning, as in most things, there is not a typical "Alaskan" anything.

For one thing, the state is so damn big! From one end to the other the temperatures typically vary at least 40 degrees.

For another thing, Anchorage and many of the coastal areas have just incredibly variable climates. My science teacher co-worker informed me that there is no "typical" season in Anchorage. Rainy all one summer, sunny the next, there were two straight weeks of -15 temperatures last January, and for the past 3 or so weeks the highs have been above freezing. Go figure.

As I was slogging through the crazy snow mush on my way home today, I felt like I could use a good dose of summer about now. Here's a slide show of the highlights of our summer adventures (most of which didn't get blogged--bad blogger!). Enjoy!


Here's a re-cap:
Matt's brother, Chris, came to visit and we went down to Whittier where we hiked and kayaked.

My parents came up and we went salmon fishing on the beautiful Kenai river, dad caught a silver!

Matt and I found a very cool hiking trail in our new favorite town, Girdwood, that crosses the Winner Creek on an hand cart. Yes, we made Jack ride across, he was none too happy about it too, but as always, a good sport!

Matt and I hiked up Flat Top Mountain, a local hike STRAIGHT up to stupendous views.