House feels cozy, temps will rise to -28

With unseasonably warm weather bathing York County in flower-blooming temperatures, I checked Sunday's paper from up north, the Fairbanks, Alaska, News-Miner. It's so cold up there that on Wednesday, the high temperature will only be -17F.

The next time you whine about living more than a block away from a Rutter's Farm Store or temperatures dipping into the 20s, re-read this story.

Fairbanks, the Golden Heart City, is a little smaller than York city-- without York's suburbs.  It's a wonderful place to visit and loaded with history, but as much as I enjoy winter, I've lived too long in warm weather to enjoy winter in Fairbanks. Fairbanks in summer, however, is magical.

For more reading about life in rural Alaska, check "In The Bush", a colorful column about dogs, weather, snowmobiles, moose ribs and using snow for insulation.

The full column about some  recent chilly temperatures can be found here, but here are some excerpts.



"I don’t mind a good cold snap. With the wood furnace burning downstairs and a big pot of moose ribs simmering on the cook stove on the main floor, the house feels cozy. Old Clarence has joined the two house dogs, snoozing on the rug during the day and sneaking onto the sofa at night.

One thermometer outside reads 58 degrees below zero. The other one reads 59 below. The official reading at the airstrip is -43, but that is in Celsius (-46 Fahrenheit) and, being higher on a hill, gains a little elevation in temperature.

I’ll break trail to the tent in the morning and return here by nightfall tomorrow, I decide, if the weather is warmer than 35 below.

Two days later, temperatures rise to -28, and the forecast sounds more promising."


Trappers and lifelong Bush residents Miki and Julie Collins have written three books, which are available at Gulliver’s Books in Fairbanks.