Termination Dust



View of Termination Dust from my office window



Today I saw Termination Dust for the first time. Termination Dust is the first snow on the mountain tops. It signals the termination of summer...which I think terminated a LONG time ago here...but it also signals that you need to wrap up any activities that you had planned before winter arrives. This used to be the signal to farmers to get ready for winter and in the 40's during the building boom, it meant the termination of summer construction jobs. Now it just means the first snow storm is around the corner.

I also experienced my first power outage in Alaska - - thank GOD the temperature is only in the 40's, otherwise my hotel room would have gotten really cold. The winds last night were between 80 and 100 mph. Because Anchorage has a level of permafrost, tree roots don't go very deep. With all the rain we've been having, everything is a bit soggy so when the winds came, trees went down all over town and the city experienced a power outage. These types of winds are normal for Anchorage...they just usually happen in winter when everything is frozen so that trees don't come down.