New Car

Pictures of the "replacement" vehicle...Mary did a great job researching the safest small SUV's on the market today. The choices were Subaru Forestter, Honda CR-V, and the Toyota Rav4.

We never got to the Toyota...the Honda CR-V met both Mary's safety requirements and my need for hauling "cargo." We are both happy.

Bruno waiting patiently in the Artic Room while I take pictures.

Black w/black interior

Beautiful Sky

I find that dusk is my favorite time of day. The white mountains against the super blue sky looks like a painting. These pictures were taken on Saturday with the full moon rising. Enjoy - Ginger

Mountians across the street from our house

Mt. Marathon (behind our house)

Positive vs. Negative

It's snowing again (negative?) but that means we have warmer temperatures (definitely a positive)

Have a great day what ever your weather is today.

A big hello to the science class at Standley Middle School!

They are using the links in the blog to stay up-to-date on the happenings of Mt. Redoubt.



Here are the links again:

Recent Earthquakes
Mt. Redoubt - current activity

AeroGarden

I got an Aero Garden for Christmas - in the front are two types of cherry tomatoes; in the back are Chives, Basil, and Dill.

The pot on the left is edilbe lavender I picked up last summer

Mt. Redoubt

This week brought us about a foot of snow which has again made for a winter wonderland. This morning we awoke to clear blue skies. There is a noticeable difference in the amount of daylight as it is currently 9:30am and the sun is up. On the other end of the day, darkness is not coming until around 5:15pm.

We are on volcano eruption watch at the moment. What we know is that the volcano, Mt. Redoubt, is going to blow we just don't know when. Mary and I went out yesterday to get some supplies such as NOAA approved face masks and goggles. Today will will stock up on fresh water, batteries, and extra dog food. I believe we have enough dry food to last the suggested 5-7 days. We also need to get trash bags out and ready to cover all of our electronics (TVs, computers, printers, etc)

If I am at school, the district has a plan to get all students and staff home within a 2 1/2 hour window (of course I will be the last to leave but I only live a mile from school). This time frame will allow every one to get home before any major ash fall. Mary is in Seward but her company will also be sending people home. I have included some links below on Mt. Redoubt and what is happening.

The earthquake we had last weekend was directly tied to Mt. Redoubt's activity. Alaska has a number of volcano that are still active (who knew).

Recent Earthquakes
Mt. Redoubt - current activity

• check out the map: top center to see where Mt. Redoubt is located
• check out the bottom right pictures titled Ash Trajectory Forecast this is what we are watching...where do they expect the ash to go based on current wind conditions

A Moment in Time...

You never know how precious life is until something bad happens...I was in a serious automobile accident Tuesday afternoon on my way to Soldotna for a work meeting the next day. The good news is that I was able to walk away without serious injury. The details are below...

The accident occurred between mile 38 and 39 on the Sterling Highway (4 miles from the Y) just before the Davis Creek Bridge heading towards Cooper Landing. I hit a patch of black ice and was unable to successfully correct the slide. The momentum carried me off the road into the rock face. The impact propelled me into the air where I proceeded to topple end over end while also rolling. I hit the ground twice before coming to a stop upright on all four wheels. The passenger side of my car sustain the majority of the damage and I was able to immediately exit the vehicle.

It is important to note that bad things can happen even when you are doing the right things - I was not speeding, not playing with my iPod, not on the phone and had both hands on the wheel when I hit the ice. I felt the Great Spirits of my ancestors wrap me in their protective arms as I became airborne and for this I am forever grateful. Besides being alive and relatively unharmed, I am most thankful that I did not have a passenger in the car as I am not convinced that that person would not have been injured.

For the most part I am doing ok, soreness mostly. Mentally I am working things out. Mary come into town on Wednesday. Fortunately she has a job that allows her to work from home and can stay in Seward for a few days while I regroup.

Today is Friday and I am on the mend. Soreness was the worse today but should now start to get better. First day without a headache and I am less foggy then the previous 3 days. Life is still good, this was just a major bump along life's path.

Love you all - Ginger

I had to brush the snow off - but here are the pictures we took when we went to empty the car today. While the car is totaled it did not look as bad to me today as it did on Tuesday. Go figure...

Note that the driver's side was relatively untouched.

Inside passenger side

Passenger side of the car - first bounce was on the front end, second on the roof

Back end - driver's side where I hit the rock face. The back axle is bent and the bumper is slightly detached. This could have been a lot worse as I was expecting to take the full force on this side when I hit the rock face.