A little bit of Alaska

So I was talking to Rebecca the other day and she told me they saw a car with an Alaska tag on it and a plug in the front. She didn't know what that was for, and it occurred to me that I didn't know either before I got up here.

You see it gets SO cold up here that if your car is going to be outside not running for more than a couple of hours, you'll need to plug it in. You don't have to in Anchorage or southern Alaska only up here. What do I mean by plugging in? Well all of the business around town have meter-like outlets in their parking lots. The plug doesn't pull out of the car anymore than it is shown, so we all carry extension cords in the car so the outlets can be reached.

You are plugging in the engine block heater, battery heater and something else that keeps the fluids from freezing and the battery from dying.

Shad has to plug in everyday when he goes to work. I've only plugged in once at the church when I was going to be there all day. Speaking of the church lot, there are only 4 spaces on either side of the building that have the outlets. Those are strictly reserved for the bishoprics of both wards, because they are more likely to be there longer than anyone else.

When Shad went to Anchorage this week he left the van in the outdoor parking lot at the airport. When he got home the car started up alright, but no lights came on on the dashboard and he had to wait a few minutes. After rolling down window to pay for the parking, the window wouldn't go back up. Poor Shad had to drive a few miles down the road with the window down on a -34 day, before he could get it to go back up. If he hadn't plugged the car in, I probably would've had to go and get him and we probably would've had to have the car serviced.

Sub freezing temperatures do bad things.

On another note, Shad and I were talking the other day and we were saying how we're a little disappointed that we haven't seen more moose. We thought it would be an everyday occurrence, but it hasn't been that way. This morning when I was driving out of our neighborhood I saw one for the first time in this area. He was just sitting there eating away on some branches. This one wasn't very big. I think what is surprising about these animals is that they aren't afraid of you. You drive by them and they just stay there staring back at you, almost daring you to come closer. I have no problem not taking that dare. We were told it is the moose you have to worry about not the bears.

I want a new camera. I was only about 30 yards away from him.