Look at the sun on his face - that is spring sun! I am now ready to officially announce that we made it through our first full winter in Alaska and have entered break up!
Going into winter I was a little nervous about it lasting too long. Shockingly, I was a little sad this weekend when we went on our last cross country ski for the season. But, the snow is melting and it is time to put away the skis and start thinking about SUMMER!
I remember last year during early spring Aaron and I got very restless and bored because I was 7-8 months pregnant and all we could do was sit around and wait for the snow melt and for a baby to come. I was bummed because spring was supposed to be green and warm, but it was still snowy here! This year we discovered that spring is actually such a fun time - the temps warm up and the town gets more energy. If you can get out and play in the snow, you can have a lot of fun.
Midway through the ski season I decided I wanted to start training to get in shape to participate in the Tour of Anchorage race. On a sunny day in early March 1500 took over the trails throughout town doing either a 25k, 40, or 50k. I did the 25k (15.5miles) in 2 hours and 20 min, which placed me in the middle of the pack. The race designers were cruel to us and made the last several kilometers all uphill so I was very proud just to finish and ended up being happy with my time.
During the week leading up to the Iditarod, Anchorage has a huge festival with all kinds of bizarre events. Last year I watched the Running of the Reindeer from the sidelines and decided I would participate in it this year...so I did! It was so much fun - a few hundred people running down the street and with 10 reindeer in chase. My friends and I were in the back so were in full view of those antlers!
The best part of living in Alaska is getting to be outside and enjoy all the sports. To do Alaska right, it helps to have all the toys - skis and snowmobiles, biking and hiking and running gear, and of course the fishing gear!
In prep for fishing season this summer, we bought a boat! Last summer we fished as much as we could from the banks, but to do it right you have to get out on the water. So much of this state is inaccessible by roads, so we are excited to have a boat to explore more of it. We are going to catch some serious fish! I can't wait until we can unwrap it and get it on the water.
The best part of spring in Alaska is the light - back in mid March we passed 12 hours of sunlight and are now up to 15 hours. The sky was still light at 10pm last night! Bring on the summer!
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