I had a very Alaskan day today.
I woke up and it had been snowing all night. Good, I thought, we need more snow.
The thermometer outside read 20° above zero. Good, I thought, I don't have to plug in the car.
There were no moose in the yard so after feeding the dogs I took them out to the backyard and they played in the new snow. Nothing like new snow to make two snow dogs very happy!
I had to get ready to go down to the David Salmon Tribal Hall for the Athabascan Fiddle festival, where the kids I teach with Young Native Fiddlers were performing at 1pm. So I took a shower, all the while wondering if I had enough water in the tank...
The kids did very well at the fiddle festival! We played Boil Them Cabbage, Shortnin' Bread, Eagle Island Blues, Arkansas Traveler and other tunes. I am proud of them, especially one girl who had once flubbed a solo, and was subsequently afraid of doing another solo. Today she stepped up to the mike and did Devil's Dream just like it was the easiest thing in the world!
As I drove toward home on the Johansen Expressway, I saw that there were numerous accidents on the other side of the divider, among the cars going the other direction. I passed several clumps of people with cell phones in hand, looking dazed, worried, confused, with the cars facing every which way some with hoods up, some with smooshed fenders or doors. In fact, there were so many accidents the police finally put up flares and refused to let anyone else onto the expressway. You see, when the temperature goes from -7 to +20, the roads get slick and frosty. If you don't adjust your driving, you end up just another dork in the ditch. For the record, it looked like everyone was okay. Maybe some had bumps and bruises, possibly wet pants... I bet they slow down next time!
Left the accidents behind and kept on my way homeward.
Up the hill, down the hill, through the lowlands and back up again and as I approach the turn to my subdivision I see that I'm driving right along with a very long set of sled dogs pulling a musher and we are going to coincide right at the intersection. I slow down, stop and the musher waves me on, while two more cars come out. We all managed to drive around each other cordially, with no harm done. For once Sofia doesn't go cuckoo banananuts over the sled dogs. She watches them intently, as does Ole.
I could continue and have a Very Alaskan dinner tonight, as I have both moose meat and caribou meat and salmon in my freezer. However I'm going for the easy thing that I can eat right away: burritos!
