A funny thing happened on the way to -35...

January 10, 2009 at 2:59 AM

Luckily, I bought an oil pan heater and had it installed before things got really serious with my car. I waited until mid-afternoon to start it, at the exact time that records show that temperatures tend to be the highest in Soldotna in January. At -25, my Honda started dutifully on the first try, with only a couple of expletives showing up on the gauges. Good thing--I needed to be in Anchorage by 7:15 pm for symphony rehearsal.

George thoughtfully grabbed a -40 degree rated down sleeping bag and an avalanche shovel, throwing them in the front seat. "Just in case." I returned to the house half a dozen times, double checking: wool socks, check. Thermal underwear, check. Ski pants, check. Polartech fleece, check. Soft-shell jacket, check. Expedition weight mittons, check. Alpaca double knit hat, check. Coffee? Made a special trip back to the house to fetch my thermos of French-pressed Sumatra. I was good to go.

All of us drive carefully now when heading through the pass, since even a minor mishap becomes life-threatening in a heartbeat when it's this cold and this isolated. At the coffee shop, my friends were showing off their frostbite like it was some kind of major accomplishment, but I shudder to thing what nasty things frostbitten fingers could contribute to a symphony concert.

After 150 thankfully uneventful miles, I pulled into the Westmark's parking lot. It was only ten below in Anchorage, and my feet were beginning to get hot. By the time I made it up to the eighth floor, I was cracking off layers like a Russian nesting doll, leaving a trail of clothing to room 807's heating unit.

What the heck, it's 72 degrees in here! My house hadn't seen anything above 60 since I got home. I reached for the thermostat to shut it off, then stopped. Wait. I'm... hot?

Let's see how high this baby can go!

I spent the rest of the night sipping cold beverages in my skivvies while writing postcards to George:

Wish you were here!

From Elizabeth Musil
Posted on January 12, 2009 at 9:26 PM

Emily, after reading some of your blogs, I'm never complaining of the cold again! I find it really interesting to read how the weather affects even a simple thing such as going to a violin performance.

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A funny thing happened on the way to -35...

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