Thursday, June 28: If you saw the Day Seven blog you know that we did have access to the Internet at Tok. Not only did we have service, the Snowshoe Motel provided the best access of the trip. Here we were offered both wired and wireless connections. Keep the Snowshoe in mind the next time you pass through Tok.
Because of the time change from Pacific to Alaska Daylight Time the dogs and I woke up even earlier than usual. And when we wake up, guess who else gets waked up? At 4:00a the dogs and I thought it was 5:00, and they figured it was time to go eat and go out. It was as light as if it was noon. We could have played ball outside all night.
Since we had some extra time—after our walk through the woods across the highway—I looked at the lead stories in the online edition of the New York Times. One of the headlines read, “Study Sees Climate Change Impact on Alaska.” Global warming may be an interesting topic of discussion in other places, but in Alaska it is a reality. For reasons that are not clear to me, Alaska is warming more quickly than any other place on the planet right now. People here may debate the causes, but few debate the fact of it.
Conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, this study concludes that “many of Alaska’s roads, runways, railroads and water and sewer systems will wear out more quickly and cost more to repair or replace because of climate change… Higher temperatures, melting permafrost, a reduction in polar ice and increased flooding are expected to raise the repair and replacement cost of thousands of infrastructure projects as much as $6.1 billion for a total of nearly $40 billion—about a 20 percent increase—from now to 2030.” And that doesn’t include costs for things like moving villages, protecting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, fighting wildfires or protecting private property that may be affected.
As we ate lunch at the Lone Rifle Restaurant on the Glenn Highway about 90
miles from Anchorage, we looked out at the magnificent Matanuska Glacier that lay only hundreds of yards below us. We wondered how it had been affected by global warming. Many glaciers are melting so fast that they are actually “retreating.” The young woman who served us said that the massive ice flow had retreated some and was thinner now. Connie remembers the glacier from her first trip here in 1987, and how much larger the glacier was then than now.
At 3:00 this afternoon we rolled in
to the parking lot of Chugiak United Methodist Church (# 3 on the map), 2,688 miles from Bend, Oregon. Some folks from the church were there to welcome us. They've put us up in the Eagle River Motel until Sunday when the parsonage will be ready.
Because of the time change from Pacific to Alaska Daylight Time the dogs and I woke up even earlier than usual. And when we wake up, guess who else gets waked up? At 4:00a the dogs and I thought it was 5:00, and they figured it was time to go eat and go out. It was as light as if it was noon. We could have played ball outside all night.
Since we had some extra time—after our walk through the woods across the highway—I looked at the lead stories in the online edition of the New York Times. One of the headlines read, “Study Sees Climate Change Impact on Alaska.” Global warming may be an interesting topic of discussion in other places, but in Alaska it is a reality. For reasons that are not clear to me, Alaska is warming more quickly than any other place on the planet right now. People here may debate the causes, but few debate the fact of it.
Conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, this study concludes that “many of Alaska’s roads, runways, railroads and water and sewer systems will wear out more quickly and cost more to repair or replace because of climate change… Higher temperatures, melting permafrost, a reduction in polar ice and increased flooding are expected to raise the repair and replacement cost of thousands of infrastructure projects as much as $6.1 billion for a total of nearly $40 billion—about a 20 percent increase—from now to 2030.” And that doesn’t include costs for things like moving villages, protecting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, fighting wildfires or protecting private property that may be affected.
As we ate lunch at the Lone Rifle Restaurant on the Glenn Highway about 90
miles from Anchorage, we looked out at the magnificent Matanuska Glacier that lay only hundreds of yards below us. We wondered how it had been affected by global warming. Many glaciers are melting so fast that they are actually “retreating.” The young woman who served us said that the massive ice flow had retreated some and was thinner now. Connie remembers the glacier from her first trip here in 1987, and how much larger the glacier was then than now.At 3:00 this afternoon we rolled in
to the parking lot of Chugiak United Methodist Church (# 3 on the map), 2,688 miles from Bend, Oregon. Some folks from the church were there to welcome us. They've put us up in the Eagle River Motel until Sunday when the parsonage will be ready.Is it possible to say that we are really glad to have arrived without taking anything away from our delight with the last eight days? That's our sentiment!
Hope you’ve had a great day!
3 comments:
Yahoo! You made it! Sounds like a lovely trip all in all. Glad you stopped at the glacier. It's gorgeous!!
Again, welcome to Alaska!
All right! Sounds like an adventure...we are getting very excited to join you!
Hi Milo,
Lloyd and I have looked forward to every evening when we could read your travellog. We are happy to read that you have arrived and will now read your sermon for tomorrow.
Hello to Connie
Jean and Lloyd
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