For the first time in over 40 years, my wife and I are wintering outside Alaska. Ah yes, into every life a little snowbirding must fall.
We've chosen well, straddling the line between true snowbirders lolling in the Arizona sun and colder climes further north. We're haunting the southern Sierra Nevadas of CA, where daytime temps often get into the 60's (summer weather for us!) and sunscreen is the order of the day.
Yesterday we joined a friend to hike a couple of miles up a small stream for exploration and fishing. While the fishing was worth the trip, we'll return with serious camera gear for landscape photography.
This is just a snap taken with a Nikon Coolpix AW100, but it's sufficient to give a feel for the place. Not a footprint on the trails, and so few cars on the roads to make you wonder about the likes of Rod Serling.
Anyone tired of winter and hoping to dodge crowds would do well to look at marginal areas across the country- too far north to interest the hordes of snowbirders yet enough south to beat the snow and cold.
Posted by Dan Roberts on January 10, 2013 at 5:40 PM
Your a couple of years ahead of me, Hank. We're currently struggling with the same decision. Where to spend our winters? For anyone used to AK I think population density down there is a challenge. That consideration automatically eliminates a lot of possibilities. There are definately worse problems to have to worry about though
Well, let's see...it was 19 degrees F this morning at my house which is due east of San Fransisco in the Sierra Foothills. It was warmer in Chicago on Friday, than it was in Sacramento. There is a freeze warning for Phoenix tomorrow; hardly the banana belt.
And meanwhile it has warmed up back home in Kodiak! The southern San Juaquin actually isn't too bad right now with temps into the low 50's and overnights hovering around freezing, but you don't have to go uphill far to find cold.
Well, Hank, that last little warm spell ended, for a few days at least. My husband said it was -20 at home,on the peninsula, this morning, but it warmed up to above 0 during the day.
I'm on the Slope at the moment. -26 degrees F. 19 mph winds. Wind chill around -56 deg F.
But I still don't think I can handle the crowds. I was just in Montana, and everywhere I looked, there were fences or roads, albeit in the distance.
But I still don't think I can handle the crowds. I was just in Montana, and everywhere I looked, there were fences or roads, albeit in the distance.
It's an adjustment, and survival skills are required.
I have no doubt we'd wither if we lived down here year round, but in winter most outdoor resources are deserted and everyone is wearing sweaters and coats to stave off the cold! Anything below 70 degrees qualifies for them, yet we had only two days above 70 degrees all last summer in Kodiak! Winter down here feels like summer to us, and the crowds are nothing like what we see in Alaskan summers in recent years.
Posted by Walter Rowe on February 28, 2013 at 9:09 PM
Hank .. Been trying to reach you. Email me offline.
Discussion
6 repliesWe've chosen well, straddling the line between true snowbirders lolling in the Arizona sun and colder climes further north. We're haunting the southern Sierra Nevadas of CA, where daytime temps often get into the 60's (summer weather for us!) and sunscreen is the order of the day.
Yesterday we joined a friend to hike a couple of miles up a small stream for exploration and fishing. While the fishing was worth the trip, we'll return with serious camera gear for landscape photography.
This is just a snap taken with a Nikon Coolpix AW100, but it's sufficient to give a feel for the place. Not a footprint on the trails, and so few cars on the roads to make you wonder about the likes of Rod Serling.
Anyone tired of winter and hoping to dodge crowds would do well to look at marginal areas across the country- too far north to interest the hordes of snowbirders yet enough south to beat the snow and cold.
Strange weather we're having here in the west.
--P
I'm on the Slope at the moment. -26 degrees F. 19 mph winds. Wind chill around -56 deg F.
But I still don't think I can handle the crowds. I was just in Montana, and everywhere I looked, there were fences or roads, albeit in the distance.
It's an adjustment, and survival skills are required.
I have no doubt we'd wither if we lived down here year round, but in winter most outdoor resources are deserted and everyone is wearing sweaters and coats to stave off the cold! Anything below 70 degrees qualifies for them, yet we had only two days above 70 degrees all last summer in Kodiak! Winter down here feels like summer to us, and the crowds are nothing like what we see in Alaskan summers in recent years.