11/365

Playhouse in Snow

Looking out of the Fairbanks Public Library window into their yard where there's a playhouse for the children.  

Today it's -30 but in a few days it's going to be above zero. Weird winter weather.  

049/365

Structure at Pioneer Park

This log cabin structure is located within the gates of Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

It's currently shuttered during the winter, but is still an imposing building.

I liked the red sign on the otherwise brown building.

047/365

Backyard Sauna

Seen in the backyard of a home in the hills just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska on a cold winter's day.

046/365

Lone Tree

My photo club assigned topic for Jan was Lone Tree.  It was difficult to find a "lone" tree that looked interesting, so I just scrapped the topic and entered other photos.

The Jan meeting was canceled for some reason that didn't make sense to me and rescheduled for another month, so I guess I have another chance to enter that topic.  While walking around downtown Fairbanks, I saw this tree, and others, that were separated enough from other foliage to fit the topic.  

I thought this tree looked beautiful, so I tried to capture it, but there are still buildings and cars showing.

Really......it's just a snow covered fir tree, nothing special so I'm not sure I'll enter it.

I just think it's pretty against the gorgeous blue sky on a cold winter day.

044/365

Unknown First Family Sculpture

This beautiful sculpture of a native unknown first family is located in 

the Golden Heart Plaza park in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.

202/366

Alaska State

I saw this wall decor in a coffee shop in Fairbanks,  Alaska.  I've seen it before and I love it.  I don't understand the passion of living permanently in Alaska, but all of the locals seem to have that passion.

158/366

Paddleboarder

As I was walking across the Chena River bridge, I wanted to take a photo of the water and the trees, but this paddle boarder was in the scene, so that was a bonus.  By the time I had my camera focused I noticed that she might be taking a selfie.  Another bonus.

I personally wouldn't take my phone anywhere near a body of water, but each to their own I guess.

My heart was happy:

to come across an unexpected scene

143/366

Pickle Ball

I don't understand the appeal of this game.  It's been the fastest growing American sport for the past three years.  Why?

To be honest, I've never played it so maybe I don't have the right to judge it like I do.  My game of choice is racketball.

I knew two people who were playing this morning so I couldn't resist making some images.  They were having great fun, but I'm not even tempted.

Each to his own I guess. 

My heart is grateful that:

there seems to be something for everyone

141/366

Another Skylink Sign

This Skylink sign was at the bottom level of the escalator directing people to the shuttles to other gates.  It provided a look at the runway where an Alaska flight was being situated for take-off.

My heart is grateful that:

we were able to get our flight shortly after this plane left

134/366

My Favorite Airline

I've flown this airline in the past and loved it, and I had the chance to fly it again recently and still loved it.  Too bad the other airlines don't use it for a business model.

  

My heart is grateful that:

I was finally able to arrive at my destination and see my son, dil and their new baby, who is absolutely the cutest baby!!

6/365

Seen From the Airport Window

I've seen more pretty sun rises and sun sets in the winter in Alaska than I've ever seen anywhere else. This was approximately 3:30 pm.  I love the muted colors of the sky and the snow on the runway.

3/365

Northern Lights

I took this image with my new cell phone.  It was tricky~~it was cold and it was difficult to hold the phone steady until it took the pic.  It automatically went into night mode so it was a couple of seconds before the camera clicked.  

The interesting thing is that to the naked eye the sky just looked dark and there was a slight "cloudy" look to the area where the northern lights are, it didn't look green at all, so until someone told me, I thought it was just a clump of clouds.  The camera picked out the color. 

I only found that out about a week ago.  Who knows how many times I missed the lights, not realizing what that "cloudy" area really was.  I have one more night to see the lights and there's no telling if it will be too cloudy or if there will even be a light show.  It changes second-by-second. 

I'm happy I got the images I did.  

28/365

Museum of the North

This museum is seen on the campus of Alaska University at Fairbanks, Alaska.  It's a beautiful structure and it gives me the feeling it was constructed with the large white blocks to mimic the Alaskan heritage of igloos.  I haven't been able to document that idea, but that's what it makes me think of when I look at it.

This building is a cultural center, a museum and a learning environment.

 The sun sets around 4 pm in the winter and this image was made close to that time.  The light was beautiful and the sky was such a pretty blue. 

23/365   Night Scene

I very recently got a new phone.  

During all the times I've visited Fairbanks I've never seen the Northern Lights.  I hope to see them this trip, so tonight I went outside around 10:45 pm (it gets pitch dark around 4 pm during the winter).  There were no "lights" then, probably because of the heavy cloud cover, but I wanted to try the phone camera in the dark to see how it well it photographed at night.  

This is looking south.  It's amazing.  The image can't be blown up too large because it would be too grainy, but what a great job it does for small pics.