Happy Friggen April

Alaskans know snow. We expect it and most of the time, even like it. Yet when spring finally arrives, lets face it - we are READY.

Last night I returned from an overnight field trip to the Kenai Challenger with fifty 6th graders. The weather couldn't have been more gorgeous. Sunglasses and t-shirts. The drive through Turnagain Pass is one of the most spectacular trips in this area. In early spring we're able to witness the gradual progression from newly formed greenery to the impressive 10 foot snow packs of the pass. I am not a very religious person, but Turnagain Pass makes me think again.

On our return to Anchorage, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the solar rays had taken care of the last remnants of snow in our neighborhood. True, the grass would need a good raking to regain its rich green hue, but the end of winter had arrived.

Fast forward 12 hours. The garage door opens and a white flurry of delicate flakes swirls around my feet. WTF???!!! Not to worry, I think, it appears to be melting as fast as it falls. Really nothing more than glorified sleet.

Fast forward another 9 hours. Students have gone, my classroom has survived an unexpected indoor recess and my car is completely encased in an 8 inch layer of heavy precipitation. I hoof it out to the parking lot in my defiantly spring-like Airwalk clogs. Sorrels? Nope, those were tossed into the abyss of the crawl space weeks ago. Ice scraper? Haven't seen it weeks. Snow brush? It was in the way when I was loading the road bike for a race last weekend.

I brush off the driver's side door with my sleeve, and jump in. I roll the windows half-way down and back up again, a well known trick for knocking off loosely clinging snow. I flip on the rear wipers and watch snow fly back and forth until the back window is clear. I flip on the front wipers. Nothing. I try again. Still, nothing. Damn, this snow is heavy. I jump back out of the vehicle, wet snow drenching my socks through the holes in my clogs. I "arm-sweep" as much of the snow as I can off the hood, but the Hyundai is quite a bit taller than the old Subi. After some impromptu aerobatics I manage to remove enough snow from the windshield to get the wipers going ... that is until I get half way down the block and the entire roof avalanches down the front of the car requiring me to pull over and reenact the aerobatic performance.

Anyhow, I made it home and released a very excited pooch from her domestic prison. She quickly does her best to remind me that snow is not so bad by rolling and rooting in beautiful white carpet that had become our drive way. And you know, she has a point. Spring will get here when it's good and ready. Until then, there is still time for a few more snow angels.