We usually fly on Alaska Airlines, but this time we flew on Delta. We left from a different concourse, so I got to see some different airport art. If there is anything that can be done to make flying more pleasant, I'm all for it, so the more airport art, the better.
As an Alaskan, I am used to leaving Anchorage and finding it much warmer at the end of my journey. Often it is 50 degrees warmer, or even more, at our destination. It was 36 degrees when we left ANC last night. It was minus 14 when we landed at MSP - 50 degrees COLDER. That's a first.
While the Lower 48 is suffering from the Polar Vortex, Alaska has been experiencing an "equatorial vortex." (OK, so I made that term up.) The point is, we have been having unusually warm weather for this time of year. The results have been disastrous: cross-country skiing is no longer possible, parking lots and driveways are sheets of ice, main roads are down to bare pavement and potholes are forming, trees are starting to bud out (and that will be bad when it gets cold again, and it will) and a major avalanche on the Richardson highway is making headlines.
The typical flight between ANC and SEA is full of oil field workers who "commute" between Washington state and the North Slope. I was surprised to find that the flight between ANC and MSP looked the same. The flight was about 80% men, most of them dressed in jeans and t-shirts and with upgrades to first class, presumably because of all that flying back and forth.
Politicians in Alaska always talk about how helping the oil companies, through tax breaks and other incentives, will stimulate Alaska's economy and create more jobs for Alaskans. Who are they kidding?
I will try to get some photos posted soon. It's complicated when I am not t home.
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