Did you know that if you took a Taxi in New York City in 1895 you would most likely be riding in an electric car? I was today years old when I learned that until the middle of the 1910s electric cars were the most common vehicles on the road. Among the most popular and best selling was the 1903 Columbia (Electric). It had a top speed of 19 km/h. By comparison, the 1913 Argo was a speedster reaching a maximum speed of 32 km/h.
Steven, a volunteer at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Fairbanks, was telling me that the big cities even had garages where drivers could recharge. They have an antique charger at the museum. It doesn’t look terribly different than the charging stations we use today. However, by 1917 hybrids had been designed (Owen Magnetic), and eventually, gas-powered vehicles took over. At that time they could be more cheaply produced and could travel longer distances. Over a century later, for a lot of reasons, we are swinging back to electric. Do you know someone who already owns an EV? Do you know where the charging stations are in Listowel? Learning so Much. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
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As we headed out on our dogsledding adventure you could smell the cold in the air. I wiggled my fingers inside my beaver mittens—perfectly toasty warm. Our lead dogs, Panda and Jake, pushed against their harnesses at the front of the twelve dog team. The dogs love the cold. They nip at mouthfuls of snow to cool off. Through the trails and over lakes the team performed flawlessly. Eight miles into our ten mile journey it was my turn to drive the team (with some help). My heart was racing—there is no feeling like it. A huge thank you to Bill Cotter Dog Sleds and our guide Jaimie for a very special Alaskan experience. Staying warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Being at Ice Alaska every day means we can watch the sculptures from their beginning to completion. First Prize in the two-block competition was awarded to Gladiator by Nakamura (Japan) & Demarsis (Texas). When the light falls on the sword it almost looks real. Now we are in the single block with one sculpture competition. All the way through I’ve been watching an artist carve a gigantic rabbit (hare). I love them all, but I hope the rabbit wins After all, 2023 is the year of the RABBIT! We also have lots of time to play volunteering at Ice Alaska. Check out our race. Spoiler alert: I win Staying warm—Loving Alaska. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. On Wednesday we were living our best lives at Chena Hot Springs. The geothermal springs are on average 41 degrees celsius. It feels amazing when you float on your back in the super hot water and drift by the rocks covered with snow. The natural salts in the water make you very thirsty so we headed off to the Chena Hot Springs dining room to get rehydrated. Our soup was basil tomato made with fresh tomatoes grown on the hot springs property. They grow tomatoes all winter in the greenhouses. The greenhouses are heated with the same geothermal water that feeds the hot springs we were swimming in. As if the day wasn’t already the best, we ended our trip with a visit to the Ice Hotel. We didn’t stay overnight because it is crazy expensive, but Ray tried out the polar bear shaped ice bed. Before we headed back to Fairbanks we had a drink of Dr. Pepper in ice glasses and then smashed them for good luck. What do you think you would have to do to stay warm overnight in an ice hotel? Would you try it? Enjoyed a good night’s sleep in our warm non-ice bed! You are always in my Prayers. Love Mom. The cold temperatures in Fairbanks Alaska are great for the Ice Alaska competition. It’s so cold that the sculptures don’t melt. That also means that you can count on your outdoor winter activities happening.
They have incredible outdoor rinks hat last all winter without even having to be refrigerated. We went skating outdoors at the Secondary School in North Perth on Monday. The outdoor ice was as big as the Steven Kerr Arena. Our lodge is on the Chena River, which is very, very frozen. They have sleds and we can sled down the river banks any time we want. When your sled finally stops it is a cool feeling to think “I’m lying here in the middle of the river”. Our winter hikes are so white because everything stays covered with snow. Yesterday we went hiking in the Boreal Forest. They have signs up that warn you to watch for sled dogs--we definitely don't have that on the North Perth Trail. The not good part was that Ray fell in a hole–he is okay. The good part was we saw two moose. They were really close. One was lying down and one was munching on tree branches. Did you know that moose means twig eater in Algonquin? What are your favorite outdoor winter activities? Staying warm. Make sure you click below to see our Alaska Outdoors Video--having so much fun! You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. |
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