Ice Road Trucker

Awhile back, I wrote about a road that was closed in Bethel due to the people who own the property that the road goes through, not wanting to allow access anymore. Well, now that it is the dead of winter and everything is frozen, the road is not needed anymore. The tundra is solid and the lake near that portion of the road is more solid. There has been a detour around the portion of the road that is closed for a long time now.

The new road is well maintained and plowed often. Just one little catch...it is an ice road. It goes over the lake that is near the closed road. It has been open since at least mid december because Avery and I first rode over it while taking a cab to the airport on the way to our Hawaii trip. I have travelled across this road numerous times in that last couple of months. It is very convenient to have that side of town open again. In the picture above is the slope of the bank of the lake down onto the ice. The picture below shows the middle of the ice road. You can even see the marks in the ice where the graters have come in to grate it so that it wont be as slick.Honestly, I think this is the best road in town. It has the least bumps at least and is very well maintained. Here is the bank leading up the other side. You can see a float plane off to the side that has been parked for the winter. The lake that this road goes over is called H Marker Lake and in the summer it is a busy spot for float plane traffic.
So...it's official...I'm an ice road trucker!

Oh...and it was -24 this morning when we went to school, but now it's 14 above. It is just crazy how extreme our weather can be here. Also...we are gaining 5minutes and 30seconds of sun each day now. The sun is staying up well past 6pm now...it's wonderful!