odd but true

OK, I'm going to give you a little lesson of real life WAAAY up north in Alaska. Things are very different here than the Pacific Northwest. For one thing, Fairbanks is the only place on earth that has the largest temperature swings between the seasons. Yep, the record low is minus, did you hear me, MINUS 85 degrees! Then in the summer it can climb into the upper 80's to 90 degrees! Wowsa! That is one heck of a swing! Fairbankians are very proud of how extemely cold it gets. You graduate from your "Cheechako" (rookie) position after you spend one winter here! It is not uncommon to see homes built off the ground, on short stilts of sorts. This is done because the heat from the interior of the home, like the wood stove or oil heat can melt the permafrost, which makes the house sink lower, cracking it in places. There are several businesses that provide services for frozen toilets...yes...that's what I said.

Everyone take a wild guess why several trucks have these large containers in the beds. We'll come back to that later. Another thing we have been told is that there are no HOA's in Fairbanks. If there were, Fairbankians wouldn't follow them anyway. So it's rugged life, build what you can to stay warm. No rules....

This particular abode was made by a couple that wanted to live, literally on the river. But it was always taking on water, so they dry docked it and live inside along the water.

Well, this picture speaks for itself.

Unless you are parked inside, all vehicles need to be plugged into these outlets during winter months. Batteries drain lickety-split so cars are equipped with block warmers and other mechanical garb I don't know about. I can attest to the battery draining. I experienced a chill room at -40 degrees and my camera and phone went dead immediatly! So, these outlets are everywhere! 

This is kind of cool. I don't know if you can tell or not, but that is a long strip of water used by the bush pilots so they can land their float planes. It is right beside the regular landing strip at the airport!

OK folks, here's the answer. The water in the area is loaded with arsnic, so if you don't live in or near the city (where it is treated) then you must drive to these water fill up stations and bring it home for your personal consumption!  As you can see, it is really a different style of living. I think we will remain Cheechakos!