Silly Question

[Rance]

I've lived in Sterling since 1969. I've watched it grow from about 12 families to a few thousand people spread out over ten miles.
I was making a joke with the "everyone should move to Maine" thing! But yes...it's getting more and more crowded here.

[polarbytes]

It gets cold here, just like anywhere that enjoys a winter climate. The best thing to do to make sure your car starts is to park it in the heated garage!! My wife works at Kaparuk and leaves her truck running 24/7 in the winter. But here in Nikiski we very rarely have the kind of weather where I can't get any of my vehicles started if I take the proper precautions. But then, we don't have any of the really cold stuff like rance does in sterling, one of the coldest, if not the coldest spots on the pen.

[Rance]

It seems a tad bit colder here in winter...but I think it's a little warmer in the summer also!

[polarbytes]

Rance,
agreed, your summer temps are a little warmer, further inland I guess makes for a more extremes to your temps. We are even warmer most times than Kenai in the winter. Of course we get a bit more snow too, so not sure that the trade off is all that great!

[MAINEr]

Yeah Rance, why should everyone move to Maine. it sucks here.
That's why I'd like to move

[Rance]

Well don't tell anyone...but if everyone moves to Maine...we'll have more of Alaska to ourselves!

[wan2Batraveler10]

So Rance that's how you look. Say, what kind of camera do you use to take your pictures?
Ann

[Alaskagrl]

Nice picture, Rance ...yeah, I remember the good ol days in MN when plugging the block heater in was a necessity. Oh and FYI...small cars do NOT usually cut it when it's that cold out...I had a brand new VW beetle back in N MN and when it got -30, that sucker would die every time...even with a heater/oil pan heater, the whole 9 yards. I finally got smart and got a good old Chevy truck...it has never died because of the cold. Knock on wood...

[JavaPhil]

My first trip up to the slope was in a truck rented by my boss from some fly-by-night spot here in Anchorage. Flatbed Chevy. Arrived to start new job in Anchorage on Sunday, and loaded up on Monday. 2 trucks started out at 2 PM. We got about 30 miles out of Healy, and it turned out the coolant/heater system had problems. We broke down and it was -25. No heater in the truck for 5 hours and now this. (Remember, my previous job in Alaska was as a tech rep in warm surroundings. Airport to car to customer site and back.) I got out of the truck and saw the northern lights for the first time. We made it to Fairbanks and got a "permanent" fix on the heater the next day. We pulled out of Fairbanks and got 30 miles past Fox, and the hose blew. Sent the 2nd truck back for coolant and hose and clamps. repaired on the rod with a knife and zip ties well enough to get back to town. Fixed the truck that day, and left Fairbanks (again!) the next day. Got to Coldfoot that night, and plugged in the truck. The Bull rail shorted out that night, and of course the engine froze. 6 hours with a torpedo heater and a tarp got us to the point of starting. Wait, I know you're laughing, but this is true. This was my FIRST trip to bush Alaska. I had never been outside the cities without a car and a hotel and restaurant waiting for me at the end of the drive. I grew up in Chicago, but hadn't felt ANYTHING below -30. It was colder than I had ever imagined.

On the way back to Fairbanks from Atigun Pass, we lost oil about 50 miles out of Fairbanks. Hitched in and out with repair items and made it into town.

Yes, the engine WILL freeze (and so will you). There is a movie on youtube or myspace of students throwing a cup of coffee into the air in Fairbanks to listen to the ice crackle after the coffee freezes in midair and linds in frozen droplets.

I have seen steel and plastic crack when hit. Plastic actually shatters.

My kid used to think it was a waste of fuel on the slope to run the engines 24-7. He's learned. Everybody does.