Cheechako

The Alaskan word of the day:

chee·cha·ko/CHiˈCHäkō/

Noun: A person newly arrived in the mining districts of Alaska or northwestern Canada

Obviously Jessica and I qualify after transplanting from San Diego. I still smile every time I see snow falling and I enjoy stepping outside on our balcony just to take deep breaths of freezing air. I'm not sure if you graduate from cheecako status after your first winter but if so we are only a few months away.

Sunrise Panorama

In the winter the sun doesn't rise until after 10am it lets you sleep in, eat breakfast, take the wife to work and still have time to hike out and watch the sun come up. It's even better when open spaces are a short walk or drive away from home. I took advantage of the late sunrise to hike out and capture a panorama of the event.

I wasn't the only one out enjoying the sunrise. In Alaska you always have to be on the lookout for wildlife. This morning it was a friendly moose enjoying some breakfast. She didn't seem to mind having me walk by but I was still peering over my shoulder multiple times to make sure she hadn't followed me along the trail.

Thankfully it is now February so the days are getting noticeably longer and we are discovering the many trails throughout Anchorage.