Winter rain

High winds that began yesterday evening continued into the night and this morning.  It was our first late autumn winds that helped blow away many of the colorful leaves.  Rain began before sunrise which kept me from walking the dogs before heading to school.  The peaks were shrouded in thick clouds on my way to school, and by noon I could tell that there was snow above 7000'.

Then, during my lunch hour, I read about a 6.7 earthquake just north of Anchorage, which was upgraded to 7.1 an hour later.  I immediately thought of HollyO in Seward and a few other friends I have in Alaska.  Holly reported back a few hours later saying that they are ok, no damage to their rental home, but a tsumani warning was issued and she had to seek shelter with her husband Doug at his office.  The tsunami warning was later cancelled and both were able to go home.  Holly was at work and they spent some time reshelving the store and picking up merchandise that had fallen on the floor.  The Glenn Highway, a beautiful road that starts in Glennallen and travels along the Matanuska River to Palmer, suffered serious damage in sections.  This will take some time to repair, so people who live off that road will suffer the most until the road is fixed.  Good luck with that, as there's plenty of snow there now.  No deaths were reported, but more aftershocks are expected.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2018/12/02/the-70-quake-felt-differently-across-anchorage-could-release-more-big-jolts/

I promised the dogs I'd walk them when I got home, and I did.  It was noticeably colder today over yesterday, but this is the kind of weather that Minnie likes!  While she still is the slowest dog in the pack, she pants less when it's cold out.  I bundled up for the walk, wearing both a quilted jacket as well as a down vest.  We managed 3.2 miles.

A military convoy with APCs and empty spools of wire  rode back into town as I drove the dogs home after dark.  (No news of caravan travellers from central America breaching the border in our area.)

Late in the evening I read on CNN that President George HW Bush had died at age 94.  The media gave no clue that he was near death like it did for Barbara  Bush when she died April 17th of this year (aged 93), and no cause of death was given.  While I did not always agree with the president, he was always an honorable man, a good man, and a devoted husband and father.  What better legacy to leave behind?

It was a busy day for news!