Fairbanks, Alaska &c., November 2011

[6a]

Olnes and only by halah1.geo, on Flickr

I've been to Fairbanks before in the summer (sister in law lives there) and I told myself I would go back in the winter to see the aurora.  Lifelong dream, and all that.  Well, I went back in the winter...and it was cloudy every fucking night.  I did, however, get a couple days with just me and the rental car to go roadgeeking about the Fairbanks North Star Borough.  Admittedly there aren't that many roads but that isn't the point here for crying out loud, it's Alaska.

The roads

The scenery

_{Gentlemen of the forum, you are welcome to use any pictures you wish}

[Zmapper]

I have to wonder how much that one person paid in taxes last year and how much that sign costs. 

[xonhulu]

It (the sign) has been there for years.  I saw it back in the mid-90's.

[Zmapper]

Remember folks, if he (or she) ever decided to get married and have kids, it would be the fastest growing town in the states. 

[Alps]

See that plow? That's what happens when your state has a surplus. You can afford those things.

[Brandon]

See that plow? That's what happens when your state has a surplus. You can afford those things.

Nah.  That's just being smart enough to repurpose a grader for snow plow duty.  It's done around here, and we even re-use our garbage trucks for snow plow duty.  Throw a plow blade on the front and go.

[oscar]

See that plow? That's what happens when your state has a surplus. You can afford those things.

Nah.  That's just being smart enough to repurpose a grader for snow plow duty.  It's done around here, and we even re-use our garbage trucks for snow plow duty.  Throw a plow blade on the front and go.

And with a lot of unpaved roads (including some state highways) in the Fairbanks region, you need lots of graders around to smooth out frost/permafrost heaves and other road damage.

[xcellntbuy]

I particularly like the last sign cautioning about a jet blast area.