Winter Solstice in Fairbanks...

So, I am sitting up late.  I will be heading to Fairbanks International Airport (sounds impressive, right??  6 gates, a parking lot, and a place to wait until your guest gets out of baggage claim) to pick up my son Brian as he flies in to spend Christmas with me.

I know, with a pandemic raging, maybe not the smartest thing, but we will be as careful as we can be. We have celebrated just about every Christmas together, except for last year when he went to see his Dad.  It has been well over a year since I have seen him and I am suffering from Pandemic Fatigue so he will be here for 5 days and then I will not see Rob and Kate until after January 2nd when I will have been 14 days out from my first contact with Brian.  Rob is very careful with Kate, and I do not blame them in the least.  Whatever it takes.

Brian flew into Seattle from Minneapolis.  He was to arrive, have about 45 minutes to get to his connection and then land here around 11:45 PM tonight.  I was watching his flights on a Flight Tracker app and noticed that he landed on time but then his connecting flight began to report a delay.  So I texted him that I was aware of the delays and he texted back that after about an hour, he was still in the first plane and thought he might miss his next flight.  But he made it and then waited and waited.  The second plane was reported to be overweight.  But after whatever needed to be done, he finally took to the air and is on his way, some 2 1/2 hours late, so I will be at the airport at 2:30-ish in the AM to pick him up.

Well, I have time on my hands as I am prepared for his arrival, so I have been looking at Facebook, watching the West Wing on Netflix as it will be disappearing on December 25th, and checking the Flight Tracker so I know what time I need to head to the airport.

Today was the Winter Solstice.  We celebrate this day in Fairbanks as our days, which have been getting darker and longer each day will finally be turning around and the days will be getting lighter and lighter from here on out.

I have tried to explain to those who have asked about how the sun is during this odd time.  I have tried to explain to those who have asked that the sun rises and sets in the south and it struggles to get very high in the sky during the winter. In my flipping through Facebook, I came across the perfect picture to explain what I have tried to describe.

This photo was taken all day on the Winter Solstice in 2012.  It was a time-lapse photo and in one picture you are seeing the sunrise and sunset on the longest, darkest day of the year in Fairbanks.  It was taken from a vantage point near the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  My house is down in the valley in the area in front of where the picture was taken.  It clearly shows the sun peeking over the horizon, scooting along the horizon before setting again.

I was asked today if I had gotten used to the darkness.  I have, I even like this time of the year.  It is great for a retired person to sleep in and not be wakened by the light shining into the window.  In fact, I had a harder time with the long, light-filled days in the summer.  Somehow, taking Miles out for his final walk at 11:30 PM and having daylight all around and then trying to go to bed was really very difficult for me.  Perhaps I will find it easier in 2021.

Enjoy the picture.