We are only days away from the winter solstice. Sunrise on Monday morning here at our homestead will be at 10:16 AM. Sunset, at 3:39 PM. That’s five hours and 37 minutes of full daylight. But we’ll be headed back to the sun soon enough. That wheel, as I'm fond of noting, never stops turning.
In the meantime, Alaska’s a place known for its wildlife, and no, I’m not talking about goings-on in local bars after 10:00 PM, although it’s true that life can get pretty wild. No, I’m talking about (non-human) animals. We have moose that weigh the better part of a ton, we have bears the size of Volkswagens, we have wolves and wolverines prowling the forests.
And, we have our huge herds of caribou. Once in a while, those caribou make bad judgments. Case in point:
On November 28, 2025, at approximately 1737 hours, AST responded to milepost 253 Richardson Highway for a motor vehicle collision report. Investigation revealed that a couple caribou made a bold decision to attempt crossing the roadway, resulting in them being struck by a single vehicle. The vehicle was disabled. The two caribou did not survive their injuries.
Too bad about the caribou, and hopefully the citizen’s vehicle was repairable.
Alaska Man score: 3 points for the dry humor in the reporting: “The two caribou did not survive their injuries.” The typical Alaskan response, of course, is “I hope someone salvaged the meat.”
Read More: Alaska Man Monday: Meeting Moose
And boy, howdy, did much of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough have a windstorm in the week just past – although it didn’t seem to hit us here, in Wasilla and Palmer, it was enough to rate a disaster declaration from Governor Dunleavy.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to provide aid for individuals and local governments affected by the recent three-day windstorm.
The declaration, requested by Mat-Su officials Tuesday afternoon, provides grants to individuals and families to make home repairs, secure temporary housing or address other needs caused by the weekend storm, according to a state news release sent Wednesday.
Details on how much money may be available or how individuals can apply will be provided “in the coming days,” the release said.
Our part of the Valley was fortunate to be spared this nasty windstorm. The Susitna Valley, where we make our home, runs (like the Susitna River) more or less north-south. But on the other side of the Wasilla/Palmer area, the Matanuska, the other great river our borough is named for, runs from east to west, as does its great valley. That seems just to channel the prevailing winds, so when winds come screaming down that valley and leave it for the more open country to the west, they can be fierce and can cover the area from the Knik River bridges to Big Lake Road. That appears to be what happened here.
Alaska Man score: No score for this one. Let’s hope that the disaster declaration aids in the recovery of the people affected by this early winter weather blast.
Read More: Alaska Man Monday: Aviation Camp, a Dumb Crook Who May Be a Democrat, and Matched Sets
Now, let’s talk about the weather.
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