I guess it all started Tuesday night. The winds gusted as we returned from Hailey’s birthday dinner and as we stopped by Fred Meyer for Hank’s vitamin D milk we watched as the interior lights flickered and even went out for a few seconds. They were back on for enough time for me to make the quick purchase though. Something was blowing in and it was time to lock it down so we scooted back home.

Henry played around the living room as always, delighted in the swirling leaves and rain on the deck, and settled into his 9pm bottle, all while the lights inside dimmed and fluttered every few minutes. We pulled the flashlights out and put Henry down at his normal time.

I clicked on the tv at 10pm to catch the news and did not even make it to the weather. We were without power at 10:18 and the forecast was obviously for hurricane winds and random showers, and the hope was that a tree wouldn’t fall on our house. Becky and I peered through the blinds at the trees in amazement at the arcs they now bent. Hank kept sawing logs.

Becky slept poorly all night and I remember waking up several times in the hopes of seeing a flashing alarm clock. No luck. After my cell phone alarm woke me up I was in the shower at 6:15 with a flashlight balanced perfectly on a towel rack, giving me just enough light to move forward with my day. The power thankfully came back on at 6:30, though the phone, cable and internet would not for another 5 hours.

The circular road through our complex was blocked in most directions by downed birch trees, but thankfully my truck was untouched and I was able to find a path out to the street. The litany of downed trees and dark intersections continued all the way to my office, where I found a building with only generator powered emergency lights – no work here today for sure. After heading down the street to my home office I found even less – all darkness and no way to even get in via door card access. No work there either.

I ran a quick few quick errands (Walmart was filled with silly people buying flashlights and 20 packs of C batteries) and was home by the time Henry woke up. He was happy to have mommy and daddy for the whole day and even happier when we strapped him in the backpack for a hike as soon as he finished his bottle.

The bog behind our home was a bit of a warzone and the city was a symphony of chainsaws. Plenty of pictures here.

Many folks in Anchorage are still without power thanks to the 130mph winds, so we will certainly not complain about daddy’s random day off.