View of Cook Inlet

So if you're stuck somewhere and can't fly home because a volcano erupts and spews ash over the city you're trying to leave, there's only one thing to do - go outside with your camera and make hay!

We had 28 hours of a "grace" period from Mt. Redoubt where she was quiet and calm. The maintenance crews at the airport mixed snow into the ash and plowed it all off the runway yesterday. Then last night @ 11:14 there was a "burp" from Redoubt that didn't produce any ash; just steam. But today, after I came in from photographing this scene, where on a clear day you could actually see Mt. Redoubt, she blew again. I keep repeating to myself, "flow with it, flow with it, flow . . ."

I'm now awaiting my inbound aircraft and I will be tucked in by 7:30 p.m. Who cares that I'll be sleeping on the floor of the Minneapolis airport at 2:00 a.m. when my flight hits their tarmac. When all goes according to plan, I'll be on the 7:00 a.m. flight to Milwaukee. There I'll be, all dressed in my outdoor gear and boots sitting amongst the "suits" heading off for a day of business. Won't I look pretty! It's funny because if I wore my deer hunting orange down coat along with the outfit described above, nobody in Alaska would even blink. I LOVE this place! I just want to get home, however.

So enjoy the peace that this photo brings you. It was really blowing very cold air while I was out there making it but I was grateful for the sunny scene against some blue sky with clouds.