19 February 2011 Hello Fairbanks!

The Joy is in the Journey

Leaving behind the warm weather of sunny Delaware, I boarded three planes to take me to Fairbanks, Alaska. The journey is a whopping 4,000 miles and included stops in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington. Over the course of the trip, I crossed four different time zones and my body is very confused about what time of day it is, and whether I should wake up, eat, or go to sleep.

One of the best parts of my trip were the fabulous views I enjoyed out the windows of the planes. Have you ever travelled over the land or ocean in a plane? The world looks very different looking down from 30,000 feet in the air. When I left Millsboro Middle School, my talented science students were busy identifying clouds as part of our study of weather. During my trip, I saw many different clouds that danced across the sky outside my window. Did you know that meteorologists (weather scientists) have names for each unique cloud?

Clouds are named based on their altitude (height above the ground), shape, and whether they produce precipitation.

Can you figure out the names of any of these clouds that I saw out my window? (I bet the science students at Millsboro Middle School can!)

For a little more information on clouds, check out this video.

After 15 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska. What a difference! When I left Delaware, it was over 70 degrees Farenheit, but in Fairbanks it was 10 degrees below zero. Yikes! But, I was treated to a little show of the Northern Lights on my way from the airport, and met a new friend in PolarTREC teacher Susy Ellison. More on those topics later. For now, my pillow is calling my name. I need to be well rested for tomorrow. Who knows what adventures tomorrow will bring?

Mike

Did you figure out the correct cloud names? Here's my list:

1. Cumulus clouds
2. Stratocumulus clouds
3. Altocumulus clouds
4. Altocumulus clouds (they can look like this too)