These pictures were taken in Fairbanks after a two-day snow. That much snow is unusual, as Fairbanks is "semi-arid" with an average of 12" of precipitation per year. So far this year, we are at a full-blown desert (less than 10" of precipitation per year). :O
Here is a picture taken behind my apartment:
An here is a picture taken a little further "up the road." It wasn't all that along ago, that I was looking at a child's toys just across the way, smack dab in a riot of autumn colors. . . .
This is a picture taken on the cross-country ski trails. (I was on my way to a "Physics Journal Club" meeting.) The trees with a noticable difference in height, are growing (or _attempting_ to grow) in a area with lower soil to permafrost distance. It was about 20 below when I took this picture.
And here is a picture taken pretty close to the G.I. (Geophysical Institute--it's where I work.) This picture doesn't do the scene credit; the side of the one tree was lit up like jewels.
The snow changed the place, over a two-day period, into a genuine "winter wonderland." It was cool. :)