Sunslide, sunslip. Swiftly flow the days…

So how swiftly do the days flow in Alaska just now, on December 17, 2013? We have about six hours of daylight, from roughly 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Because of our location on the north side of the Chugach Mountains, our direct sunlight during this time of year is significantly less.

Sunslide: 1:49 p.m.
Sunslip: 2:15 p.m.

I can’t bring myself to call it “sunrise” and “sunset” because that implies some sort of vertical movement, and that is not what we have. The sun doesn’t rise above the mountains. Rather, it slides into view from behind one mountain and soon slips behind another.

Sunslide

Sunslip

That’s all there is.