Another long cold Alaskan night

I can understand why there is not much tourism in Alaska in the winter time. I've been staying up late into the night lately to keep the house warm, and been told multiple times by friends from online that I have to be insane to live in such a cold place.

Alaska has its good side as well as its cold side, however, and there is a certain beauty to be found even in the cold heart of winter. Tonight I sit on the last day of the shortening days, the night before the winter solstice, when the days will begin to once again grow longer as we head through the coldest part of the year and into the not-soon-enough days of spring.