Western Arctic National Parklands Residency Day 29: Kotzebue, AK

My last day here.  Cassia and her friend flew to Shungnak, a village that's a couple hours' flight east, where Cassia spends half her work week interpreting for a few deaf children at the school.  Tyler was back to work too, so I had the day to myself to say goodbye to this place.  I spent most of the day on my bike, riding everywhere.  I went to the small gallery in town again where I found a couple of unique pieces of jewelry - everything here is made of baleen, walrus tusk, jade, or mammoth ivory.  I went to the little store on the ocean, poked around the Ace Hardware, and biked along the ocean as far as I could and then through the maze of streets.  I watched John Baker and his trainer get dogs set up for training, pulling his truck (in neutral) around town and along the loop road.  I biked up the big hill northeast of town by cemetery hill but on the other side where a housing development was once planned (never happened).  I biked south of town, along the ocean, over the airport runway, to South Tent City for some photographs.  I was all over the town and beyond, biking in the blustery cold, vivid blue day.  It was fantastic.

After Tyler got home, we made dinner and headed out on the four wheeler to explore one last time.  We started in the rocks along the beach just south of the airport and found seal and walrus carcasses and bones.  Then we went further south near South Tent City to a big, old structure that reputedly was used as barracks during WWII.  We drove along the beach and saw the sled dogs again; Paul and Kevin were getting dogs set up to train, pulling the four wheeler.  Tyler took us down the beach a ways so I could watch my last Arctic sunset away from town.  Simply marvelous.

Plaque at the visitors center

Northwest Arctic Heritage Museum.

My view of the visitors center on the walk over from Tyler's house.

John Baker training his dogs.

A display along the ocean front.

View along the ocean front.

The northwest end of town.

Belugas were one of my very favorite animals in elementary school.  I still love them.

Biking through town...

The housing for teachers.  Similar housing nearby for the medical center staff.

View of town from the hill to the east.

Biking back to town.

The liquor store.

My park service bike.

The hotel.

Rotman's Store.

Ocean view with Cape Krusenstern.

Whale rib bone in front of the gallery.

Saw this while biking, loved the snow machine perched for summer storage.

Rotman's again.

Airplane landing, view of the road crossing the runway.

South Tent City.

Fish prepared and hanging to dry.

Closeup of fish drying.

View of the shoreline north to town.

An expired flounder.

The old barracks, reportedly used during WWII.

Inside the old barracks.

Wreckage of a barge.

Looking south along the beach.

Paul and Kevin training dogs.

Looking north along the beach, Cape Krusenstern in the distance.

Taking the loop road back to town.

Last sunset and the barge.

Western Arctic National Parklands Residency Day 28: Kotzebue, AK

When I'm on a residency it always feels like time is standing still everywhere else, and my experiences aren't part of the normal progression of time.  I had forgotten about today being Labor Day and no one having to work.  Cassia's best friend, who is currently living in Ireland, flew in today, and we went out with Cassia's mom to see some things in and around town.  We went to cemetery hill and drove around town a little.  After lunch Tyler joined the group to go out on the loop road to pick blueberries.  Being back in the tundra, feeling the uneven ground underfoot, was familiar and happy.  I walked off on my own to pick, realizing that this was perhaps my last time in the tundra and needing to experience it with all my senses.  Tasting the blueberries, cranberries, and blackberries, smelling the tundra tea, hearing the wind through the plants and the migrating sandhill cranes overhead, feeling the bumpy grass tussocks, the variety of leaf textures, the air on my skin, and the ground beneath me as I lay across the plants for a time.  And of course, all the sights.

Back at Tyler and Cassia's, I made Coq au Vin for dinner, a several hour process.  Later on, a friend came over to make blueberry pie, which was delicious.

Saw this guy on our walk to Cassia's mom's house.

Cemetery hill.

Cemetery hill, Kotebue beyond.

Panorama of town, runway and airport on the left, ocean behind.

The water was so low today you could really see the sand bar exposed, and the colors of the rocks showing through.  The whole distance to Russia, the water never gets deeper than 59 meters - it's all continental shelf.

The old barge wreck on the beach, near where we collected beach glass yesterday.

The sandhill cranes, circling to get elevation, the next few shots are here just because I think it's cool to watch how they move as a group.

Kotzebue is run on wind power, until it's not enough and then there's a huge generator in town that kicks in.  The power goes out regularly (but briefly) when they have to switch from wind to generator.

Cranberries.

Labrador (tundra) Tea.

Moss.

More cranberries.

Moss, cranberries, and blackberries.

I forget what this is...dwarf birch I think?

Blueberries, a little past their prime.

A tree!  There are so few in and near town that it's remarkable to see one.

The group headed down through the tundra.

Expanse of tundra.

Closer up, some grass tussocks.

A few people to show the scale of the plants better.

Driving the loop road back to town.

Town and ocean in view.  South Tent City visible as well.

Heading toward the airport.

Driving across the runway.  A sign saying you need to stop and look for planes before proceeding. The gates don't work.

Riding the four wheeler back through town from the grocery store.  The box in front is all my ingredients for dinner.  This is how most people travel here, in winter the four wheelers are replaced by snow machines.

My short walk to the ocean from Tyler and Cassia's house.

You can see both Krusenstern and Aukulak Lagoons out there, Krusenstern is left and below the furthest ridge, Aukulak to the right.  It was incredible to see the air shimmering over the lagoons like this.

Back at home, Diana's blueberry pie.