Arctic Alaska Day 8

Dad refuels in the rain.

Native fish drying rack.

Our first drizzly day! We had been expecting this kind of weather the whole time, and it reminds me quite a bit of Southeast Alaska. We walked to the office and relaxed most of the day. Dad and mom actually got off of work early (6:30 pm) so we headed home to make gluten.

Arctic Alaska Day 7

Our self-guided four-wheeler tour.

Robb having fun flipping photos.

Local elder Willie Goodwin sits in his family tribal seat.

Dad's photography.

Dad's photography.

Today was pretty chill. I helped mom do her weekly cleaning. Robb got an early start, being deputized to guide clients to their flights. He made friends and was gifted all sorts of jerky and moose sausages. We checked out the art gallery and decided against the $1000 mukluks. Dad went out on an afternoon archeological expedition with the park services and a native elder. They went to Desperation Lake, where an ancient tribal meeting ring is located (the largest of it's kind to be found in North America). He took his camera along and shared his photos with us.

Arctic Alaska Day 6

Front Street (soon to be paved).

Levi and Rosie pose for a parting shot with Mom and Dad.

Since it was supposedly mom's day off, we decided to do the tourist thing. We got a tour of town, including front street, the post office, park services office, the grocery store and a special guided tour of the local hospital from Ben, Janella and Vienna. Mom baked fresh bread then we dropped in to the office and it was swamped there, so we ended up spending some time there and got to meet Rosie and Levi. We even got mom's hair permed and Robb took yet another flight with dad. He is certain to be a pilot soon at this rate.

Arctic Alaska Day 5

Dad grabs a quick bite to eat in between charters.

A HUGE moose rack awaits departure.

By load three, the hunting group already has camp set up.

Today was a "Go to work with your parents" day. Northwestern Aviation ended up having a terribly overbooked day, with very little ground support staff. We stood in and drove the fuel truck (that also doubles as a snow plow) back and forth with clients and gear. Dad took me on one of his last flights out to a lake in the seaplane and let me fly both ways! Best time ever.

Arctic Alaska Day 4

Jess got a little tired of sitting and decided to wash the windows.

One day this will be mine.

Labor Day! So of course, dad and mom were working. Dad had three charter flights in a row to take a large group of hunters and all of their gear out to a lake, so we got to see a fair bit of float plane work. We took it pretty easy, hanging around the office, then home for a 9:00 p.m. supper of mom's creamed peas and potatoes and a hallmark movie.

Arctic Alaska Day 3

Looking down on the continent of South America!

Dad and mom's duplex is the cream one with a brown roof.

Our night at the bed and breakfast was delightful. We woke up to dad making breakfast from leftovers—grilled cheese and questadillas. The fog had lifted a bit, so we had a nice flight back to Kotzebue. Pretty much as soon as we got back dad had flights scheduled, so Robb and I headed back to the apartment for a nice long nap. We took a nice trip around the 7-mile loop on the quad and then dad headed out to Noorvik on a Northwestern Aviation charter with dad. He was pretty excited, cause he got to fly the whole way back. Finally had dinner around 9:30. Our day keeps getting later and later.

Arctic Alaska Day 2

Jess, Linda, Lorraine and Robb say "cheese".

Taking a "spin" on an abandoned three-wheeler.

Okay, today was a bit on the wild side. We enjoyed Sabbath worship with the three other families and had a rip-roaring song service, followed by a tasty potluck. A five minute nap was all that we could fit in before taking to the skies once again, this time to visit the Kobuk Sand Dunes, in the Kobuk Valley National Park. It was very much like stepping into an arctic Sahara. Autumn has begun to overtake the arctic tundra, and the colors from the plane were vivid reds and golds. From there we took off again only to discover that Kotzebue was fogged in, so we diverted to Kiana and spent the evening with Heanie and Joe. Tonight we'll sleep at their bed and breakfast and hope for a clearer morning.

Arctic Alaska Day 1

A little herd of musk oxen.

A native villager's summer camp site.

Moon over Kotzebue.

We made it in to Kotzebue, AK on Friday evening and immediately got to go on a trip to an even smaller native village—Kivalina. The whole village, airstrip, trash dump and cemetery are located on a sand spit, so the landing was quite an adventure. After dropping off the charter client, we did a little big game spotting. Two grizzlies (one stood up on it's haunches!), several herd of musk oxen with babies and a flock of swans later, we headed back for a late Friday night supper of haystacks.

Seattle Stay

Some local residents refuse to sell out to the condos.

We dropped in on Luis and Tina Thursday night for a quick layover before heading north. They treated us to a delightful omelet breakfast followed by a walk along the shoreline. The views were spectacular and it was one of those unseasonably warm Seattle days that make you want to up and move there. Gorgeous!