Life in Below Zero Temperature

This morning Rick and I took a drive in the tundra to catch the sunrise. This is an easy fete. Here in Kotzebue, sunrise began shortly before noon. In honor of Kevin's birthday, Rick promised to take photos of the sunrise and sunset.

With a view of White Alice in the background, I clicked off a few photos of the fushia-colored sunrise. While standing in -4 degrees, the cell phone in my jeans pocket began to ring. Raising my down parka to reach for the phone, I felt the morning chill sink into my skin. I pressed the talk button with my bare hand. Ski gloves tucked under my arm, I confirmed the time of the cookie exchange later today. After a short conversation, I hung up the line and returned the blue gloves to my reddening fingers.

 Next we headed down onto the narrow beach. Looking out at the ocean, the ice covered the wide expanse. Cape Blossom stood frozen to the south. Someday this stretch of land could play host to a deep water port. As we neared the South Beach party pad bunker, we turned the rig around in a wide space in the road. After driving north, the tire tracks began to lessen. Soon they were gone. Taking our cue from others who knew the land, we retraced our tracks while driving in reverse. Finally a wide space to turn around.

When we made it back to the main road, the pink light illuminated two clouds in the distance.  After another copy of shots, we headed back into town. Soon the sun would rise above the frozen lagoon where we could see it from our living room window. The orange globe would show itself for a few hours and then sink below the horizon again. Happy Birthday, Dear Brother.