Snow flurries and winds of 30 miles per hour dominate the air space outside the windows in our living room. Home for lunch, I look out over the lagoon and can barely see the runway lights even though visibility is about seven miles according to Accuweather.com. Winds off the tundra are sending snow drifts every which way.
Many Alaska Airline flights have been canceled this week making for travelers stuck either in Kotzebue, Nome or Anchorage. Village flights have also been canceled. I check the flight status for Flight 152 as Rick is scheduled to come in two hours after spending most of the week in Anchorage attending meetings. Alaska Airlines has this cool graphic that shows where the plane is and how close it is to Kotzebue.
Temperatures have warmed up considerably. Yesterday it was minus 8 degrees fahrenheit with a windchill tapping out around minus 35. As I sit on our leather loveseat looking out the living room windows, temperatures are nearly 10 degrees above zero.
The intensity of the blowing makes the van door difficult to open the door to the van when I came home for lunch. Pinching the hood of my down jacket around my face, my Columbia boots automatically shuffle over the parking lot to the open-grid stairs. The shuffle provide sure footing over compacted ice n its bumpy surface.
After putting away the organic produce from the Full Circle Farms box, I reach for a tapioca pudding cup leftover from when I had the stomach flu last week and pull a silver spoon from the drawer. Turning the tv onto HGTV, I pick up my laptop to check emails and stare out the wondow. Huge ravens soar bravely through the air. Daredevils all of them. With the tv on mute, I watch designers decorate homes for Christmas and wonder whether Rick's plane will land.
Due to the shortage of flights coming in, lines at the post office are sporadically out the door. Prior to driving home, I stop by the post office where lines are snaking around the Opening my box, I'm relieved to see there are no yellow cards again today. Seeing friends waiting in line, I stop to visit about Christmas plans next week. Cargo planes have been landed across the lagoon at weird times in an attempt to deliver packages when possible. The collection of packages arriving and departing are dominated by Priority Mail boxes and stickers this time of year.
I check the flight status again before heading back to work as the wind continues to blow the light-weight flakes. Looks very probable that the plane will deliver my husband as it is on the ground in Nome.
Note: Rick called at 3:00 pm confirming that he had made it in. Relief washed over me and once again I praised our talented bush pilots.
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