Blizzard in Kotzebue

The new snow drift is more than three feet high.

Snow blown on winds at more than 30 miles per hour created a nearly white out condition this evening. At seven degrees, we are expecting another three inches of snow within the next 24 hours. Nearly four inches have already fallen. See more photos taken tonight:

Youth playing in snow drifts outside our apartment.

Snapping this photo before going back inside our apartment.

Flash glares against the snow flakes.

Snow Flurries in Kotzebue

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.

A Sunday During Holiday Season in Kotzebue

The light has finally arrived today. The wind is blowing snow off the large pile on the lagoon's shore. Huge ravens balance on wind currents, obviously enjoying the cruise. Inside the dishwasher is running and steam erupts from the camp gear kettle. Pouring hot water over lose-leaf, green tea, I steep in the warmth of another cold day in the Far North.

It's quiet outside on this Sunday morning. Residents are either in church or beginning to wake from a long night's sleep. A plane departs the runway across the lagoon on a scheduled flight to one of the other villages. Snow flurries are expected today but as of yet I haven't seen any. Life is taking hold of this subzero day.

During most of the day, Christmas lights can be seen in patterns affixed to power poles, hanging over Third Avenue and on the exteriors of homes. Apartment windows are strung with flashing LED lights and an artificial Christmas tree draws a sharp contrast to the white snow of an occasional front yard. Big red bows and tree boughs, purchased from Alaska Commercial, decorate the front door of an apartment down the way from us. 

This weekend Kotzebue has been filled with holiday shoppers from neighboring villages. The tables were occupied by families waiting for Asian food or burgers at Empress Restaurant when we ate there yesterday. The bustle of Christmas shoppers at A-C was evident as we drove past on Main Street. Cars, four-wheelers and snow machines were parked outside Rotman's while inside lookers and buyers had flooded the store.

Another holiday bazaar took place yesterday at the Senior Center. The month of December is filled with them. Jeannette and I attended two last weekend, purchased handcrafted Eskimo gifts and munched out on enchiladas for lunch at the Catholic Church before heading to the Lions Club for a second holiday bazaar. Various churches sponsor them as well as the girls basketball team and others.

Daily lines out the lobby door are common at Kotzebue's small post office. Turning the key in the lock of our post office box, I have mixed feelings about what the small space may contain each day. While a yellow card indicates a gift or a much-anticipated mail order item, it will surely result in a wait in line for up to an hour before receiving it from a tired and over-worked postal employee at the single open window.

Friday there were two yellow cards in our box: one was a Christmas gift from Rick's parents and the other was a 40-pound box that contained a new flat screen t.v. for Rick. Definitely worth the wait.

Beginning tomorrow many residents will board flights to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines to finish their holiday shopping. The streets of the state's largest city will be filled with out-of-towners looking for unique gifts unavailable in the rural areas. As people from the smaller villages migrate to the larger villages of Kotzebue, Nome, and Barrow, residents of these larger villages will travel to Anchorage or Fairbanks.

With the sound of the dryer in the background, I count the days before our trip Outside. Just nine more days before we fly to the Bay Area to visit my family. Making the last arrangements for lodging and transportation to the Santa Rosa and Lake county areas, the excitement of travel courses through my veins. My heart sighs as the reality of seeing my dad, Tony, siblings, and others sinks in deeper. I look up from my laptop in time to watch the tail of a cargo plane as it turned towards the terminal on a snow-plowed runway. The light remains for another few hours. Hopefully we will make it out to the tundra to see the sunset at 2:49 pm.

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.