Fingers of Cold Creap Up in Kotzebue

Sunset behind a drift of snow along the shore of Kotzebue Sound.

After the brief warm up, temperatures have seriously dropped in Kotzebue. Sinking way below 0 degrees, the low for the day was -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Before leaving the house this morning, I put on a fleece face sock, thermals, my Eskimo parkie and heavy gloves along with work clothes. While much of the day was spent indoors, I came face to face with the frigid, arctic cold.

Everywhere the effects of the cold were felt. The upstairs temperature was cool. Not enough of the warm air from downstairs had made its way up the staircase of our apartment during the night. Water from the faucet was barely lukewarm when Rick took a shower before work. While the van idled for 25 minutes before the windows melted away the frost, I bundled up in several layers for the Far North temperatures. The dry air extracted whatever moisture had been in the air and formed frost on vehicles that were now idling simultaneously.

Driving the short distance to the club on Fifth Avenue, I marveled at the hardy souls walking to work or school. Eskimo men walked the frozen sidewalks with ice crystals that had formed on facial hair behind ruffs of fox, wolf, and wolverine. Young children with round faces skipped to school in snow suits and stylish hats.

At lunchtime, I rebundled my tall frame for the ride to and from home. The light had appeared in the sky and I was overjoyed at its presence. The shadowy moon appeared whole near the horizon. Removing my parkie, boots, gloves, face sock, and scarf, I prepared toasted sandwiches for a light lunch. With the short commute home, there was still time to relax before heading back to work.

After a meeting with the City, I walked outside to warm up the van before taking it out for some errands after the club opened. With the list in glove-covered hand, I drove over icy streets past the Northwest Arctic Borough School. Youths were making their way home attired in various levels of warm clothing. Most of them wore caps and snow pants with down parkas. Snow boots and gloves finished off their outfits. An occasional teenager wearing skinny jeans could be seen along Third Avenue.

Moonrise over the Kotzebue Sound.

Seeing the large moon hovering over the mountains across the Kotzebue Sound, I began framing a photo in my mind. Pulling up to the idling cars along Shore Avenue outside of the post office, the composition of the images would have to be created there for there was not much time before the bitter cold would make capturing this beauty difficult.

After standing in line with yellow card in hand, I took our mail and a package received out to the van and pulled out my Canon Powershot A650 IS camera from its case. Not bothering to put on my gloves or the face sock, I quickly composed shots of the moon rising at one end of the sound and then the sunset at the other.

Brilliant pinks and oranges reflected off the opaque surface of the ice. The core of my body remained warm under the 11 ounce lining of my parkie but my face began to burn. Fingers of frigid cold gripped my cheeks as only an arctic winter can do. The outside temperature had dipped to -16 degrees. Thrusting the point and shoot camera into its case, I closed the door to the van and made my way to my next stop.

Sitting in our warm apartment while writing this post tonight, I occasionally checked accuweather for the current temperature. The night temperature has dropped to -20 while the real feel is -31. Away from the cold that has the Village of Kotzebue in its grip, the current temperature is merely an oddity. Accuweather forecasts tomorrow's temperatures at -13 degrees for the high and -25 for the low. Just another day above the Arctic Circle.

Hallelujah Chorus -Quinhagak, Alaska

Check out the YouTube video below taken of fifth graders from Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat school doing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah in Quinhagak. The video will fill your heart with happiness while offering some excellent footage of bush Alaska.

Quinhagak is a Yupik village of a little more than 500 and is located within the Bethel region. Kotzebue is 423 miles north of Bethel.

Beauty of Snow In Kotzebue

Sunrise this week in Kotzebue.

Outside our living room windows the snow is blowing from the sky and the huge snow drifts. This truly is a beautiful time of year in Kotzebue. Snow piled five feet high by plows make fun play toys for kids. Near the front door to our apartment, loose sheet metal clangs.

There is a feeling of antiquity in the wind, as though this land has endured ferocious gusts for thousands of years. Mountains have been made smooth by these winds, leaving treeless tundra behind. Snow and ice formed lagoons, rivers and lakes on the land.

We are expecting nearly two inches of new snow overnight, according to Accuweather. Over the weekend, temperatures warmed up to an unseasonable high of sometimes 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The existing snow began to slush and large areas of icy water hovered over the Kotzebue Sound. The lagoon and Swan Lake displayed patches of open water.

For the first time since October, I ventured out in an unzipped coat with gloveless hands earlier this week. My body has become accustomed to colder temperatures of the Far North. “It actually feels warm today,” I mentioned to Rick one morning after going outdoors to start the van. I carried a smile around town while rejoicing the warmer temperatures with friends and neighbors.

Today the temperatures began to fall. While the high was 21 degrees, the low will reach -5 before this night is through. Thursday temperatures will settle back down into the single digits during the day as the sky clears and the cold envelops us once more. A previously forecasted blizzard will pass us by and be replaced by frigid cold for a day or so until it snows again.

Even while the night is dark, I see the runway lights across the lagoon as I sit here writing this post. A streetlamp outside our window casts a beacon of light on our dead end street. The light has intensified the snow’s whiteness.

Each day we gain more light.

Each day we gain more light. A few weeks ago there was only 1.7 hours between sunrise and sunset. Today there were 2.7 hours and more than four hours between the moon’s rise and set. You might ask yourself why these amounts mean anything to me as I stare out at the night sky. As a matter of fact, I praise the gift of light these days. The expansion of daylight fills my heart with happiness for I know that soon the darkness will recede. Soon this light will awaken us from our holding places and wash away our sleepiness. Residents in this Eskimo village will celebrate the light’s return with late night activities such as bonfires on the beach, fishing and hunting.

But for now I will sit and stare out the window at the beauty. Outside, the runway lights have blurred in the blowing snow and the clanging of sheet metal carries out its rhythm. And I sit here writing this post and thinking of family and friends asleep in their beds. These thoughts bring a smile to my lips and a glow of love in my heart.

New Year's Eve in Kotzebue

Fireworks over the Kotzebue Sound on New Year's Eve.

Kotzebue was bustling with visitors from the villages and snow machine racers on New Year's Eve. Beginning Thursday, the NANA Regional Corporation, Northwest Arctic Borough School District and others hosted the Husky Shootout at the Kotzebue Middle/High School. Even a fireworks display was planned for midnight.

As light snow fell, I ventured out in search of eggs yesterday morning. After Rick had struck out at Alaska Commercial earlier, I drove to Rotman's to see if they had any. Even Egg Beaters would work for making cookies for the Spaghetti Feed fundraiser we are hosting at the club New Year's Day. Planning my route to include a stop at the post office, I drove past the Friends Church and turned down the side street next to the store. It was still dark as I stepped out of the van in my new parkie and walked into the store.

Rotman's is a locally owned grocery store that includes the sale of fabric and sewing supplies in a separate room, along with tee shirts and sweatshirts with the words "What Happens in Kotzebue, Stays in Kotzebue" screen printed on them. When I found the dairy case, there was one carton of Egg Beaters waiting on an empty shelf and no eggs in sight. At the register, the checker said they were hoping to get some eggs in later in the day. A.C. and Rotman's have been playing catch up with many grocery items after the recent blizzards prevented many flights into this hub city.

With the carton and a batch of Toll House Cookie dough in a plastic sack, I said good bye to the clerk of this clean and friendly store. She recommended that I call later to ascertain whether they had received eggs in the daily shipment. The crunching sound of snow on my boots was familiar as I opened the door to the van that I had left running during the visit to Rotman's. Idling vehicles in Kotzebue is a must this time of year but no one worries about whether their vehicle will be there when they come out of the store, post office or other buildings. Frequent cold starts are hard on a vehicle and should be avoided.

After parking at the post office, I walked the short distance across Shore Avenue and into the building to find the lobby nearly empty. Now that Christmas is over, the lines at the post office have diminished. A gift from the Bedards, along with the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens and other mail, had been stuffed into our small box. The line to the counter was only three deep while I waited to receive the package indicated by the yellow card that had been placed in the club's. I chatted with nurses and a doctor from Maniilaq Health Center before reaching the front of the line. The yellow card was a false alarm from a package that had already been picked up.

Exiting the Eskimo Building, I felt the breeze blowing off the frozen Kotzebue Sound. The temperature had warmed to 4 degrees. A front has moved in that is supposed to evolve into a winter storm New Year's night. Enjoying the first temperatures above zero in more than a week, I left my head uncovered for the trip home.

Rick and I drove to the Northwest Arctic Borough's Kotzebue High School gym to catch the semi-finals of the basketball tournament. After paying our five dollar apiece admission, we walked into the packed gym of 3,000 spectators.
The girls' teams from Noatak and Selawik were finishing their match up. Noatak won the game during regulation time.

Next up was a match up between the boys from Kiana and Selawik. While waiting for the game to begin, two girls from Kotzebue High School's volleyball team ran their push brooms across the gymnasium floor. Kiana was ahead when we made our way down the bleachers after the first quarter. Selawik rallied to win the game later that night, clinching a spot in the finals New Year's Day.

Kotzebue High School Gym bleachers are full of spectators.

We drove down Shore Avenue looking at the temporary raceway that had been set up on the Sound. Earlier this morning there had been large cones marking the route. The Night Riders were scheduled to race later in the evening. Heavier layers of clothing would be required for this outdoor activity.

After a dinner that consisted of trout Rick had caught on a fishing trip upriver this summer and various vegetables from this week's Full Circle Farm box, I sat down on the floor in our study to begin writing this post. After an hour, it was time to change for the race.

The snow machine race was a quite a sight with sharp white lights speeding over the ice in circles and tons of cars lining Shore Avenue to watch. Due to the road widening, there was ample room for both lanes of traffic and parking this year. Trucks were parked on the ice near the start/finish line. Teenagers from the villages and locals were hanging out while younger kids played in the snow. Periodic reports were broadcast on the radio.

Night Riders in foreground watching fireworks display.

The race was finishing up as the fireworks show began at midnight.  Local organizations had made donations for the large display that is traditional this time of year. Since the sun doesn't set on July 4th, fireworks are reserved for New Year's Eve when the night sky is near its darkest ebb. When the the grand finale occurred, cars and trucks began to pull out into the widened street for the short drive home. Snow machines and a few four-wheelers passed by with their riders dressed in a bundled fashion.

The new year has begun in this part of the world after a busy night of activities for the residents of Kotzebue and visitors from many other villages. Kotzebue once again played its part as a hub city in the Northwest Alaska region.