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| Looking out over the lagoon to the tundra from Kotzebue. |
In the distance, an occasional dog barks. Down the dirt road from our apartment Iditorod winner John Baker kennels his dogs. There are also the sounds of seagulls but no screeches from the huge ravens feeding off the remnants of food found in open dumpsters throughout this native village located above the Arctic Circle. Mostly it's just quiet.
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| Early afternoon as people begin to emerge in Kotzebue. |
Since the school year ended, the sleep cycle of many Eskimos living in the Village of Kotzebue has been reversed. Sleep during the day and up in the late afternoon makes for empty streets and quiet in the mornings. Traditionally Eskimos slept during the heat of day and performed subsistence work at night.
The tradition of sleeping during the day continues to be handed down to the young people of this generation. Kotzebue streets are filled with children playing out on bikes, walking the streets, and stomping through puddles until the the late-night hours. Some children at the club brag of the all-nighters they have already experienced this year. Of course not all have the luxury of this lifestyle. Work in this community continues on its normal schedule in a similar way to any community in the Lower 48.
The signs of an early break up can be seen up river. Extensive flooding is occurring in
Buckland and the tiny village of
Kobuk. Emergency crews from the Northwest Arctic Borough were flown to these remote villages to evacuate residents from their homes to the village schools yesterday.
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| Nowhere for the water to go during the melt. |
The effects of the melt are continuing to be felt here in Kotzebue. This frozen strip of land stands as a barrier to the waters accumulating from melting snow and ice. City public works crews are busy pumping out the excess water collecting in large puddles around the village. Cars and four wheelers ride over the crisscross of swollen hoses that are redirecting the muddy water from the low-lying areas out towards the Sound, lagoon, and Swan Lake.
Mosquitoes are beginning their short lifespan here in the Arctic. A five-year old in the next booth chanted "mosquito, mosquito" at Bayside Restaurant yesterday where I was eating a late lunch. From our vantage, we could see the calming stretch of ice over the Kotzebue Sound.
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| Construction season has begun along Front Street. |
Construction season has resumed along
Shore Avenue with AIC working to complete the road project begun last summer. On a walk yesterday, I saw orange cones lining portions of the roadway while a bulldozer moved gravel and dirt that had been barged in last summer
from Nome. The huge bump outs lining this street that fronts the Kotzebue Sound will be landscaped with native plants and flowers as well as placement of interpretative signage, benches and picnic tables. The huge sheet pilings that were driven into the permafrost last season are continuing to hold the remaining soil from being washed away. Erosion is a serious problem throughout the Northwest Arctic Borough due to continued shorter and more mild winters.
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| Construction of the new hotel continues. |
The new high-rise hotel that SKW Eskimos, Inc. is building will be completed this summer. This structure dwarfs the old hotel that is located within feet of the new building along Shore Avenue. A proud accomplishment by NANA Development Corporation, the new
Nullagvik Hotel is due to open this fall with 78 guest rooms, a year-round restaurant and other amenities.
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| One of many flights out to the villages. |
The loud sound of a prop plane punctures through the silence of this early morning hour. On clear days like today air travel is permissible out to the villages from this hub city. Their loud, engine sounds stand as a reminder of the remoteness of this region where most communities are only accessible by air this time of year.
These planes serve as a reminder of the valuable link between this city to its neighboring inhabitants spread throughout this vast region. The great ice road has already closed for the season. The air has returned to its quiet stasis, and breakfast is calling my name.
