"Changes in Latitudes, Changes in...."

With much anticipation I left Fairbanks on Sunday after four more days of training. After a brief discussion with Gretchen this past Saturday, I knew to expect a fresh white blanket on the tundra as I traveled North once again. We left Fairbanks and quickly entered heavy clouds. Over an hour later we emerged in our Cessna Grand Caravan near the Yukon River. I could barely make out Birch Creek to the left of the airplane, while Fort Yukon was totally obscured to the right. As Venetie got closer the sky began to clear- the sun was shining on the Brooks Range in the distance. I noticed a shimmer off several of the lakes and ponds along our sister community. To my surprise it was ice gently forming on the surface of the water. After a quick stop to drop off two fellow teachers in Venetie we headed North by North East to Arctic Village. As we gained latitude the ice on these bodies of water grew thicker and thicker, eventually suspending snow on the surface. The landscape was poca-dotted in white all the way home.

The last two days I decided to take my high schoolers for a hike during P.E. Despite dropping temperatures and falling frozen precipitation, they enjoy the 55 minute jaunt into the village countryside. Yesterday we walked to Glacier Creek, about 1.3 miles South East of school. During the walk back I was greeted with flurries, as a brief storm blew in from the North. Today we decided to hike along the shore of the Chandalar River. To my surprise this was also frozen. Most of the surrounding ponds and lakes are pretty stagnant, but I did not predict the steadily flowing river current to freeze this soon. There was an intermittent layer of ice along the surface of the Chandalar during most of our hike. At times you could hear these plate tectonic like ice sheets cracking and splintering as they fought the cold to avoid solidifying. Soon enough we will be grabbing cross country ski's for an afternoon tour.