Aurora Borealis

The last two nights I've been witness to an amazing display of God and nature. The past 4+ years I've seen the "Northern Lights" about 5 or 6 times in Alaska. On two occasions they appeared as a blue hazy cloud over the Chugach mountains in Eagle River.

They are more frequent and visible North of the Arctic Circle. This is partially due to latitude, and partially due to lack of light pollution given off by urban area's. Earlier in October on a couple clear late evenings I noticed a green hazy cloud growing and waving across the night sky, this is not what I saw last night. The last two nights I can't even begin to describe, nor capture on film what I saw. It was one of the most entertaining natural phenomena I have ever seen.

These images were taken about 11-12pm last night (October 16th). I used my Nikon D80 set to shutter priority (S) with a Vanguard tripod and Nikon shutter remote. After some experimentation I found the best shutter speed was 20 or 30 seconds at f3.5. These were taken with the stock Nikkor 18-55 lens.

Little or no editing has been done to enhance these images. Some were slightly tweaked using either iPhoto or Aperture.

NOTE: These images may appear different on other monitors. I apologize if they don't turnout that great on your screen, maybe try another. I did some pre-editing on my iMac, which is only about a year old; then uploaded them on my 3 year old MacBook at the school- they did appear different on the older screen.
The view is looking almost due West from our House in Arctic Village. The streaks of green ran all the way across the night sky, and turned to haze in the South and South Eastern sky.

The "curtains" of green were constantly moving and changing shapes. At times almost diminishing before growing and glowing again.
Here is the National Audubon Society: Field Guide to the Night Sky definition-

"Auroras: Solar phenomena observable from Earth without any specialized equipment are the auroras, aurora borealis and aurora australis, also known as the northern and southern lights, respectively. These appear as glowing areas high in the atmosphere, caused when high-energy atomic particles from the Sun- usually from a solar flare- hit the upper atmosphere of Earth and make the atoms there glow. Because the solar particles are charged, they are deflected be Earth's geomagnetic field to the magnetic poles. Auroras therefore occur most often in high northern and far southern latitudes but have occasionally been seen near the equator. Scientists can predict auroras with some accuracy by observing storms on the Sun. Auroras appear in many forms: some are faint whitish glows in the sky, others are reddish or greenish arcs, curtains, or rays. They sometimes change rapidly, with waves of brightness seeming to wash over them. Certainly auroras are among the more awesome and eerie natural phenomena."

The self portrait images were again taken with the tripod and remote, but also using a slow flash setting in programable (P) mode followed by a 20 second shutter.
It is easy to see how people become addicted to following and capturing the northern lights. There are many legends, myths, and superstitions about the origins and purpose of these displays. Some Alaskan native myths believe they are souls dancing in the sky, other ancient European cultures believe it was angels clashing and battling in the heavens. In ancient Chinese lore they were described as the breath of dragons blowing fireballs across the night sky. The Vikings thought they were reflections from the shields of Valkyries, maidens escorting dead warriors to heaven. Japanese believe they are associated with the life giving mysteries of conception, and believe any child conceived under the Aurora will be fortunate in life.

They were originally named in 1621 by a French scientist after Aurora, Roman goddess of dawn.

I look forward to continue capturing them on camera. If they appear again tonight I may try and use my video camera to film the show.

Temperature Drops Off

The signs of winter are everywhere. Our fireplace has been going daily for the last three weeks. People continue to tune up their "Snow-Go's" and put way 4-wheelers. Kids are enjoying sledding after school and during recess.

The average daytime temperature has been around 10, with highs in the low teens. The last couple nights its hung around 0.

Two nights ago I recorded -5 on our house thermometer.

The above photo was taken this morning just after sunrise, about 9am.

First Ski of the Year, Seeing Caribou!

Saturday it was a crisp, clear afternoon and the sun was shining on the freshly fallen snow, so we got out our skis and went for our first ski in Arctic Village. There is not a lot of snow yet, but there is enough of a ground cover to ski. We skied the roads through the village from our house out to the airport.

As we approached the airport, someone driving down the road on a 4-wheeler briefly slowed down and shouted, "hundreds of Caribou at the airport." When we got to the airport, this is what we saw...

Across the runway hundreds of caribou were running, walking and stopping to graze. We spent over two hours just watching the caribou. They kept coming and coming! We literally saw hundreds of them come up from the river and cross the runway.

Flying in to Arctic Village

Flying to Arctic

Flying in bush planes is nothing like flying on regular commercial flights. You don't have to go through metal detectors and you can keep your shoes on the whole time. You can take as much luggage as you want, but anything over 40lbs. you pay for by the pound. Is is 85 cents per pound when flying to Arctic Village.

When I arrive at the airport I load my luggage on a cart, which is weighed, then I walk up to the ticket counter, shown below, where I am weighed with any small carry-on items that I am taking on the plane.

Leaving Fairbanks yesterday, the city was covered in fog and I couldn't see any of the city.
Our first stop was Fort Yukon where one person and a bunch of freight was unloaded. Fort Yukon is where the district headquarters for Sam's school district, Yukon Flats, is located. It is much bigger than Arctic Village. In Fort Yukon there are roads everywhere and many people have trucks and cars, not just four wheelers.
Pictured below is the terminal at the Fort Yukon airport. It has a bathroom with flushing toilets, a telephone and vending machines.
Between Fort Yukon and Arctic Village the views are amazing. As we flew farther North there was more and more snow covering the mountains and rivers.
Stay tuned for more...

Second Snow

Friday evening we walked home from Movie Night at school under overcast snow clouds. The temperature hovered right around freezing. As we fell asleep the wind picked up and that beautiful frozen precipitation started to fall. We awoke Saturday morning to about one inch of snow. By noon there was two inches and the storm started to clear.

The pictures below are from a quick hike up the banks of the Chandalar River.

Jack was totally pumped to get more snow, especially the moist south central style snow.
Abby & River decided they would join us. Where is Arin?
The river only frozen in a few spots, actually held some snow on the surface. A local later told me were at least another month away from walking/skiing/snow machining on the river.
River blending in with her surroundings, enjoying playtime with friends.
The Arctic Village School as seen from up river about 15 minutes.
The storm cleared, and the sun was blinding reflecting off all the new white snow.
How many dogs can we get in the self timer shot?
My favorite nearby mountain.
Possible ski terrain? We'll see!

"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.

Living the Way of our Ancestors

Recently, someone here in the village asked me how I liked "living the way my ancestors did." That got me to thinking, when did my ancestors live this way? Did they ever? And do the people of Arctic really still live as their ancestors lived? These questions could be answered on a philosophical level, but I'll just consider them on a practical level for now.

The Gwich'in people were nomadic until as late as the 1950's! They followed the caribou herd hunting to survive and did not establish permanent villages until the the riffle was introduced. When the people here refer to living as their ancestors did, they refer to hunting caribou and living without indoor plumbing. Although they do have electricity, telephones, internet access, cable TV, four wheelers and snow machines (I don't think their ancestors had all that!) Compared to living in Fairbanks or another city, the people of Arctic Village do live somewhat how their ancestors did, just with a few more modern conveniences available. When the electricity goes out and the satellites go down, that is when they really go back to living as their ancestors did!

As for my other questions about my ancestors...I called my Grandmother for more information. Grandma told me that her family first got indoor plumbing and a coal furnace in 1948 when she left for college. My grandmother was born in 1931 in Moberly, Missouri and had electricity and a telephone for as long as she can remember. She is pretty sure that her family had both of these things before she was ever born. The phone line she had as a child was a party line, shared with three other residences/businesses and you had to go through the operator to place a call.

I asked Grandma if/when any of our relatives primarily hunted to survive and she said that you would have to go back a very long way to find that. My great great great grandparents came from North Carolina to Missouri in 1837 in a covered wagon. They were primarily farmers and had children who left for the gold rush in California, fought in the Civil War, and settled in Missouri as farmers. My great great grandparents owned a lumber yard in Missouri. My great grandparents owned a store and great grandpa also worked as a mail carrier and car salesman for awhile in Missouri. My grandparents both left home for college and eventually moved to Indiana (after living a few other places) where my Grandfather worked for Universities and my Grandmother worked as an Office Manager for a Non-Profit. My Grandma wasn't really sure when our family first came to America, but it was well before 1800.

So, for me, living in Arctic Village is not really living like my ancestors (and Sam could say the same.) For me, living in Arctic Village is jumping into a totally different way of life - the way of the Gwich'in people and their ancestors. I am privileged to have this opportunity to learn all that this way of life entails, because not too many people anywhere really live the way of their ancestors anymore.

I Woke up to Winter

Did you know that dish soap can freeze? I woke up on Saturday morning and our cabin was so cold that I could see my breath. As I started making coffee I noticed that the dish soap had frozen, inside the cabin, right there on the counter - frozen. Brr...time to get a fire going!

I walked over to school that afternoon to take a shower and do some laundry. When I walked back outside I realized that it had started to SNOW!!!!! September 25th and the snow is already flying. It is going to be a long winter!

There were ravens flying all over picking at the trash barrels and it totally felt like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds" as I walked out of the school building.

There is something romantic and magical about watching snowflakes fall. As I walked home I stopped to take pictures along the way and to catch a few flakes on my tongue!

Snowing falling on the school....

Snow falling on the post office...

And the most beautiful of all, snow falling on the mountains!!!

I love this view from behind our cabin. We look out at the mountains and dream of skiing!

Jack is excited about the snow too. He rolled around in it so much that we don't have much snow left in our yard. He also found something, which he proudly presented to me...

And you thought it was bad when the cat finds a mouse and delivers it to your doorstep...Jack found this in the woods somewhere and carried it to the doorstep.

Ah, caribou hoof, thanks Jack!

Self-Portrait

While Sam has been away, I was able to be his sub again. It is sort of like we have been tag-teaming as a couple. When he isn't here I step in and help out. Sometimes it is very challenging, but other times it can be a lot of fun.

One of the lessons Sam left for me to do with the middle schooler's in Art was self portraits. Sam left his own self portrait as an example:

The kids thought it would be really hard to draw themselves, but once they got started I was amazed at what they were able to create! They each started with a real pictures of themselves, traced the major outlines, then filled in details with color.

Their pictures were beautiful! They were filled with so much personality and individuality. The expressions they drew on their faces perfectly captured their own unique likenesses. It was such a joy to watch the kids create something of their own - something with no right or wrong answer, just whatever they wanted it to be.

Reading, Writing and Math...all the stuff on standardized tests, does not come easily for most of these students. It seems that a majority of the school day is spent working on those things and it can leave them feeling pretty worthless. No matter how much encouragement is given, they know they struggle with the "core" curriculum - yes they have test scores that prove that. Showing the kids that they are capable and valuable may not be on any test they will ever take...but it is an investment that will change their lives.

A Three Dog Night

While Sam and Arin (the elementary teacher) have been in Fairbanks the past few days for a teacher training, I have been pet sitting her dogs - River and Abby.

Jack's sleepover with his friends started with everyone in their place.

Jack took his usual spot at the foot of my bed and he "let" River and Abby

share his dog bed on the floor.

It wasn't too long before it started to get cold and all

three dogs came to cuddle in my bed!

I tried to get a picture of all of us together, but my arm wasn't

long enough to capture us all in one shot.

It sure is good to have friends to cuddle with when it gets cold!

Cabin Makeover

We decided to make a few modifications to our cabin to give it some color and to make the most out of a small space. Last time I was in Fairbanks I bought bright colored fabrics and sewed curtains for each window (as I had mentioned in a previous post, two of Sam's students helped me sew the curtains.) I also used scraps of fabric to cover cardboard and make wall hangings that we can also use as bulletin boards.

In the small area that had been a "bathroom", Sam built a loft to store extra gear and installed a hanging bar to create a closet. We are now able to store a lot things in a small space, while maintaining a sense of organization.
We ripped out the table that had been the kitchen area and moved the futon over to create a "living room" space. Jack likes hanging out over there and sneaking up on the futon for naps when he thinks we aren't looking! The cross you see hanging on the wall is one that we got from our church in Missouri, the first church we attended after getting married. It has hung in each place we have lived since we have been married, and now it has made it all the way to Arctic Village!
In the space where the futon used to be, Sam built a desk for our computer. This created a nice little "office" area. Sam built the desk and shelf from scrap wood he found in the yard.

If you follow our blog, you have seen this picture before. This is what our dining area used to look like...

And this is what it looks like now...

The curtains are a modified roman shade that pull up with strings to let the light in. The table that we ripped out from the other side of the room, Sam rebuilt and put beneath the windows so that our whole kitchen is in one corner. Below the table cloth is where we store all of our food and on top of the table is where we do all of our cooking.

This is a picture of what our "bedroom" area had looked like:
And here is a photo of it now...not too much different, but a nice flash of color on the walls. We have started to pin up pictures and inspirational quotes such as our favorite Bible verses on here.

This last photo is for all those who asked....yes, we do have a honey bucket!

It is nice to take a space and try to add touches to make it feel like home, but what I have realized is that home isn't about the things we surround ourselves with. It is about the people with whom we share it!

Think Outside the Bun

After our weekend get-away, Monday was back to the grindstone. The kids had been out of school all week for fall break, while the teachers were at in-service and like after any break it took them awhile to get them back into the routine.

I stopped by Sam's class on Monday to help him with reading groups and overheard the funniest conversation. He was teaching his middle schoolers about writing good paragraphs with an introduction, supporting details and a conclusion. He drew a picture of a hamburger and labelled the top bun introduction, the meat, cheese, lettuce, etc. as details and the bottom bun as the conclusion. It seemed like a straightforward illustration to me, but the kids took it in a whole different direction. They wanted to know if Sam had every really worked in fast food and if he knew anything about cheeseburgers. Sam told them that he had worked at Taco Bell and a girl in the back shouted out, "well that is the problem, we've got to think outside the bun!" Maybe these kids really do have to think outside the bun.