Selawik From the Sky

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Some photos taking off from Selawik on a windy low visibility afternoon.



















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Commuting Alaskan Style.

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Here are some photos from my Friday morning commute to work.


Flying to work that morning in Northwest Aviation's Cessna 206.




Me, the pilot, one other person and tons of stuff. I am amazed at how much stuff the pilot crammed in there.




Heading down the runway.
















































This is Lockard Point, about 5 miles outside of Kotzebue. In the background is the mouth of the Noatak River where it empties into Kotzebue Sound.




A closer shot of Lockard Point and the Noatak mouth.




Pressure ridge on Kobuk Lake (Hotham Inlet).




Tundra near the village of Noorvik.




These are seismic lines. These lines can be found all over Alaska even in the most remote areas. These lines were created years ago when regions all over Alaska were being explored for oil and whatnot. During the winter equipment was brought up that would send sound waves into the earth and the waves reflected back were analyzed to see if they showed deposits. Large paths were cut through the vegetation so that the equipment could go in straight lines. The vegetation on the tundra grows very slowly so these paths will be visible for many, many years. Well, either that or these are survey lines...one or the other.




This is the village of Noorvik. Can you see it?












Here is my destination. Maniilaq's family recovery camp, Mapsigvik, about 10 miles outsiide of the village of Selawik.




This is where I was last Friday through Monday evening which is why the blog has been so quiet.

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Sledding Last Saturday

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Last saturday Uyaana and I went sledding with some friends.




It was a beautiful weekend and Saturday had the warmest weather.















This photo and the next one were taken from on top of Cemetery Hill where we were sliding.




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Fata Morgana

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See what looks like a cliff behind the musher? This is a good example of what is called "Fata Morgana", also knows as a mirage. These are quite common here in the arctic.

The Fata Morgana is named after Morgan le Fay who was the shape shifting fairy half sister of King Arthur.



Wikipedia (The Source of all Wisdom and Knowledge) states:

"Fata Morgana is most common in polar regions, especially over large sheets of ice with a uniform low temperature, but it can be observed almost anywhere. While in polar regions Fata Morgana is observed on cold days, in deserts and over oceans and lakes Fata Morgana is observed on hot days. In this form of mirage, images which would normally be concealed behind the horizon appear distorted in the sky.

A fata morgana is caused by abrupt variances in air temperature; when air above the line of sight is warmer than the air below. This is known as temperature inversion, since it does not represent the normal temperature gradient of the atmosphere. Light traveling from the horizon is refracted towards the earth, away from the warmer air above. These are the conditions which cause a superior mirage - a Fata Morgana occurs only when light travels through multiple distinct temperature gradients. This results in an image which may be compressed in some sections and expanded in others. As air temperature changes over time so do the various angles of refraction, causing the image to expand or contract as the atmosphere returns to its standard temperature gradient."

There. You learn something new every day.

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2010 Dan Snyder Sr./Doc Harris Memorial, Day 3

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Tired of mushing photos yet? Too bad here's some more. Sunday was the third and final day of the 2010 Dan Snyder Sr./Doc Harris Memorial.




Here is Budoo posing with his brother in law's obituary photo. He says he keeps it in his pocket so that Bung is always with him while he is racing.




Cyrus' leaders are looking back to see if everyone is ready to go.




Cyrus was the fist to take off.




Paul checking out his team during the last few seconds before his start.




There goes Paul.




Budoo's start.




First place went to Cyrus Harris with a time of 54 minutes and 44 seconds. He was also 1st place over all with a time of 172 minutes and 28 seconds.




Paul Hansen came in 2nd with a time of 55 minutes 29 seconds. He was 2nd place over all with a combined time of 174 minutes and 28 seconds.




Budoo was 3rd with a time of 57 minutes and 19 seconds. He was 3rd place over all with a combined time of 176 minutes and 19 seconds.





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2010 Dan Snyder Sr./Doc Harris Memorial, Day 2

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Today was day two of the Dan Snyder Sr./Doc Harris Memorial races.




It was another beautiful day.




It was about 18F degrees. Nice day for hanging out on the ice and watching the race.




First out was Budoo Gallahorn.












Second out was Cyrus Harris.












Third out was Paul Hansen.












Coming to the finish Budoo and Cyrus were pretty close together.




Budoo was kicking for all he was worth.




But in the end it wasn't enough to give him a faster time than Cyrus.




Budoo was in 3rd place today with a time of 59 minutes and 36 seconds.




That puts him in third place over all so far with a 2 day time of 119 minutes.




Cyrus came in 1st place today.




His time today was 58 minutes and 7 seconds.




That puts him in first place over all so far. His two day time is 117 minutes and 44 seconds.




Paul Hansen came in 2nd today. His time was 58 minutes and 31 seconds.




That puts him in 2nd place overall so far. His two day time is 118 minutes and 59 seconds.




Race marshal Langford Adams.




Time keeper Virgil Naylor.




Time keeper Pearl Goodwin.




Here are all the times for yesterday and today.




Next race is tomorrow at 1pm on the ice in front of the post office. See you there.

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