Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Trappers



My buddy Jim and his youthful looking trapping companions harvested a huge 37 pound male wolverine from the stinky moose head we set right before Thanksgiving. The kids look like they enjoyed the trip! Wolverines are reclusive, and quite difficult to trap, so this is pretty special. The fur will make a nice ruff on someones parka! Hey Jim, how much you want for it? :-) It's warming up here in Barrow. Still -15 or so, but better than -40. The sun is scheduled to peek above the horizon on Saturday. Hope it's clear, so we can get a few photos for you. Stay warm and safe.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr in Barrrrrrrrrrow







Here are a few drawings by the kids from Pt. Hope, Alaska. At 4:53 am this morning in Barrow it was -42 .... twelve hours later, at 4:53 pm, it was...guess what?
-42! Not much solar warming today. Could be because we haven't had sunrise here since November. No wind though, so not too bad! Stay tuned for my "sunrise" report later this week.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Far North




Greetings from the far North! I am in Barrow after having spent most of last week in Pt. Hope. I flew to Kotzebue last Sunday, spent the night at Bibber's B and B, then made Pt. Hope by 10:00 Monday morning. After working in Pt. Hope Monday through Thursday, I arrived in Barrow about 6:30 Thursday evening. The temps have been well-below zero with wind chills as low as -55. The wind always blows up here, and even the slightest breeze will super cool exposed body parts very quickly...think: freeze dried nose and cheeks. Donald (my next door neighbor), and I, took a cab to the Alaska Commercial (AC) store this morning. I needed to stock up on groceries for the next few weeks. Donald lives in Barrow 9 months each year, so he mainly went along for the ride, picked up a couple of goodies, then walked over to Ipalook Elementary School to work for a few hours. I took the cab back to the apartment and stocked up the refrigerator and cupboards with my $187.00 purchase.
Food prices here are high...apples 2.21/Ib; 4 Ibs of tangerines 10.99; red lettuce 3.49/bunch; 5 Ibs potatoes 9.59; onions 1.56/Ib; 3 Ib chuck roast 11.43; 3 Ibs burger 9.74; 6 chicken breasts 13.84; 1 pkg Jimmy Dean Sausage 7.59; Kraft Salad Dressing 5.99; 10 whole wheat tortillas 6.49; medium jar of peanut butter 8.45.....you get the idea....Donald took a few photos at the store today and was kind enough to share those with me...how many places in the Lower 48 sell ATV's on the same aisle as the orange juice and cheese? What about fox furs? Sunscreen for $16???...Wait a minute! ... No sun here right now...That stuff should be on sale! Enjoy the photos and stay warm!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Bowl Day


















We're back in our routine at home...breakfast followed by excercise, and then the usual chores. Our temps are dipping to 15 below zero at night, but coming up to zero to ten above during the day. The "blue moon" at the end of the month was beautiful up here, with our clear sky, plentiful snow, and cold. I'm posting a miscellaneous group of Mazatlan photos...probably the last until next year...mostly Emerald Bay, the Plaza area, old marina and islands...a few from our La Noria visit where Marco gave out gifts to the children before Christmas. This was Donna's idea, and her generosity at work. I didn't get too many photos as we were "rushing around" a bit, but the photos I did get show happy kids!