Stars are back! Yes!

It was a long summer. Dusty, record setting heat (78 degrees a new all time high), full of bugs and flowers. We had to put up black out curtains in the bedroom to get any sleep. July they had a contest for Miss Native American on the 4th of July. The women put on their traditional furs, designed to be worn well below zero degrees. They put on a talent show, showing how they make eskimo ice cream, squaw candy, seal oil, told stories, etc. It was very interesting.

Here the 4th of July lasts for about 8 days. There are Eskimo games, seal hooking, dance contests, bake offs, parades, talent shows, etc. We didn't get to go to a lot of it, since I was sick. What we did get to go to, was wonderful! Here is a link to my 4th of July photos! Enjoy!

http://s352.photobucket.com/albums/r348/tennkress/Game%20Gltiches/Kotzebue%204th%20of%20July/

Before I knew it, the end of August arrived and with it my son Damien. The expression on his face when he got off the plane was priceless! He is clearly thinking where the hell am I? The first thing I did was take him shopping. I bought him a hoodie, a pair of pants, and some groceries. The total came to just over $400. He was so amazed at the prices, he spent 20 minutes taking photos of the price tags on the SALE items. A pack of cigarettes runs $10, 12 cans of coke are $12.90, a gallon of gas is $15. You get used to it after awhile.

While he was here, I decided to hire a pilot and plane, and go flying. It ran $450 an hour for up to 5 people, so was not too bad. I needed to get away from town, and Damien needed to realise just how remote this was. While we were flying, he asked the pilot "Where are the roads between the villages?" The pilot said your on it. It took him a second to realise the pilot meant there are none. We saw moose, tundra swans, carribou, a black bear and many ducks while on the flight. We flew over to the main land. The area around my town in the summer, is all tundra. It is basically a swamp. The ground never melts, so the water has no where to go and rests on top the perma frost. I think Damien had a good time up here.

The other day, I realized we are on our way back to the dark time of the year. I was looking out the window about 3 weeks ago, and saw the first star I had seen in months. It was amazing how excited I was. Now I can see many stars at night, which gets longer by 7 minutes a night. We finally reached the tipping point, and froze up again. Richard is having to wear boots to walk to work again. It is staying dark up until about 11 am now. Full sun is about noon, but it never goes up that high in the sky now. I am both sad and glad about the winter coming. I enjoyed watching the animals. In the winter they are much harder to see. The tarmagin turn white, and so do the foxes. Crows stay here year round, and they stay black. They are huge!

Well, I really hope you are enjoying my blog. Take care all!