Leaving Alaska
I boarded the plane in Anchorage with mixed emotions. I can’t wait to see my husband, but I will really miss the Alaskan mountains and tundra. My five weeks in the Arctic was an incredible experience. I feel very luck to be a part of the polarTREC program. I am so thankful for the opportunity and am really excited about creating lessons to share my new knowledge and understanding with my students.
I will miss this view of the Brooks Range that I saw everyday for five weeks
For now, I will have to rely on my fellow polarTREC teachers who are still at Toolik, Susan Steiner (http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/tundra-nutrient-seasonality) and Nick LaFave (http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/predatory-spiders-in-the-arctic-food-web), to keep me updated on the greening of the tundra.
Back in Boulder
Yikes! It is hot in Boulder!
I arrived home to very warm temperatures and a wildfire burning to the north of us. What a shock! It is going to take me a while to get used to this heat, but at least it’s not humid. All the rain we got at my sisters in Chickaloon sounds really good about now. I guess we’ll just have to head up into the mountains to cool off a bit. Driving home from the airport, I saw stars for the first time in six weeks. It was reassuring to know that the stars are still there after so much daylight.
My husband, Justin, and me in the mountains of Colorado.
It will be nice to unwind and spend time sharing my photos and experience with my family and friends. And for all of you, who followed along, thanks for reading and I hope you learned a little about the Arctic tundra. I am still working on finding time to edit and post some video, so check back for video in a week or so. If you want to leave any final messages, please feel free to post on the “Ask the Team”. Bye for now!