This journal comes from our home in Chester, VT. Today is the first work day that I have not been wearing long johns!! Shorts and tevas are a welcome change, as are hugs and kisses from Julie and Marina. ☺
This final journal provides a few summary photos and thoughts. A final reflection will come later, after I have a chance to think through all of the wonderful experiences that I have been part of.
The Arctic people and the animals have adapted to a challenging ecosystem, developing remarkable adaptations. Life and death coexist everywhere, in the Arctic they seem to be more apparent. I have a deeper respect for all living organisms up here, they are unique and beautiful.
The seasons are changing, fall is coming to the tundra. The colors of the tundra grasses and sedges are getting more vivid. Birds are flocking about, while many of the scientist species are flying south.
This sodhouse was on the south end of Elson Lagoon. The thick walls really kept the wrmth in and the cold out. This is the same type of structure that would have been used out on the Point.
Kyle noticed all these little tomcods in the water. He quickly made a fish hook out of one of the pin flags, sharpened it to a point and went off fishing. The results are in hand.
I saw this skull as I hiked across the tundra with Adian. I was reminded of how life and death are linked. There is incredible beauty in both.
The snowy chicks have been getting bigger and bigger, eating well and starting to fly. The high winds over the last few weeks have been helpful. All the chicks need to do is climb to the top of a rise and open their wings and away they go.
The Nuvuk site is done for the year, the artifacts are in the lab and the cooler. We did well, there will be plenty of work to do this fall, winter, and spring. I look forward to hearing more about the what was discovered.
The lab now has probably close to 50 5 gallon buckets in it. The buckets contain different artifacts from this summers excavation as well as human remains from prior years. Plenty of work to do during the off season.
I never got around to showing the walk-in cooler where all the wood artifacts from the summer are stored until Claire gets back to examine them more closely. You can see that Claire has her worked cut out for her!!
As I left, I went for one last walk on the beach to visit the Arctic Ocean one more time, and to fly the kite that my wife, Julie, had given me. Throughout this trip, I have been out, far away, but connected to so many wonderful and beautiful people and places. The kite symbolizes those connections. In a few days, the kite will be hanging in my classroom, a reminder of the places you can go and the excitement you can find.
Flying this kite on the beach reminded me of home, the distances I have traveled and the beauty I have seen. As the kite was reeled in and I headed back to finish packing, I smiled at the memories I have created here in Barrow.
The moon and stars have been absent these last few weeks. As the plane headed south from Fairbanks, AK to Salt Lake City, UT, I enjoyed seeing this high altitude sunrise with the moon. Time of shot, 3:29AM
**Thanks to all who have visited these journal pages. I write for you as well as for myself. I seem to think my work has improved, yet I am not far enough away for an objective opinion. I know that I have grown in so many ways, I hope these journal pages have captured and conveyed some of the excitement and sense of discovery I have experienced. In the end, I thank you for coming along on this great adventure. **