Saying that my luggage and I arrived safely in Barrow, AK is different than saying that same thing about Anchorage, or Seattle or Tucson. The Wiley Post Will Rogers Memorial Airport is quite fun. We left the plane on air stairs, something my daughter has always wanted to do. I quickly donned on my parka, hat and gloves and realized it is different breathing in the air when it is -30 °C. The terminal is less than half the size of my school cafeteria. It was very packed with everyone arriving, everyone leaving on the turn-around of our flight, and the families that were there to greet them in either direction. It was very difficult to move around. The luggage area consists of two openings in the wall and a small ramp to place the luggage upon. It is about the size of an average household bathroom. Since the majority of the people on the flight had returned from shopping trips in Anchorage and Fairbanks, most of the luggage coming out consisted of supplies; boxes, crates, toilet paper, paper towels, dog food, Tide, an enormous Little Tykes box, and then the occasional suitcase. It quickly became apparent that everyone had to pitch in. Boxes and bags had to be moved and stacked into the corner, so that more stuff could come out. There were four of us arriving on the flight to work at BASC (Barrow Arctic Science Center). As one of our bags would appear, Harry quickly took it outside to the BASC van. Eventually we received all our gear and went outside to meet the van, only to find it disappeared for awhile. I learned as it became more difficult to breathe in the front of the airport that the car exhaust from cars nearby freezes and creates an ice fog for you to breathe in.
The Air Stairs greeting our plane in Barrow, AK
Today I woke up at 7AM in the darkness, and watched as all the electricity was lost throughout the campus. It was a good excuse to sneak back to bed for another hour, since the sun doesn't rise until 9:00 AM.
I've been able to meet the most wonderful researchers from all over the world; Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Chile, and I'm probably even missing a few countries at this point. My roommate Holly Reay is from London, England and she welcomed me last night with a lovely cup of tea.