Dad in Kotz

Some people go to Mexico for Spring Break, some go to Disney Land... my Dad decided to come to the Arctic. 16+ hours of a day of beautiful sunlight- what more could you want?! After a few set backs due to the Mt. Redoubt volcano that kept erupting, he finally made it to Kotzebue a week ago Thursday. It ended up being a GREAT weekend to be in town. He was welcomed with some true Arctic weather; it was about 10 below with a 35 below windchill when he stepped off the plane. Perfect! He spent Thursday afternoon with us at school, and then after school we headed down to the ice to watch the start of the Kobuk 440 dogsled race. All of the local dog mushers, including those that race the Iditarod, take part in the race. It is pretty awesome to watch, and it was great that my Dad was here for the start of the race. Here are some pics and a video of the start:

Michael and I both took Friday off from work to head out into the country on our snow machines with my Dad. It was one of the more beautiful days that we have had here: about 10 degrees, bright and sunny, and no wind. We went out and played around in the trees for a bit; saw some caribou and Arctic hare. Then, we headed up to the cabin of our friends Ron and Zona Hogan. They have been in Kotzebue for about 50 years, and have endless stories about what they have seen and done during that time. They own a beautiful piece of land and a cabin on the river about 20 miles outside of town with one of the most amazing views you will ever see. We spent a few hours at their cabin doing some snow-showing, listening to stories, enjoying nature, and eating some good food.

Dad getting ready to go out:

Dad and I (with some caribou in the background):

Michael admiring the scenery:

Dad looking like a pro on the snow machine:


Hogan's Camp (their cabin is the red one, and the other is their guest cabin):

Ron getting the cabin ready... and probably telling us a story:

Zona getting dinner ready:

Dad up on the hill by the cabin:

View from the cabin:

Michael and I hard at work:

The sunset on our ride home:

We had an amazing day out in nature. We were able to show my dad some caribou, Arctic hare, ptarmigan (white Arctic birds), and some beautiful scenery. But, the one thing that we really wanted him to see was a moose. We were riding back home from the Hogan's camp, and as we were going around a bend in the trail, what should be crossing the trail but two moose. It was probably the closest that I have ever been to a moose and there were two of them! How awesome for my dad to see. We were definitely able to show him some of the many reasons why we love living here. What a great end to a great day!