I’m still alive…It’s been so busy.  For the last 4 months, there are so many things going on at work that kept me occupied.  Because of the smallness of our office space, people in the office were constantly fighting every day.   I was actually happy to go out on the investigation even when it’s       -60° outside.  So I tried to put four months journey into a condensed version.  In February, there were a lot of reports of harm, so I did a lot of traveling to many different villages.  In March, it’s usually Iditarod’s time, so I spent some time in Anchorage with my sister, and friends.  We were there to see the start of the Iditarod.  I took them to Aleyska Ski resort, and almost got stuck in the mountain because I’d rented a rear wheel drive Japanese car.  This year, Anchorage had the record snow falls so I’m glad my sister and friends got to experienced it.  In the middle of March I got lucky and was sent to Nome so I was able to see the winner of the Iditarod, Dallas Seavey, at the finish line.  There was not a single hotel- bed available during this time of the year in Nome so I had to sleep in the office.  For the months of April and May had been hectic, I was the only one doing all the investigation in western Alaska.  During these months I managed to do some ice fishing and some snow machine, which I bought in March.   The last two weeks, I spent majority of work times in Nome. 

Mind-boggling COLD!

Mind-boggling, historic cold has gripped the Last Frontier in recent weeks. Nome, Galena, and Bettles - in Alaska’s west and west interior - are all likely to have their coldest Januarys on record the National Weather Service reported today.  It will likely be the 5th coldest January on record in Fairbanks, with a hard-to-imagine average temperature of -26.7. Anchorage is likely to log its 4th coldest January.
Consider some of the following chilling facts:
* Using satellite data, the University of Wisconsin detected surface temperatures as cold as -73 below zero around the town of Arctic Village in northeast Alaska
* Low temperatures in the 60 to 65 below zero range have chilled the towns of Galena, Fort Yukon and Huslia since last Friday; the coldest recorded temperature was -65 at both Ft. Yukon and Galena
* Fairbanks hit -50 on January 28, and -51 on January 29, the first -50 degree readings there since 2006
* Fairbanks dropped to 40 below on 16 different days during January, the greatest number since 1971
* The average low in Ft. Yukon, 145 miles northeast of Fairbanks, has been -35

Temptations are Everywhere!

If one is looking to gamble in Alaska, the term "few and far between" fits nicely, and that's  why I moved here. While there may not be an abundance of Las Vegas-style casinos in Alaska, there are a number of medium-scale casinos specializing in games like bingo; you just have to know where to look.
Most gambling is illegal in Alaska. The exception is what's known as charitable gaming. Some 1,200 organizations turn to gaming to finance their work and good deeds. About half do so with pull-tabs, including many in rural Alaska. Not all are, strictly speaking, charities. The state allows a wide range of groups to participate, including Native villages, whaling associations, mushing associations, sports teams, municipalities, trade associations, political organizations and fraternal organizations like the Moose and Elks.

My typical work day.

The day starts off with me check-in at the local airline, and then sit out for bad weather to pass. Once the weather's clear, it's usually me and the overloaded cargo in the back of the plane.  Next I interviewed the kiddoes at the school.  Because I usually try to see all the kids in one trip and not get stuck in the village, I packed lunch or eat at the school.  By late afternoon, if I had time I'd check out the town.  Most of the times, however, I'd be waiting on the return flight ahead of time.  The next day I'd come in the office and tried to complete the report if I didn't have to go to court or out to another village.

AC Store

Kotzebue is the most expensive city in Alaska.  The price here is 61 percent higher than in Anchorage.  Everything we have here is either flown in or barged in.  We only get a few barges a year because our shipping season is short. Kotzebue Sound is very shallow, so the big barges have to park 14 miles out and the cargo is lightered into Kotzebue by tugs pushing shallow draft barges. It takes many loads and a lot of gas to bring a huge barge worth of stuff into Kotzebue.   There are two store in town, but the main one is called the AC.  The store is Alaska Commercial Company (AC) which is a Canadian owned company with many stores across bush Alaska. AC is the most convenient place to go when you want to get everything you need in one place. It is also very expensive.  If it were not for geographic pay diffential, I couldn't stay here. Kotzebue pays the highest geographic pay differential because of the cost of living and the remoteness are not appealing to many people. And if I didn't have to eat..I wouldn't  have shop here.

1st snowfall

I woke up this morning  to find the first significant snowfall of the winter here...

Body by Pat

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During the winter people in Kotz don't have many things to do, so I spend most of my free time at the Maniilaq Hospital Gym.   Most night, during the winter, I'll be by myself working on "Body by Pat".