AK- Day 10/11, Above the Arctic Circle

AK- Day 10/11, Above the Arctic Circle: When I became Dog Food...

The buddhist axiom: "this too, shall pass", uttered by my friend Mark as he stood barefoot, in sandels with a couple feet of snow packed by winter sport enthusiasts under his cork-cushioned sandels.

Staying warm and happy: is it a state of mind?

Looking out at the Bering Sea beyond Kotzebue Sound

Mountains rise up above the tundra below

Landing in Kotzebue after early morning flight from Anchorage left me a little groggy but excited to behold more of the arctic; beyond the pre-dawn ice reflecting promonitions of a land actively and brutually shaped by fire, water, and ice.

This rugged landscape once kissed the Asian continent, and brought a people whose descendants still populate the Arctic to this day.

The Inuits I would be visiting lived "up river" along the life-giving banks of the Kobuk river. Guarded by the Brooks range to the north, these settlements were in prime caribou country, the primary source of protein for the region.

I would learn quickly, that a picture day "up-river was a very different affair then, Lake and Pennisula School district, and downright alien compared to a Charlotte, NC Picture day.

I traveled to Kotzebue, with another bush photographer, Paul. I learned that he is a conservation biologist that marked earlier chapters of his life. His travels brought him to Iran, India, and remote regions of Alaska among other places. He studied the intricate dance between predator and prey. His specialty was large cats. For instance he studied a species of lion that lives in a narrow range of teak forests in India. As his stories and nuggets of wisdom were shared over the more mundane pieces of logistical business we had here in "Kotz", I gained a respect for his view on life: a scientist's lens, that saw sets of facts and sought to make sense of them. A way of life that depended on asking the right questions to seek truths that in the end are relative. The world is a rich mosaic of grey tones, not a graphic black and white picture.

Deep discussions were put on hold as the the rumbling in our bellies sent us on a quest to find a restaurant before we hit the bush!

All of these prized buck caribou antlers were shot by one inuit kid, who shot his first caribou when he was three according to a proud dad that scurried to load up his truck with supplies.

Our "five minute" walk to the Bayside Restaurant became fifteen as we kept hoping the next building would be the restaurant. The fractured ice, stacked up on the shore reminded me of the knots in my stomach. Finally the church-going proprietors of the "Empress Restaurant" as they shuttered their restaurant gave us the courage to walk two more doors down to the Bayside restaurant.

Inside, hot tea thawed us out as I waited for a halibut sandwich and Paul set his eyes on blueberry pancakes and fueled stories of survival in cold places. In the end the stories came back around and I was telling Paul about my time in Bangledesh, where on a layover the customs officials had taken our passports. We were all put up in hotels for the night. The following day, Heather and I wanted to explore the neighborhood. We went out with an open mind, soon a small crowd was following us around, wondering what we were up too. One man offered to show us his home and his family. We followed him back to this shanty shack were we meet "babu" and his wife. His wife grasped "babu" as I took a portrait of them with the light sweeping through the doorway across their faces. The father, not wanting to offend his guests motioned for us to follow him to the tea stand so thjat he could get us some tea and biscuits. The average income of a bangledeshi is about one dollar a day, and he wanted to buy us tea and a snack. I wouldn't have it, so I paid for the tea and biscuits... Paul and I shared some other stories based on the theme of "fast friends". We both had encountered local people in whatever country who wanted to please us so bad that when we asked if we were going the right direction they would reply: YES. When in fact it would be the wrong way. They wanted to please us so bad that they would rather mislead then disappoint you. But do they consider it misleading? They think that they are doing you a favor by keeping you happy for the time being, the last thing they want to do is make you unhappy. Shades of grey overlapping and meshing to create an image... now turn it around... what do you see? What does the person next to you see?

Hoar Frost creeps up the branches, growing day by day like an ivy covering its host

Shungnak School, the largest school "up river"

When I landed at Shungnak Landing Strip, the first thing that I asked the pilot was: "Did you radio the school, do they know to come pick me up?" His reply: "I notified my agent", did nothing for my confidence for being picked up anytime soon, I asked both the person waiting in a pickup truck to radio somebody, and someone on a 4-wheeler to find the maintenance person for the school. It was a Sunday, and the ominous words from Bering air ticketing agent in Kotzebue: "Did you know that someone died in Shungnak?" rang in my ear. Everyone left, the post person took the mail including a package I took on the plane from the village before, (whoops, I think I broke one of the holy FAA rules), I started adding layers as the -10 degree air was harsh against my lungs. A few layers later, I wondered how I was going to get my 140 lbs self, and my 356 lbs. of gear to the school for a shoot that was supposed to happen tonight in a town that was grieving for its recent loss. About twenty minutes later a couple drove up on a four-wheeler with a little riding lawn mower trailer rolling behind. I asked if they were here to pick me up as they looked askance over me. "Actually we came to pick up some dog food, have you seen any?" as they gesticulated towards my gear. I told them that I was their photographer. I found out later that it was a much known fact that Theresa and Greg were looking for a shipment of dog food for their hungry dog who had been subsisting on freezer seconds. Could the guy in the pickup have used that fact to get these two teachers from the school out to the frigid landing strip to pick me up by announcing on the village radio that their dog food had arrived?

At any rate. their dog food had arrived, I hope they are ready for a lean, vegetarian blend with a spicy kick!!