Nursing in Barrow

I haven’t written to the blog in quite a while but had a dream about hiking in Sitka early this morning that brought up some thoughts that I wanted to get down before they slip away.  Life in this remote place can have quite a pace and one consciously has to slow down and reflect or it just might not happen.  Friends from here have gone fishing in Kenai and Homer, camping in Adak, and have visited Nome, Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage as well as other rural parts of Alaska this summer, returning with fish and stories of hikes that just about pushed me over the edge of my current state of contentment, momentarily causing me a sense of longing to be above sea level and to be hugging a tree instead of in the Arctic.  Some reported waking in rain-soaked tents, being invited into villagers’ homes to share meals, or being buzzed by swarms of mosquitoes but all shared how wonderful it was to see and explore other parts of Alaska.  My dream reminded me that I haven’...

I couldn’t stop laughing as Jennifer and I, both cold to the bone, made our way from Simmonds Field, along the dirt path and then through mud puddles, each clad in heavy jackets, hats, gloves and tall rubber boots, both hanging onto a handle of her cooler that was filled with gallon sized zip lock bags containing fermented and unfermented whale meat, intestines, kidney, heart, tongue, maktak and whipped caribou fat.  A collapsed folding chair was balanced on top as we walked, with me making brief stops to double over laughing at what we must look like and how different my life is here.  Jennifer laughed too while saying "What are you laughing about!?  We live in Barrow...this is what people do here!"  I know, I know, but it still strikes me as very funny for us to be doing it.  We had arrived empty handed and curious at close to noon to partake in Saturday’s Nalukataq, a celebration of the spring whale catches by the Hopson and Adams crews.  We saw ma...