Scenes Around Kotzebue

The welcome sign lets you know where you are before your GPS even has time to acquire the satellites.

The text on the vehicle sounds like another reality series title. Or was it “Arkansas State Troopers…?”

The ubiquitous Capt Crabtree provided us many a ride and good company while in Kotz.

Upon arrival in Kotz, Shiho immediately began breaking regulations… Okay, we were invited inside the hangar. :-)

Manillaq Health Center. Along with the school, this is a hub of activity in Kotz. It is a very nice facility and serves as a regional center for procedures and checkups that cannot be done in the outlying villages. Transport to it is by air or “snow machine” (snowmobile for us in the lower 48).

An art mural greets you in the clinic’s main entrance.

Here’s your local message board in case you were looking to rent a vehicle or check out the next festival.

Need motor oil or a wrench? Check the local Napa/Ace affiliate. Snow machine parking available.

Here’s me outside the Nugallivik Hotel. The best one-star $189/night you’ve ever experienced. After one night, I returned voluntarily to the open bay at the armory. Nothing personal, it’s just that a cot in the bay, free wi-fi, 24 hour coffee, ground zero location for all mealtimes, and the camaraderie of the 914th Services Squadron seemed to be more appealing than this place.

Space is at a premium in Kotz. Here we see a playground in the fore and a graveyard behind it. Interesting dichotomy. A "plaveground," if you will. Can you imagine an entire playtime having to hold your breath?!

The University of Alaska center in Kotz.

You can’t fight it, but there’s Kotzebue City Hall.

These coils surround the larger buildings. Their piping runs deep beneath structures to diffuse warm air away from the foundation to avoid disturbing the permafrost.

The rear of the hotel and all its coils.

The Army National Guard armory where we ate, congregated and I slept on nights 1 & 3. It also served as the city’s courthouse several days of the week.

Aerial view of Kotz from the north as we returned via Blackhawk from Kiana. HF1

Back to School...in Kotzebue

After our artists flew out of Kotz this morning, I made my way to Kotzebue Middle High School to meet some of the faculty and students. Operation Arctic Care medics were also providing 2010-11 athletic physical screenings.

I like this place already. Can we ban 44 oz. drinks and Monster cans in the morning for students' breakfasts at home? Oh yeah, I'm sort of a limited government guy...oops.

School pride is evident everywhere you go in the schools.

The Huskies are reigning state wrestling champs.

This is one of the intersections in the middle school portion of the school.

Mr. Al Peacock, retired teacher and current special ed aide. He and his wife have been in Kotz for 40 years! They planned to work two years back in '68 and stayed.

Ms. Atkins' 8th grade social studies and language arts room. I was lucky enough to stay for a period of each and even read with them during an LA speed test.

The rooms are state of the art with a SmartBoard in each class.

Kotz Middle School Principal "Dr. B" and I exchanged shirts. She's a retired North Carolina administrator and has been in the Northwestern Arctic Borough District for five years. In speaking to her, I can tell her drive and dedication to improvement and innovation.

Again, I'm privileged to have been able to visit. HF1

Staffing Update

They say there's some dough to be made coming to teach here north of the Arctic Circle. Hmmm. Naaah. HF1

Flight to Kiana, AK (Thursday)

The day began without plans to airlift the artists to any of the remote villages like Wednesday in Noorvik. We began at the armory with breakfast and the optometric clinic going on off the main room. After some good photos, interaction and interview by Airman Magazine, we received word that we were to be sent to Kiana for three hours. But we had to move asap. Note Kotzebue on the left side of the map (name clipped off). You'll see Noorvik and Kiana along the Kobuk River to the east.

An Air Force logistics officer hands over time-sensitive medical supplies to a Navy optometric technician to be taken to a remote village. The man in the center is the Blackhawk helicopter crewman.

Joining us on our flight to Kiana were "Mick & Rick," youth rally entertainers brought up to Arctic Care to run their Vaudeville-like program for teens in the schools. Their evening shows made people laugh as well as get educated about the importance of fighting lifestyle choices that lead to diabetes.

Artists Priscilla Patterson and Shiho Nakaza went from covering the mission to playing a part in it as couriers of a vaccine delivery to Kiana.

Here's my first glimpse of Kiana after the 30-minute flight out of Kotzebue.

Upon landing at Kiana, we all poured out of the chopper and got the baggage away from the aircraft.

Here I enjoy the transportation of a pickup truck bed to the local school. It was Alabama north of the Arctic Circle.

This is Kiana's K-12 school which serves about 110 students.

Kiana principal Susan Johnson welcomed us to their domain.

Kiana's gym is very nice. Their hall of fame boasts state basketball titles in the 80s and 90s.

Mick and Rick get to know a married couple that teaches at Kiana's school.

Here I enjoy some sunshine and five minutes to look at the beautiful scenery.

Ever get picked up on a snowmobile?

Priscilla and Shiho make their way back to the Blackhawk and the ride to Kotzebue.

The beautiful Kobuk Valley.

Hi shadow...

A lonely outpost on the outskirts of Kotzebue.

Great pic of Kotz as we came back in for a landing.

Open water on the Kotzebue Sound into the Chukchi Sea.

Flight to Noorvik, AK (Wednesday)

We were able to get out of Kotzebue on a couple of hour trip to the village of Noorvik in Alaska's Kobuk River Valley. We boarded a Blackhawk with personnel bound for Saliwek further down the valley. They dropped us off and we had about an hour to get into town and back out to the airstrip.



Noorvik in View: Our initial approach to the village. Note the helicopter blade on top and the fuel tank at bottom.

An Air Force nurse works with a local mom and two-year-old boy. The Air Force journalist at right posted his story here (click).





A shot of the K-12 school where medics performed physicals.




The artwork in the schools and other public building is beautiful and some pieces very captivating. There's a requirement that a percentage of public funding be accompanied by artwork.




All of the buildings in this region are on stilts. This helps keep heat away from the ground which melts the permafrost and wreaks havoc on the piling foundations. It's a convenient place for storage...okay, mostly a dumping ground. This Noorvik home boasted some pelts hanging below the rightmost window. Note the steel ductwork running underneath as well. This stuff runs in grids all through town from centrally located heat sources.



When we got off the Blackhawks, a team of Army veterninarians and support staff was waiting to take our spot and head off to Selawik. As they were boarding, the drone of a speeding snowmobile alerted us to two of the personnel. They were a little late and hopped off the sled before I could get the camera running.

After a short hour, the Blackhawk having dispensed its personnel at Selawik returned to pick us up. The roar of blades beating the air and ominous plume of dust and snow was exhilirating. It beats waiting for someone to pick you up in a car.

As we awaited a truck to take us the two miles into Noorvik, the lonely airstrip attendant fueled his 10K all terrain vehicle and readied to plow a little snow.

As we awaited some ground transport into town, Shiho went to work sketching herself some notes to work from later in her studio back in Santa Monica, CA.

A very welcome dinner at the armory: Eating from some excellent grub provided by the 914th Services Squadron out of Niagara Falls, Maj Autry, Capt Putnam (seated), Maj Bui, Shiho, and Priscilla enjoy a laugh.

What a privilege and adventure to be able to participate in this excellent adventure! HF1