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Wednesday 20 August, 2003 - Fog as thick as pea soup, we hope it holds as long as the hunters are here, although it will have to lift before they can get off of the ground. Well unfortunately for the caribou the skies finally lifted around noon and with in minutes the two hunters were out to see what damage they could do. Within the next hour there were several reports echoing across the tundra. We were secretly hoping that a large hungry grizzly was chasing them but no such luck. To our best estimate they killed at least two caribou and cleaned them next to the trail down to the creek. It took them several trips down and back to carry out what they had done. We didn't go out and socialize with them once they were back and we were extremely happy they quickly loaded their possessions into their plane and were soon taking off out of Ivotuk. We observed a moment of silence and hoped that there was some greater good to come out of the events that had taken place. But overall it put a sad cast over what would normally be a wonderful day here.
Thursday 21 August, 2003 - Pretty much a normal day here in Ivotuk, foggy, overcast and drizzling. For sure now all of the bugs will be gone, our overnight lows are below freezing and we have a layer of frost or ice covering everything when we first go out in the morning. We are discussing a menu to serve 600 to 700 people for the Friday after we return, and have pretty much decided on split pea soup, salad, and corn bread, with either an apple cobbler or rice pudding for desert. We need to order all of the food prior to leaving Ivotuk and we were trying to figure out the adaptations to a recipe to change it from serving 6 to 600. I know just multiply by 100, but when you go to order 200 cups of split peas how much is that in pounds? Or how much does 100 onions weigh? How much is 100 teaspoons of oregano? If anyone knows how to make this type of conversion we would really appreciate the help. All of the animals must be in mourning over the slaughter of the caribou; this is the first day since we have been here that there have been no signs of animal life, not even a bird. Kind of sad. Connie and another BLM person were supposed to stop by and inspect the installation of the permanent power supply and its fuel. I was told to expect them around 5PM on their way back to Fairbanks from Barrow. I called and gave a pretty dour weather report, just incase they wanted to save the flying time. But not much later we heard a plane circling overhead but the clouds were so thick they could not find a way through and we heard them finally depart heading south without ever making it to the ground. So no visitors today. Friday 22 August, 2003 - Cold mornings and ice are now becoming the norm, with a hint of fog and drizzling rain thrown in for good measure. We are hoping for some clear nights so that we will be able to see the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) before we leave. Now that there are a couple of hours of semi darkness each night the show should be on. Marin said they have been visible from Fairbanks a couple of times on clear nights, another sure sign that summer is over and winter is just around the corner. How appalling the same hunters returned to try and get more caribou. We are really hoping that the weather prevents them from getting out and hunting. We are getting to the point that Maria and I are starting to develop a plan for departing Ivotuk. We are trying to decide how to pack for shipping and what order to dismantle the tower we have been using all summer. All of our equipment has to be removed and shipped back to San Diego and that means carrying it out across the tundra. Putting all of the gear in, we were able to pull it over the snow using the sled but now it all has to be carried out by hand. While we are setting here today my family is having its reunion back in Illinois, we are hoping that they remember us and that their weather is doing better than ours. |