200 snow core samples...

...gave me a repetitive motion injury. Don't worry; I'm okay now. 

Measuring snow for SCIENCE!

 

Adventures on snow machines for SCIENCE!

 

Antelope on the horizon

 

Daily walks at sunset

Ice egg

We made ice eggs last weekend in honor of Easter. Regardless of the holiday, they turned out so lovely and were great fun to look at...for the 24 hours they lasted before the relentless sun sublimated them into oblivion! 

Sky: 10pm (facing the other direction!)

 

Sky: 10pm

 

Two muskox lounging at Atigun River

We know they were both males because they even treated us to an amazing display of their sparring behavior.

Caribou at sunset

 

North Slope "moon"scape

 

Sundog over Atigun Pass

 

Dalton pit stop

This van we took north was pristinely clean when we started out from Fairbanks in the morning.

Snowscape on the Dalton

 

The Dalton Highway

 Hello, bullet-pocketed Friend!

Back in Alaska!

Getting a late start on this...I arrived in Fairbanks close to two weeks ago, did an eight-day quarantine to be completely sure I was COVID-free, and then made the 9-hour drive up the Dalton Highway to work another couple months at the same research base (Toolik Field Station) where I worked last year. Feel free to go back to my posts from last year at this time to see more explanation and details about what I and others do here. 

This time around, instead of working in the kitchen, I'm working as an FOA (Field Operations Assistant), doing all kinds of jobs around camp, such as cargo (inbound and outbound), janitorial, shoveling, and any other random thing that is needed from the staff. 

Also, this time around I am going to just post one or two pictures most days, focusing more on just appreciating the beauty and fun of being here rather than trying to do explanatory posts.

So here is today's offering: a shot taken while on my daily quarantine walk through a little neighborhood in Fairbanks that I've grown to love while I walk endless loops around it every afternoon. And then tomorrow we'll start heading up the Dalton Highway toward camp! ; )