The past two days in Toolik have been amazing. Saturday night we had a bonfire here at camp. A lot of the researchers were there, and it was great to meet some new people. It was very strange having a bonfire when it is still so light outside (we waited until after 10pm, but since the sun doesn’t set it doesn’t really matter). It was a lot of fun though. Everyone I met was very interesting. We even learned to play a new game! Essentially, you throw some metal poles at some blocks and try to knock them over. There’s a lot more to it than that, so if you are interested check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb. My team lost terribly the first game, it was pretty embarrassing. But, we got better and came back with a win the second game! I even was the one to knock down the king pin (with the added rule that you have to throw the metal pole between your legs like hiking a football). It was a great way to spend a Saturday night getting to know some other people who are also in love with the Arctic.
As great as last night was, I think tonight may have topped it. We went on the most amazing hike to see some river ice. The river is running below the ice and the ice is melting and breaking away, being carved out my the river. It is hard to describe how fantastic it was… and the mountain backdrop was beautiful. I even got to go into a little cave under the ice. Ice tends to have this bright blue glow to it, and the pictures really don’t do it justice. Me trying to describe it to you will just not work, so you will have to look at the photos and videos. 🙂
Click the links below for videos:
Looking forward to more adventures to come!
Let's just sit back and watch the plots grow... 