The Kids

There's some 2,000 years of history just under the ground at Gambell. Bones in the old village sites are testament to that. The bones show the long relationship with walrus that's as alive today as it's always been.



Among the bones and snow, Gambell sometimes felt desolate as the fog, wind, and snow blew over the low beaches; but my memories of the place, as I now write from a balmy Whidbey Island near Seattle, are more about kids than the weather...














There's memories of kids on machines - four wheelers, snow machines, and kitty kats...but above all, memories of Gambell will be filled with the images of kids with huge smiles

Chess

Several days of storm have ripped apart the island's cloak of shorefast sea ice. Bergs the sizes of houses are tossed around by the swells like flotsam.

Above Gambell on Sivuqaq Mountain, we watched a snowy owl face off with two nesting ravens. The black knights repeatedly leaping over the snowy bishop until the owl had enough and left the game; taking flight and moving south along the mountain, blending with snow, fog, and cloud.

Ursus maritimus

Dark skys as the Bering Sea storm continues to bring rain, snow, and wind to Gambell.

Snow

We're somewhere between winter and spring. It's currently a blizzard with winds gusting through Gambell as a large low pressure rolls slowly up the Bering Sea. The boats are all on land, and judging from this boat I saw a few days ago in Savoonga, some will be there for a while.

Spring!

Stopping to play on a whirlwind drive from Fairbanks to Vancouver with Tawna and Turtle

The Launch of the Blog

Seems odd to be sitting at midnight in Gambell's Sivuqaq Lodge designing a blog. The winds howling and Russia is closer than the United States mainland. Boats are on their racks as the sea ice starts to break up and move away. I feel like I could reach out from the shore and touch the dateline - 180 degrees from Mother Carey's Kitchen. Here it is...the Blog - Enjoy!