Lacie Day 3

On Wednesday, we woke up early to try to talk to a few more people before heading out on our flight at 3 p.m.
We had a scheduled meeting with the mayor at 1:00 p.m. and were going to talk to a contact that Mary and Ryan didn’t have a chance to get to.
Delbert Rexford was a great source. He had a lot to say on the subject. His perspective was really interesting. I thought it was sad when he said that he missed the ice and how the change was affecting his subsistence lifestyle. Rexford personified how a lot of people in Barrow incorporate tradition and modern technology into their lives. He is a whaling captain and world traveler. He has traditional knowledge of what has been happening with the climate but also has contributed to scientific papers on the subject. It was a really great interview to get before we left.
After we took off, we had another unsuccessful attempt at getting the man-on-the-street perspective. While we were in the bank lobby, I bought a really cool pair of carved ivory earrings. They were $20, but I thought I should have some kind of momento of Barrow.
From there, we took a walk to see if we could get some outside photos. The light was too dim to get any good images, but we did find a street with the same name as our mascot, “Nanook” street. We took a photo of that with flash.
The light of Barrow is different than the light of Fairbanks. To me, when Fairbanks is dim it is a purplish grey. When I think of Barrow, I think of the blue color that the city turns during the lighter hours.
Even the light looks cold.
As we walked down the streets, the wind picked up. The cameras would pick up wild looking snowflakes.
We had found out our we would have to take an earlier flight, so we had to call and cancel our appointment with the mayor. His assistant said she was going to call us anyway because he was going to cancel on us. It worked out for everyone I guess.
We waited at the airport for a puddle jumper plane. This is where they make a bunch of stops at small villages before heading to Fairbanks.
I almost hoped that we would get to spend Thanksgiving in Barrow because the previous day we were invited to a big feast at the church with whale and a bunch of traditional foods I wanted to try. Our plane ride was long and it seemed longer since it was dark so early. Some of the passengers had brought turkeys with them to take home for a holiday dinner.