It was a secret for about three weeks, but the cat is officially out of the bag, so I can share at last.
Last Saturday, after much anticipation on our part, we left Napaskiak on the way to Bethel. Eric and Sara Jung were nice enough to give us a lift in their new pickup truck. Definitely a much more comfortable way to travel than snowmachine. The outside temperature at noon was -20, so we were very grateful to be inside of a heated vehicle. The river was well-frozen after several days of renewed sub-zero temperatures. In fact, the previous melt and rain had combined with the subsequent cold to produce a very smooth ice surface (in relative terms). Our ride was uneventful, and we quickly found ourselves going through the process of checking dogs in at the Alaska Airlines counter at the airport. Off to Anchorage for a six-hour layover. We hung out at the airport version of Humpy's, a popular Anchorage restaurant, with a couple of teachers that were also headed back east for the holiday break. Afterward, we picked up the dogs from baggage check and found a quiet corner of the airport to sit with them until it was time to check them back in for the flight to Chicago.
We had the aid of a friendly tailwind, and the flight took only about 5 1/2 hours. As the sun rose over Chicago on Christmas morning, we descended for our landing at O'Hare airport. My wife and I have become pretty practiced at our routine on landing. She gets the bag and the dogs. I take the little dog and pick up the rental car. I then meet her at the curb outside the terminal, quickly lift the dog kennels into the back of the vehicle, and we are off. It went like clockwork-there were very few folks flying on the holiday-and we were off shortly to my sister's house in Arlington Heights, where we spent two very pleasant days.
On the Tuesday after Christmas, we headed north to Michigan, where we spent the next several days surprising friends and family. It was a joyful reunion with our Michigan home. We are fortunate to have my wife's parents staying here at the house for the holidays, and we got a visit from our friend Adam Bode, who came all the way from Ohio to spend a few hours yakking about things in Napaskiak and his home.
We are hosting family and friends for New Year's Eve, and plan to go downstate and visit my parents tomorrow. Those plans might be complicated somewhat by a winter storm that is being predicted for New Year's day, but we will roll with whatever the situation brings.
We return to Alaska on January 14. In the meantime, we will bask in the warmth of our family and friends and recharge ourselves for the semester to come...
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