HALLOWEEN

The northernmost "Trick or Treat".

Warm weather followed by cold weather at the beginning of this week meant ice skating on the roads.

With the light rapidly disappearing the landscape has taken on a blue glow from about 10 am to 2 pm.   We are all getting up in the dark a half hour earlier to get the kids down the hill to catch the bus at 7:45.  The “bus stop” is a little precarious with all the children standing right next to one of the busier intersections in town.  The boys still walk home and will do that until the 14^th of November, when the bus starts after school as well.  I walk the boys down the hill, say goodbye, and then continue to UNIS.  Monday was Halloween, so kids were walking all over town with their bags from the local grocery store.  Because it was -15 C, face paint was the extent of the costumes, but the kids went out and had a great time.

The children waiting for the bus.

This week I have been continued to work finishing up some manuscripts, planning logistics for the cruises in December and January, and running the REMUS.  The beginning of this week was beautiful outside; still cold but no wind (the key here to a nice day!).  Wednesday, we were able to get the REMUS out again.  The boat was full of snow, but it actually made it less slippery and we were able to move around easier.  I also rigged up a system where I used foot warmers on the LCD screens on the GPS and REMUS ranger, so they wouldn’t freeze.  It worked pretty well.  The REMUS flew well and called into the receiving station in California 4 times during the mission and updating me at UNIS on the progress.  After the mission, I notified UNIS logistics we were done as they are going to be overhauling the boat and getting it ready for the winter operations. 

Snow-filled boat for REMUS launch.

REMUS recovery... always good to have it back in the boat!

UNIS on the way to work.

 UNIS activity during midday.

Thursday night I played basketball again after being gone for so long.I think I wrote this last time, but the team lost by only one point to the Russians in Barentzburg.This was also without two of the star players, so a great result in my mind.I found out there is another game in February, which I will finally play in! They were glad to see me back and asked a lot of questions about my trip to CA. This is one of the strongest community connections for me and I really enjoy it.

Picture of the week: Longyearbyen and ribbons of light.

Nicole walking to the art galleries.

Lights on in Longyearbyen

Minning history lit up.

Fog on fire.

Yesterday, Nicole and I walked around town and found out that it was the outside celebration of art week in Longyearbyen.  We know about the art week, but didn’t know about this.  It was a mix of the sled dogs showing off their new puppies and letting the kids play with them, outdoor campfires, accounts of Norwegian polar treks and showcasing the latest models of snowmobiles. After that we walked to a couple of galleries in town.  In one of the galleries, we watched the artist make lithographs of his latest picture of a coal miner.  It was an amazing process done on a special stone from Nürnberg, Germany. For about an hour during out trek downtown, the sky was amazing, with ribbons of reflected light off the clouds from the distant sunset.   I stayed up late to go see a movie with a friend at midnight, only to find out after getting down there that I was 24 hours late.  Live and learn… Slept in today!  On the agenda, a bit of work, some games with the boys, basketball and a movie (for real) later tonight.

Morning glow.