It’s been a year since I’ve updated. In that year I’ve had a few downs and ups and done a wee bit more exploring, mostly away from Nome. Since last May, I’ve visited New Orleans, the North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Boston, Spain’s Barcelona, France’s Paris, and London in the UK. In my opinion, Nome, or perhaps Alaska in general, has some of the least pretty sights of man-made infrastructure, but some of the most lovely wild places, still preserved.
Here are a few bits of the lovely in the last year from around Nome.
May 2023:
So much driftwoodSnow dumps started meltingSpring Furry Friends
June 2023
Beach findsMuskox nappingFresh greenSo many wildflowers!
July 2023
Dropping a line.Wild IrisBeach findsEating subway on the boardwalk around the Train to NowhereBeach finds Foamy seas and drama cloudsHappy little mossThe Last Train to NowhereBird on the marchLast Train to NowhereLast Train to nowhere, rusting away
August 2023
Salmon berries were late this year thanks to a slow start start spring. Fall storms bring fun seas. Salmonberry picking! Musk oxen on the hillside. Can actually see the sunsets again before late bedtime. Kougarok Road driveSalmon LakeNome river just before it meets the Bering SeaOther side of the Nome RiverNome River as the tundra begins to change. Tundra Turning.
September 2023
Rainier days mean more rainbowsNome blueberriesNome – Council road, with Council in the distance. Views off the Nome Council RoadNome Council Road viewsSun is much lower in the evenings now. Coming back the end of September, most of the Tundra has already turnedRainbows Galore!
October 2023
Finally sunset season againFall storms bring rough wavesFrosty tundra out the kougarok roadViews from the nome river bridge out the kougarok roadCouncil of gulls and ducks in the Snake River before it freezes over
November 2023
The colorful twilights are some of my favoritesThe ocean calms a bit as it cools, but no sea ice yet. The moon sees meSnow sticks on the beach, but the sea hasn’t frozen yet. Stunning skiesSkies on fireWe can leave the Christmas lights up till January (or beyond)
December 2023
11:24am, before sunrise on 12/4Nome’s Christmas lights add an extra glow to Front Street.Sunrise at work,11:56am on 12/7.12/8 sea ice begins to form, sun above the horizon at 2:07pm12/13 at 12:36pm sunrise with chunks of ice in the oceanSunrise on 12/19 at 12:59pm, the seaice has extended further from shore. Dawn at 12:24pm on 12/23 overlooking the frozen Snake River.
January 2024
Houseplants have no idea and send out buds 1/1/24Drifts beginning to form.Roomies car became a good snow measurement over 48 hoursDrifts galore.Snow removal got a little complicated after snow many blizzards Sunrise from work 1/19 at 5:02pmLong shadows but the pink dawn and dusk set the world aglow.
February 2024
Pretty much the only outdoor picture I have of February, and I guess it sums it up. 😄
March 2024
Sun returns.Iditarod Nomies. Iditarod Musher Ryan Reddington coming into Nome just before sunsetIditarod musher at sunsetIditarod Dog Mushers coming into Nome on Front StreetAthletes at the end of their 1000 mile run. Denali out the jet window after I leave Nome to head to Europe.
April 2024 – I missed the first half while in Europe, but only missed 2 or 3 blizzards.
Denali on the way back to Nome in Late April Flying home over Nome late April to a still very white landscape.Picked up some new wheels I’m pretty happy about.
May 2024
May 10th brought fresh snow, unsurprisingly. May 14th with more snow flurries. The sea ice broke up and left all over one week the end of May. May 31, Safety Sound’s open waterFresh beach grass at Safety Sound with snow/ice still by the shore.Fluffy summer clouds are my favorite.
June 2024
Return of wildflowers and seashells.
If you made it to the end of this crazy post, I’m impressed, because even my blog editor was trying to quit long before with all these pictures. I hope you got a little taste of what makes Nome so special and why we love it so.
I drove out last weekend to catch the sunrise. Our January was full of crisp, clear days with many blue skies and temps ranging from 34°F to -24°F!
We’ve had our share of brisk winds in January, dropping the temp much further than the thermometer shows. This last Saturday I drove to the “end of the road maintenance” sign, sat there for a while and ventured about a mile beyond to a high point of the Nome-Council road. The gravel road’s snow cover has been packed down to a width of 1.5lanes, just enough to comfortably trek out and not panic if a vehicle came at you from the opposite direction. I hopped out of my 4Runner and regretted my “high point” location decision, as the wind-chill was far greater than the area closer to the beach. I covered every inch of me with multiple layers, but sadly still had to remove my gloves to set up my camera and tripod.
🥶
Left: Snowmachiner taking their wooden basket sled out to camp. Top: Cabin at Fort Davis area, frozen Bering Sea beyond Bottom: Sledge Island in the distance, cabins “camp” in the middle.Here comes the sun!
I stood in the middle of the empty road, checking every couple minutes for vehicles that never came. Saturday mornings in Nome are usually pretty quiet. I watched the sun rise above the frozen Bering Sea, casting long rays of warm light over frigid tundra. When I could no longer feel my fingers or my face, I packed up and climbed back into the Toyota, heading for home.
I passed almost a dozen snowmachiners on my way back into town, some with guns slung on their backs/fronts, some with passengers, some with cargo sleds. I passed a gang of trash-ravens flying to find their morning spoils (we’ve been having some refuse-removal delays the last month or so). I passed two fat-bikers, (not fat bikers) and a gutsy runner in the negative temps.
Frozen Selfie! 🥶
Nome winters are not for the faint-of-heart, but the adventurer in me loves the seasonal changes and “only in Nome” moments that always occur. Yesterday my coworker and I had to rally up a bank of a main road because the two closest access streets were completely drifted close, with stuck vehicles in the middle. The drift on one was +6 feet high!
Whenever I speak with lower-48 folks about Alaska and they mention the “6 months of dark,” it’s hard to explain the interesting phenomenon that is “losing and gaining daylight” to the extreme that Alaska sees. I always rejoice when I can finally get off work and the sun has not yet set. It’s even more a blessing when I can drive to work in daylight. 🙂
Today our outpatient clinic was closed thanks to a huge windstorm regularly gusting to 50mph that has also knocked out our internet and created more huge drifts. So I snuggled up on the couch with books and cups of coffee, looking forward to more sunny days and upcoming opportunities to be out and about in it.
