After an air tour of Alaska, we made it!

First stop:  Anchorage.  (thanks, Redoubt)Here's Tim at Chili's in the airport figuring out the fancy recording equipment:Second stop:  Nome.  This is all we got to see of Nome:Third:  Our stop in Kotzebue ("Kotz") was a bit longer, so I took a quick walk around outside the airport.  Rusty Toyota truck (which also had cool icicles and some seriously suped up tires):

In the Bering Air airport in Kotzebue, Tim and I read the Nome Nugget and talked to a woman who works for the census bureau.  She has visited 84 villages in Alaska and tries to get to each one every year!  Although the website for Kiana quotes a population of 401, the actual population right now is more like 320.  

We actually flew on a single engine Caravan instead of the Navajo.  8 passengers to Noorvik, 4 stayed on to Kiana.  With all of Tim's aircraft experience, he says he doesn't feel totally safe on a single engine plane.  

Fourth:  We made a surprise stop in Noorvik.  We were hoping to somehow see Mollia and Rebecca in Noorvik, but we made a super quick stop before we took off for Kiana.  It was an incredibly beautiful flight to Noorvik and then to Kiana.  Luckily the census lady sat in front of me.  She has a great eye for spotting wildlife from the plane and pointed out two caribou herds plus at least 30 moose bedded down in the trees!

Five:  Kiana!

Home Sweet Home:

When we flew over Kiana, we flew right by a graveside service for one of the town's elders. This was the 10th funeral in Kiana this year.  The town is struggling with grief from so much sadness in such a short time.  The potlach after the funeral service was held at the school, and the school principal said we should just join in.  After some deliberation, Tim and I did join in, and the food was delicious and everyone was very welcoming and friendly.  First we went on a quick walk and discovered how beautiful it is here.