From Hot Lava to 50 Below!

As most of you know I spent most of my Christmas Break in Hawaii. I was able to explore the big island. The highlight of my trip was watching the lava spill into the sea. A huge plume of steam can be seen from miles away. At night red hot rock shots into the air when it explodes after hitting the water. I was able to capture some of this excitement with a long exposure on my Cannon.

See the tiny helicopter in the photo for scale. I think we were standing about 3/4 mile from the steam plume.

Stupid Camera Ticks. I used a flashlight to outline myself as I stood in front of the camera.

I made it back in the Fairbanks on Friday Morning, Jan 2nd. I am still in Fairbanks. It is so cold that the pollution and the smog in the air hangs of the city in a dense cloud of ice fog. The hills are a little warmer and cooler, but the city is in a still valley with very little air flow. I was supposed to fly back to the village today but all of the bush plane flights were cancelled due to low visibility.

I was afraid my week or two in Hawaii would soften me up and make it hard to return to the arctic. But I seem to be faring well. The other night I went for a five mile hike with a friend who mushes dogs. It may be too cold for the dogs, but we still manage to make it out. I was sweating and had to unzip my coat and take off my mittens from time to time to cool down in the -45 F air. You know -40 is not so bad when there is no wind and you a dressed for it. Just be careful when you reach for the door handle.... your hand may freeze to it!!!

After the hike we enjoyed some heat in the Sauna. I think the temperature was close to 200 F when I went in. After my body heated up it made venturing out into the cold air with little clothing, refreshing...