Saturday February 21, 2004. The temp is about 4 above zero with the sun shining and no wind. There were snowmachine races on the back bay starting at 2 PM. For the last week the snowplows have been hauling snow and building large banks of snow on the back bay in preparation for the races today. There were a number of heats based on machines and age, and all followed the same course.
Patty flew to Point Hope Wednesday February 25th. This is a whaling village one hours flight north of Kotzebue. It is halfway between Kotzebue and Barrow, the northern most point of North America. It was snowing and she was unable to get many good pictures. She did try though and here are some of her accomplishments.
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Last updated:
08/29/05
/100_1307.JPG "The view of the race course from our dining room window.")
/100_1311.JPG "Cars, trucks, snowmachines, and spectators getting ready for the race. Some of these vehicles are parked on the back bay.")
/100_1316.JPG "A snowmachine pulling an extra person on a sled.")
/100_1420.JPG "Vehicles lined up for the race.")
/100_1421.JPG "Some vehicles leaving early. They are driving on a portion of the frozen back bay.")
/100B1410.JPG "A closer view of a truck driving on a frozen body of water. The open patches are where the snow has blown off the surface of the ice.")
/100_1462.JPG "I had to take a picture of the machine named \"Slednecks\".")
/100_1591.JPG "The judge explaining the rules to one heat prior to the start.")
/100B1331.JPG "Getting airtime. Take from our dining room window with a zoom lens.")
/100B1431.JPG "More air time.")
/100B1612.JPG "Looks like fun but can be tough on the bones.")
/100B1481.JPG "There were a number of jumps on the course.")
/100B1562.JPG "A closer view.")
/100B1602.JPG "The start of another heat.")
/100B1661.JPG "Attempting to pass.")
/100B1693.JPG "An interesting view of the front skids of the machine as it clears a jump.")
/100_1704.JPG "The cockpit shortly after takeoff. This is the \"small\" plane as there was only 2 passangers and some cargo.")
/100_1706.JPG "The town of Point Hope from the air.")
/100_1710.JPG "The spacious accomodations of the commercial village transport planes.")
/100_1713.JPG "Kotzebue from the air. The blank area all around the town is frozen water.")
/100_1714.JPG "Another view.")
/100_1715.JPG "There is a small cove in the upper right of the picture. This is the back bay. Our apartment is on the lower point. (The bottom)")
/100_1716.JPG "That prominent point visible to the lower part of the bay is where our apartment is.")