23 July 2008 Wrapping it up

Journal

Polar Date: July 23 & 24, 2008

The past couple of days have been busy, as I have been working on tying up loose ends. The weather broke and we have had more sunshine and warmer temps than earlier in the week. Because so many people were unable to get all their data collected during the snowy, rainy and cold weather, camp has been really bustling.

Today I hiked up the boardwalks for the last time.

Toolk Superhighway in the Sunshine. — I took a picture of this beautifully constructed boardwalk last week when the weather was foggy and rainy. This picture is better because it looks like you could just walk down the boardwalk until you got to the mountains. Of course, you can't.

I wanted to take pictures of areas that I had previously photographed in the less than ideal conditions. Those pictures are in the photo gallery, but here’s a preview to entice you to go over there and check them out.

Beautiful Snow, Beautiful Mountains. — After the days of clouds, fogs and snow, when the skies finally cleared, the mountains showed off their fresh coating of snow. People who frequent Toolik think the snow is there to stay and won't melt until next summer.

I got a good start on a great activity for my students to work on in the fall. It has been great working with Mary Hunter-Laszlo from Ft.Collins, Colorado. She will begin teaching 8th grade in just a few weeks after having taught 6th grade, so we had a lot to talk about. If you want a little hint of what the students will be working on, click on the resource link at the bottom.

I’m going to stay up tonight to watch the sun set. I’ll take pictures if it’s clear and post them. I still need to try to get everything back in my bag (see posting from before I came here and picture called "stuff”). I leave here tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. to head back down the Haul Road to Fairbanks. I should be in Fairbanks somewhere around 4:00 p.m. if all goes well.

Final dinner report: Veggie stuffed peppers, pork tenderloin, polenta, mixed vegetables, salad, rolls and berry shortcake with whipped cream for dessert. I met my goal and did not have any desserts, which means I won’t need to buy new clothes when I get home. Maybe I should have eaten desserts.