I have actually been back for weeks – forgive me.
I took a vacation. Some of you with more sorority-like hipness know it as a vacay.
Knowing my distaste for cold weather, with winter approaching, one might assume I went someplace to gather those last few rays of warmth – to bake my bones a bit in preparation for the dismal grey of Chicago’s winter season. HAH! Gotcha! Instead, I took a freezing military plane up to the northern part of Greenland (700 miles north of the Arctic Circle) where I got to experience my first snow of the season; wear a down coat, tights under my jeans and all the typical winter trimmings; and visit my husband who is stationed up there with the Air Force.
Monte and I climbed a bit of a mountain, which was a little scary not for the height, but for the loose rock that continually slipped from beneath us as we climbed.
Greenland has no squirrels. Nor any brown bunnies, centipedes or children. I did see huge arctic hares, ravens and arctic foxes. Pictured below is a brown fox. A day after I arrived it started snowing and the foxes started shedding their summer coat for a white one to keep them hidden in the snow.
The base is pretty utilitarian (ugly) with all the buildings looking like metal shacks and you would never know that building 105 is a cozy dorm and that building 2 something something (how quickly I get rid of useless information!) has a bar, the best karaoke I have ever been to, and a very nice restaurant inside. The one below might be the post office. Or maybe a dorm. Or the community center? I have no idea. Snow is not a good landmark.
When we weren’t out trying to make the most of my trip
we were indoors relaxing – reading, cooking, playing board games and rearranging furniture. For more on how interesting Greenland is, you can check out Monte’s blog. For more about Thule Air Station (where it is currently twelve degrees with a windchill of -4, and there remains only about four hours of sunlight), you can check out their official site here.
I’m back in Chicago and in the swing of things – I just turned on the heat in my apartment yesterday and can’t wait for Thanksgiving – scalloped pumpkin anyone?
