Logbook: Nuiqsut to Wasilla, entry 2: Barrow - a surprise greeting from a man with a 29 day-old beard and his dad

The distance between Era Aviation in Barrow where I would land and Alaska Airlines were I would soon depart again is very short, but still I was a little concerned about the transition. I left Nuiqsut with much more than I had arrived with, including an ice chest full of frozen maktak and frozen bowhead meat, frozen Qaaqtaq and other Native foods, plus a polished blade of baleen Edward had given me. It was going to be a bear to try and drag it all, my two original pieces of luggage, my camera gear and computer over the icy road from one air service to the other.

Right after I stepped inside the Era Aviation terminal from the airport side, Roy Ahmaogak and his dad Savik stepped in from the parking lot side. They knew I was landing and would need help getting my gear from Era to Alaska Airlines and so came to give it to me. Roy's beard was now 29 days old. November has been the month set aside to grow beards to raise awareness and funds to fight colon cancer, so that's what Roy has been doing. Come December 1, he plans to shave it off. I plan to keep mine. Their help was greatly appreciated.