SCHOLARSHIP DAY 69: US Election Day and Winter Exploration

In life, there's three things you can't escape from: death, taxes, and election nights. The US Election Campaign has been going on for years; it started before I knew I even had the Royal Geographical Society Scholarship! Tonight, I sit in a hostel 4000 miles from the White House but feel almost as involved in US politics as I do with that of the UK. I write at a time when the votes are only starting to come in, and my thoughts have to be with those that are counting ballot papers through the night.

Polling was going on today in the university Wood Center, and although many states have seen mile long queues, this station didn't seem to be pulling a crowd at all. Interestingly, there didn't seem to be any signs showing the public where to vote; I stumbled upon the station throughout my winter walk today.

Indeed, today I was scheduled to go on the lakes again, but the DGPS that we need to take the GPS of the holes we dig in the lake, is in Canada. So, in the meantime, I decided to head out into the -25 degree C temperatures, and committed myself to a few hours of exploratory walking. Call me crazy, but it's really invigorating to be out here; never before has simple walking become a challenge. To demonstate just how cold it is, here's ice on the inside of a hostel window, in the porch. The reason why the porch gets so cold, is because of permafrost thaw underneath the hostel, which makes the ground slightly depressed and causes an increasingly large gap between the ground and the bottom of the door.

 

I decided to head down to the Chena River, firstly. In the last couple of days, I've travelled the bus over this bridge, and have always been stunned at the sheer beauty of this steaming river. Today's visit was no exception. Although I tried to grab a good photo of it, my right hand was starting to become very numb and consequently very painful. With no heat source, there was no way of de-numbing and I had to ridiculously clap my hands as I continued my walk.

 As I walked back north towards the university, water vapour once again became a photo opportunity, as the sun was beginning to make its typically early set below the horizon.

I love it when I stumble upon something, on these spontaneous walks. It makes so much more committed to continue walking further, and just as I was about to return back to the hostel, I noticed directions to an artwork exhibition by MFA Thesis candidate Riva Sazama called In between the Lines. It's an interesting room to walk through; most of the materials hang from the ceilings, or cover the walls. Riva said in her statement that her artwork usually is composed of natural materials, although some of the work is compiled with wire and plastic.

Satisfied with this find, I left a note in the visitor center, and headed back to the hostel, to catch an update on the election. Since I started this blog post, I have watched both Romney and Obama win votes, and ultimately win states. The geography of this election is very interesting aswell; the demographics of an area can determine who votes for who. I will sit here watching news coverage, which seems to be consistently reporting on this election, and no doubt wherever you are in the world, you're going to hear the final result just as easy as I will.