One day, Jackson's friend, Stanley, decided to leave Salem, Missouri to go to a small village named Kotzebue, Alaska so he could visit Jackson's Dad. He asked Jackson to wrap him up in a letter and put him in the mail. Jackson put him in the envelope along with enough food and water for the trip. In two weeks, he arrived at the Post Office in Kotzebue, where he had to lay in the mail box, waiting to be picked up.
After he was free from the mail box, Stanley asked if he could go look around town, amazed at all the snow still on the ground at the end of March. He saw a house just a few doors down from the post office that everyone calls the Kotzebue House.
Then on the wall of the store, he saw a sign congratulating John Baker, a local native resident, for winning the Iditarod, which is a very long and tough dog sled race across Alaska.
After a good night's sleep, Stanley was ready to go to school where Jackson's Dad and Step-Mom work. There, he met Nixon and was able to do classwork on the computer. Nixon is a deaf student that Jackson's Step-Mom, Lori, teaches.
When school was over, Stanley got to go out and play on the playground. He played on the swings, the monkey bars, and even went down the slide a few times.
Next he got on a snowmobile, which the local people call a "snow-go". He saw other people on 4-wheelers, which are all called "Hondas" in Kotzebue. He was a little cold as he rode around town, because the temperature was still below 10 degrees.
When Stanley got back to the apartment, he noticed a Sheefish by the door. He learned that since it's so cold in the arctic, people don't have to put all their food in their freezers. He was amazed at how frozen the fish was. He was told that people in Alaska enjoy eating seals and fish from the ocean, as well as caribou and moose.
Stanley had a good time playing with Jackson's little sister Qyanna. Her first birthday is on April 14th.
He really liked the Eskimo artwork that he saw while in Kotzebue. He got to see bone carvings, Seal skin gloves, hats, parkas and mukluks, which are warm boots for walking in the snow.
All too soon, it was time to get all bundled up for the long trip home. He hopes you enjoyed hearing about his time in Kotzebue, Alaska.
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