I-Quad

When I arrived it was still trying to snow and the Kuskokwim River was frozen solid. Here you can see the river from the edge of town.

There used to be more town but the river washed it away about 25 years ago.On May 13 on the radio  they announced the river has cracked enough to start moving. In the middle of winter, people use the river to drive cars and trucks to neighboring villages (just like the Ice Road on Discovery TV) Snow machines are used everywhere.

See the funny tall poles with “fur”  and a ring on top located along the riverbank? What do you suppose they do?

You can see the progress of the rivers breaking up here
http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/where-is-breakup-finally/

and here you can watch the Arctic ice cap break up
http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2007/03/26/where-is-bethel-ice-pack/