(I see dead people)

I spent a good part of the afternoon at the cemetary. Absolutely remarkable. Many of the graves were dated back to the goldrush of 1899, and there were hundreds of head stones. I guess "head stones" is somewhat of a misnomer around here, as they were all made out of wood. I guess the market is ripe for someone who wants to get into the headstone carving business, because it costs too much to ship them up here. Everything is based on weight. I saw a 2.5 gallon of Sprkletts water in the store yesterday for $12.99! Thirteen dollars for water that comes cold and clear from the tap. Ahhh, sweet capitalism.

But again, I digress. The cemetary was fascinating. Crosses bearing the name of the last Chief of King Island, prospectors, Alaska Natives, and even a few new sites. An interesting note is that all of the new sites were raised 1-2 feet above the ground. I know it is difficult to dig through the permafrost up here, and in some Alaska Native cultures people are actually buried in little houses set above the ground (Google "Eklutna Cemetary" until I figure out the links issues of this thing). What I am wondering, however, is why are the older graves are ground level or below? Does the ground actually settle 3-4 feet after a person is buried?

Another bonus of the cemetary was the presence of the Nome International Airport (not really international, the flights to Russia go through Kotzebue) flight path directly over head. A great opportunity to see large planes very close. Not quite Pushing Tin close, but still cool. I took lots of pictures. Perhaps someday you will see them.