At this latitude and above, if there are no mountains in front of you, and if you are are sea level, you should be able to see the sun up in the sky for 24 hours.
Thought that would be an event a a time to remember.
And it was. Here is a picture on the trip back, at 11: 30 PM in Fairbanks, at nearly 65 degrees North..
We had to decrease the photo's exposure 1 EV because the sun in the background was so bright, that we couldn't see any detail in the foreground.
On this day, Fairbanks' people were out and about, strolling along at 1:30 AM.
Some seemed to be out for a leisurely bike ride.
At one corner, there were 7 people waiting to cross the 4 lane road.
They were enjoying every bit of light they could get!
Back in Kodiak, at 58 degrees North, we used to love putting the kayak in the water at 10 at night.
That gave us a chance to see the wildlife and then watch the sun set on the return. As long as we made it in bu 11:30 pm, we could see quite well.
In Fairbanks people REALLY take notice of the days' length. The days start getting longer in January. But, according to a college student we met, it is March when they really get excited. They say, "Winter's over!" Unfortunately they get hit by a few more days of - 20 degrees, which zaps their excitement.
So once, June comes around, they are really up beat. Just like the flowers you saw on some of our recent blogs.
But, by the 22nd of June, they realize shorter days are on the way. At least this guy we met said he got a little sad that day.
And by September, just in time to return to school, they get their first snow fall again.
But, according to this article I read on the Internet today, not all are saddened.
Just take a look at this article about the folk from Barrow, AK .
Some seem to not mind winter and shorter days at all.
Alaska city experiences first sunset in months
BECKY BOHRERAugust 2, 2013
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — For the first time since May, the sun has set in what is billed as the northernmost city in the United States.
According to the National Weather Service, the first sunset in Barrow, Alaska, since May 10 occurred at 1:57 a.m. Friday. The sun rose again at 3:12 a.m.
Barrow has continuous daylight for so long because of its location, hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, and the tilt of the earth's axis of rotation.
The town of about 4,500 people will gradually lose sunlight each day until November. After that, the sun won't rise again until January — again, because of the rotational tilt.
The first sunset in months was a nonevent for some residents like Bob Green, an area resident since 1978 who didn't stay up to watch it the sunset.
"I've seen enough of them," he said. "I'm just glad that it's happening. I've had enough sun. I much prefer the winter."
Green, reached at work at Pepe's North of the Border restaurant, said Barrow seems to run better "when it's frozen."
There are no bugs or mud to deal with during the winter months, he said. Also, it's easy to make light in the winter but hard to get rid of that "big light bulb" that is the sun in summer.
While some people might find it strange to live somewhere with extended periods of sunlight or darkness, Patuk Glenn, museum curator at the Inupiat Heritage Center, said residents have grown accustomed to the seasons.
"Most of us, anyway, don't really suffer from that seasonal affective thing," she said, adding: "It's just part of life."
Things like successful spring and fall subsistence whale hunts are cause for excitement in Barrow, she said. There's no real fuss about the first sunset in months.
Like Green, she didn't stay up to see it."You know, I'm sleeping at that time," she said, noting she has a job to get to in the morning.
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