Alaska Airlines Flight 153 Leaves Kotzebue August 31st 2008 by Ella Derbyshire

Nikon D80's

It is the end of summer, and in some ways Kotzebue is like other cities in the Northern Hemisphere. The tundra is changing its lush green cover to fiery shades of yellow, orange and red. We are harvesting local fruits. In our case, it's time for the last of the blueberries and the first of the cranberries. The waterfowl are starting to fly south. The sun is setting early enough for people who work the day shift to enjoy a sunset.

Our 3 scheduled Alaska Airlines' flights are mostly on time these days with the fog season ahead of us as the sea ice returns and the cold and wind of winter following soon after.

In this place without roads into or out of town, these planes are very important in our lives. The planes bring our mail and groceries. They fly us, our friends and families away for visits "outside." They bring us home when the time is right.

This 45 frame panorama was photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro. Please have a look at the autumn tundra as we see it from the end of the Kotzebue runway.