Livin’ Good in Livengood, Alaska

Happy New Year everyone and to start off with something slightly different I present a family living in the far northern reaches of Alaska, out in the middle of nowhere and a figment of my imagination upon seeing some pictures in the Anchorage Daily News. My mind kept thinking of these pictures all night awaiting the approaching New Year. About 2 am under a clear sky and cold night I remembered a small spot on the road on my drive to the Arctic Circle a few years ago to see the Arctic Ocean. I drove from Anchorage to Deadhorse where the oil companies have their camps for the ‘slopers’ who work in the oil industry. As you can see I have too much time on my hands during my one day off to celebrate the New Year. Enjoy.


Welcome to Livengood Alaska, population 26 in the summer and the 6 of us in the wintertime. It’s a quiet place where you can let your kids play with no worries unless the abundant moose and the occasional bear wander too close to the house.


Livengood is really just a spot on the haul road (Dalton Hwy) that runs between Fairbanks sixty miles to the south to Prudoe Bay way up north at Deadhorse over 400 miles away. We are off grid, using wind and solar power which works fine once set up and is a low cost power for us. We tend to keep things slightly cooler so those long winters do not affect us like some of our distant neighbors.


We are not the average family livin’ in the bush as we tend to struggle through the long summers and are ready for the cold to return to feel ‘normal’ again.


My name is Storm and there is always work to do to prepare for winter . . .



















My husband Icy makes sure our vehicle is in tip top shape for all of the winter driving . . .

















The kids play all the time during the summer . . .



















And we always have time for a bike ride . . .





























Or that quiet time sitting around the campfire . . .

























Next up . . . Daily Life.


Ice


All Photos by June Dilley

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