People from the Lower 48 often ask me if it was dark for the whole winter where I lived, and if the sun rose. It seems there's a misconception out there that crossing it's the border into Alaska that causes the plunging darkness of polar night, rather than the gradual axial tilt of the earth, but that's okay, we've survived worse assumptions. I would usually laugh, and explain that I was from the southern shores -- in the part of Alaska where I lived, the sun always rises. Even at the lean point of the year, we get a little more than two hours of sunlight per day. We had it easy!

Everyone I have ever told this to: I would like to formally retract this statement as a lie.

In Kotzebue, sure, the sun doesn't rise until 1:30 pm. But the entire landscape is made out of bright white content -- clouds in the sky, snow on flat landscape which stretches out long toward the horizon. The overwhelming experience during the day isn't darkness at all. Even when the sun is below the horizon, clear skies mean that the moon and stars reflect off the snow.

Turns out, it's a lot darker to have a landscape dominated by looming mountains, giant trees, and oppressive rain. What?

Dear Southeast: I want you to know. You no longer have to feel like wimps when it comes to sheer pitch blackness. You don't live in the easy part of Alaska when it comes to daylight. Embrace your prize -- overwhelming gloom!