Kotzebue, Alaska sits north of Alaska's Seward Peninsula -- as well as above the Arctic Circle -- on the state's western coast. Because of its northerly location, the city gets to watch the sea ice freeze and thaw in the Kotzebue Sound. For residents of Front Street, they get to step out their front doors in winter and look out over a chunky frozen landscape.
Spring, however, is a whole different beast, as YouTube user Aker99752 demonstrates in a video uploaded June 2.
For a little while, the sheet of Arctic ice extends onto the shore, to the point where it comes a-knockin' at the front door of one of the houses lining the street. According to the uploader, the last time this happened, the ice actually made it into a resident's home, damaging a snowmachine and a car in the process.
Just one more thing about Alaska that makes it a unique place to live, and one of the myriad ways that Alaska shows its citizens that they're living in a dangerous state.
While "Sarah Palin's Alaska" has finished its eight-week run on TLC, Alaska Dispatch continues to take a look at the Last Frontier as it's experienced by residents across the state -- urban and rural, young and old, from all walks of life. You've seen "Sarah Palin's Alaska" -- now welcome to Our Alaska.