Patience and persistence

One mystery solved, sort of. Stopping on the bridge of a starry night …So the light on the river showed again only this time I stopped and gave it a good long look despite the fact I had forgotten the binoculars. Sure enough, it was a strobe. I had thought it might be going on and off as trees passed between us, but no, it was definitely intermittent. It seemed small enough to be an emergency signal from on the river ice but that's because it was farther away than I thought. So once I realized this I had to think through what it could be and came to one conclusion. About 10 or 12 miles away in the direction of the light there's a small but controlled airstrip. Because of the distance the light had seemed closer to the ground than it was. So, most likely that light is a beacon for pilots seeking that little airstrip in the dark. With that one taken care of all that remains are the mystery mushers, footprints, strange lights and pixie dust.... The plot is thinning.

Just for proof: This is what i found about the airport on the Internet. I believe the light I am seeing is under the "Lights" heading but i never saw any green.

Birchwood Airport Operations

Airport use: Open to the public
Activation date: 10/1949
Sectional chart: ANCHORAGE
Control tower: no
ARTCC: ANCHORAGE CENTER
FSS: KENAI FLIGHT SERVICE STATION [800-478-3576]
NOTAMs facility: BCV (NOTAM-D service available)
Attendance: APR-AUG 0800-1800, SEP-MAR 0800-1700
Wind indicator: yes
Segmented circle: yes
Lights: DUSK-DAWN
ACTVT MIRL RY 01L/19R & VASI RY 19R - CTAF.
Beacon: white-green (lighted land airport)


View Larger Map

MAP EXPLANATION: Reduce the size one or two clicks then move the map until the "A": is in the lower left hand corner. That's Birchwood Airport. Now if you look toward the upper right, find the words "Knik River." That is actually where the bridge that i saw the light from is and it shows the line of sight to the light. Isn't this all just fascinating? Sending away now for my Sherlock Holmes deerslayer hat and a Meerschaum pipe.