A Tundra Hike

I went off the base and explored for the first time this week. It was the first time I had the chance to go checkout the area. The Bay is completely frozen over as you can see from the pictures. It makes this spit of land feel much larger than it actually is when the bay appears to be a part of the land and not water. I was able to run quite a ways down the shore of the water like I was on solid ground. It was cold, but it felt good to get out and run. The lens flair in the picture of the sun sitting above he frozen bay is actually a rainbow if you are wearing polarized lenses. I was able to see my footprints forever on the ice. Other than the footprints of Haley and Nomad, mine were the only ones out there. Haley and Nomad are the dogs that live at the base. They have a good deal. They get to sleep of hang out inside and are allowed in most parts of the base with an exception to the galley, ET Shop, and the barracks. They are both sweet dogs and joined me on my expedition to the tundra.
I found this arrangement of circular boards. It looked like is was built to be a corral of some sort, although most of the crossmember were lost to the tundra. It made a cool picture and a break from the typical desolate beauty of the tundra. It is very beautiful up here, just different. The sun rises and sets in virtually the same place. It migrates over, but not 180 degrees like most places. Pinecrest and the other places that I have lived have had a green lush beauty to them. Up here there is a desolate almost lifeless beauty to it. The life just seems to disappear during the winter months.
The snow drifts change daily due to the uninhibited winds over the landscape. We have to plow up here to clear the snowdrifts, not because we get snow all the time. As you can see I got ways from the station. The tower in the picture is 1350 feet tall and the station is far enough away to be clear of it in case it falls. I Then cut over to the ocean side of the spit and watched as the piles of ice were reabsorbed by the ocean. I was not able to get any pictures because the -6 Degree temperature killed my cameras batteries. The water was a dark green like I had never seen in water before. Similar to the intensity of the deep blue of the water in the BVI. At that point my radio decided not to work and I headed back to the station, running over the tundra, which I found quite enjoyable. Other that that I am doing pretty good. It is strange to never really leave work or go home. We are given plenty of private time up her if we so desire it. It is comfortable, just very different that what you get used to living virtually anywhere else.

Helo Pizza Delivery Service

It has been and eventful and surprising week. We had pizza delivered to the station by a helicopter. I saw the T-Building and in then not so surprising news, it is still stunningly beautiful up here. The Helo was definately the high light of the week because I can now say that I had pizza delivered from a helo. Who can say that? I also got to speak with some aviation rates to find out if that is a direction I want to go, I still don't know, but I have time. I also got a tour of T-Building where the Loran Tower is powered from. It may be old technology, but it is interesting to see that still in use. You don't see vacuum tubes very much anymore. The crazy part is that there is so much radiation going through the conduits, a flourencent bulb will light up if put in the vicinity of the conduit. I suppose a million watts has the the power to do that. I didn't go shooting this week, but I put a picture up of the range. That is me shooting a shot gun if anyone was wondering. It was fun, now that I have training with projectile weapons, I am not intimidated by guns anymore. It is relaxing in a stange sense. The rest of the week was pretty typical. I am close to finishing my qualifications as an engineer watchstander. Once I finish that I will be able to start focusing on the college courses. Have a great day, enjoy the pictures.

KPC Halloween and More

  My first halloween in the Coast Guard and and in isolated duty. It was a good party. Borat, Justin Timberlake and Bubba Fett made an appearance. Played some pool, washers and had some great food. I was on duty, so I was not able to have any drinks, but I was entertained. Washers was fun because you can do anything to distract the person throwing the washer as long as you don't disrupt the flight path or make contact. Everyone was just having a good time. Not much more I could say.
  I am beginning to settle in up here. Getting my Qualifications done. There are morale games, vehicles and some ATV's. Although I don't know how long we will be able to use them until the snow builds up too much. It getting colder and I am adapting quick. I worked in 20 degree weather with nothing but a t-shirt on. It was surprising to not even notice how cold it was until I was about to go back in.
  It is diverse group of people up here. I am getting to know them and figuring out what I want to do. I have not decided what rate to go with. I want to do something with EMS or medical. But I also want to be in the field. So I am considering Health Services, Information Systems, or an aviation rating. You pick your rate, you pick your fate. So I am going to take my time, I have four months until I can put my name on the list. It is still beautiful up here and I have not gotten sick of the cold yet. I miss having Hobie and the family around but there is not much I can do about that so I will just have to wait.
  The weather is just starting to really turn to winter with constant storms and very cold temperatures. Soon we will just have three hours of daylight and it will start at 1200. That should be interesting. I shot some guns, that was fun. A shotgun and a rifle. There is a shooting range on the station property that we are able to use. One good thing about the limited choices up here is what you can do like go to the gym. Something that is good for you and kills time. It is not what I expected, but it is well worth the challenges thus far.