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.

Beggining the Alaska Adventure

My adventure began with a very long day of very little rest and many flights to catch. Fortunately I was able to use the USO in Seattle and the Military lounge at Anchorage. I was able to relax and rest for a short while, just enough to keep me going. It got interesting beyond Anchorage when I was not longer on typical comercial flights or cities.

The plane stopped at Kotzbue, Alaska and the airport was a building. When I think of an airport I think of several builidngs or atleast one of good size. Not a small building with several snow machines sitting in front. The only thing that designated it as an airport was the fact that Alaska Airlines was painted on the front wall where I could see it from the plane. I took the opportunity to take a couple pictures and ot redefine what an airport could be. The Nome airport was the same, but I wasn't nearly as amused this time around.

I had a small layover in Nome. I took the opportunity to get some breakfast and see a little bit of Nome. The locals were very kind and generous. I watched as the sun rise over Bearing Sea, it was incredible not only how different it looked from what I had seen before, but also the fact that the time was 1100. The flight from to Nome was strange because the sun had not rose yet. It is just one of those changes that I will have to deal with.





From Nome I took Bearing Air. The plane was an eight seater plane forward prop and was a new experience for me. The Runaways were not cleared of snow, it was just left there. Within sight of these snow covered runaways was a huddle of buildings, towns that can only be reached by aircraft. It is a very different life up here. the roads go all over, but they just stop or are not maintained. I easily believe that there is three hundred miles of roads that lead to no where. Regardless of this drastic change in lifestyle, the beauty was incredible. The landscape is covered with rolling hills. The bays and Bearing Sea is half frozen, chunks of every shape and size as far as the water goes or the eye can see. It sometimes looked very solid while at others cluttered with millions of small pieces of ice. I was told later that it was just starting to freeze and will freeze all the way over during the peak of winter. I felt like kid in a candy store. All this goregeaus senery to take pictures of.
When the plane landed at Port Clarence, It was larger than I thought it would be. The truck was waiting at the end the runaway ready to pick up my gear, me and the mail that was coming in on the flight. It is a good group of people. The pool is a little small to train in and hot tub does not exist, but the weight room is very nice. The station sits on a spit of land separting a large bay and the Bearing Sea. I need to figure out how I am going to get pictures of on the blog due to the bandwidth limitation, and will not be alble to skype anyone. What do you expect when you get the opportunity to live in the wilderness of Alaska. I can still stay in touch.
I got here in time to have a bonfire on the beach by the station. It was cold outside, but the fire was hot enough that you forgot about it. I got a tour of the station and will begin training this following monday. It will be different up here, but it will definately be a worthwhile experience. It is becoming the season of nearly all darkness. I am excited but it is still hard to believe that I am actually here. Just one day ago I was in the bay area. Now I have year to see what Port Clarence has to offer. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes.