Barrow...Top of The World

Very soon after I came home from Bethel, I went to Barrow with two lovely folks from UAF. WHAT A GREAT PLACE!!!!  Truly the top of the world. 

Barrow is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.^[2][3] It is one of the northernmost cities in the world, and is the northernmost city in the United States, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point. The population was 4,683 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 3,982 in 2007. 

 

We stayed in a hotel that ws exactly across the street from the airport on the main road.  This is truly a whaling town and the whaling captains are the kings.  Each crew hacks a path across the sea ice which is about 2 miles to the open ocean) in the spring to drag his whaling boat to the open leads to hunt for spring whales.  Each town is allowed so many strikes per season.  A strike is a throw of the harpoon, so the whalers are quite careful as to what they aim at.  Catching the  a whale is a big deal and the culture is such that sharing is so important.  The cvaptain of the crew that catches the whale has the honor of dividing up the whale and each member of the community gets a piece, with the elders getting the best pieces.  Then it is up to the whaling captain and his wife to throw a feast for the whole village.  There is a whole section of Barrow named after one of the large whaling families. All in all, I found Barrow a very friendly place.

Point Barrow is the tip and many, many scientist come there to study to sea and its ice as well as the whales.     This is the road to Point Barrow.  It goes past the fish camps where the Natives go every year from their houses in town to fish, and dry their salmon.  Notice the sense of humor in the "parm trees" made of whalebone and baleen.  Barrow is known for its football team.  Can you imagine?  Note that we are above the tree line and, even if it were not snow covered which happens in about July) there is nothing green.

The highlight of my trip to Barrow was a trip onto the sea ice.  There are many scientist in Barrow and someone told me that if I asked, and someone was going out to the open water they would take me.  Well they did, but it was not a casual trip.  Frist of all I had to acquire arctic gear including jacket, pants and double lined bunny boots. Then a snow machine was produce, and when I told them I had never driven one before, a driver had to be arranged for.  So, we had this great snow machine with heated handle bars! and a native guy who carried the biggest gun I had ever seen (for polar bears).  Then there was a discussion as to whether I could weild a pick axe, because apparently anyone who goes out has to contribute to hacking the path to the ice.  Luckily the path was complete by the time I got there so I was excused.  Silly me.  I thought sea ice was like pond ice.  It turns out it is like an ocea that has been flash frozen with So we went to the edge of the ice where a lead had just opened up.  The scientists where makinga "perch" from which they will watch the spring whale migration by standing their in shifts 8 hours a day counting whales as they go by.  When I was there a lead had just opened and they predicted would close again that night.

  This is the perch they were building.     Here are some scenes around Barrow, which seems to start getting snow in August which lasts until July,    Whalebones everywhere!         I was in love with the way this little girl played around.      Baby aboard!  Here is a skin whaling boat.  Can you imaging hunting a whale in one? This is a view from the end of the street where my hotel was located.

Note the prices!      A gallon of water was close to $7.00!!!

Here is a great example of, what up here is called a sun dog.

Bethel, Alaska

Bethel, Alaska
I was so lucky to be able to travel to Juneau, Bethel and Barrow for work in April. I went to Juneau with folks from my program, RAP, for a cofnerence with others in programs like ours. While there I met with Andrew Heist, Dylan’s friend from grade school and his lady-friend, which was quite a treat. Juneau, the only state capital that you cannot drive to, is very beautiful, sandwiched between mountains and the sea. it is all green, and white and blue, except that it rains quite often so it is mostly gray. I had to leave Juneau early to go to a conference and do some recruiting in Bethel.

David was able to meet me in Bethel for the weekend, which,luckily for us, was Camai, the huge Native dance festival.

Bethel (Mamterilleq in Central Alaskan Yup’ik) is a city located near the west coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, 340 miles (550 km) west of Anchorage. Accessible only by air and river, Bethel is the main port on the Kuskokwim River and is an administrative and transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Bethel is the largest community in western Alaska and in the Unorganized Borough, as well as the 9th largest in the state, with a population estimated to be 6,356 in 2006.[3

Camai was held in the high school gym for three days and nights, going until about 1 am every day. Most of the speaking was in Yupik, the local language, because it is the language that the schools use until 4th grade. Many elders, many little kids and lots of teens coming and going all day as well as many dance troops from all over the area.

Below are photos of the Tsimshiam people who are known for the button blankets. Each group has great, decorated drums.



We were able to go to a free Native dinner with traditional food including seal stew and Akutaq, Eskimo ice cream which is crisco, sugar and blueberries whipped together.



Towards the end of Saturday evening all the drummers were called upon to march around the gym, drumming on their huge skin drums as hard as they could. Very powerful and very beautiful! Camai had a wonderful mixture of young and old, and some of the oldest were the dancers. This old lady was our favorite.

The craft fair had wonderful art that we have not seen elsewhere, and the museum also had very unusual work. First the museum pieces:





This fish skin doll was for sale. Bethel is quite desolate but had some humor as well as seen by this dumpster. What you see here are salmon drying on a rack in the back and the large, sort of yellow thing is the waste water container that is sucked out overy week.

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Outside in January

We took our first non-Alaska vacation in January to Arizona, or as they say here, We went "outside". We arrived in Phoenix but did not stay and headed down to Tuscon.  Our first stop was Talesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's home and workplace and school after he left Chicago.   Given the wonderful weather, it is not surprising that there are very few doors and many rooms open to the outside.

 GREEN.  Something we didn't see in laska in January!     We didn't realize what a wonderful sculpture Wright's wife was.

 Or what a terrible haircut I had!

A highlight of our trip was a nighttime visit to the Kit Observatory where we got to see all the huge telescopes and then look through one.  Then we had to go down the mountain in a caravan without lights!  Why?  Because all the telescopes work at night (no kidding!) and our lights would pollute their work.  Even Tuscon must use downward-facing sodium street lights to keep the view clean.

    This is a permanently aimed solar telecsope.  .  Next we went to Bixbee, a wonderful little town where we stayed at an amazingly decorated Victorian B & B which we found with the help of our trusty iPhone. and took a great mine tour riding on a little mining car.

.  Then on to Tombstone which was quite terrible and touristic where everything was a separate charge except for the cemetery which was wonderful. 

      

And then into the Sonora desert where we saw cactus and more cactus with David stopping at every one to take a photo.   



And then to the Desert Museum, a great, outdoor exhibit in the living desert that went on for acres..  Then we stopped at St. Xavier.  . 

Great trip!  Great weather! Great camping!

Life in a Dry Cabin

We really love living in our dry cabin.  It is just the right size, 20X20 or 800 square feet with enough room for a sit down dinner for 8 but small enough to clean in 10 minutes if necessary.



We start our day with David getting up very early to trudge downstairs and outside in nothing more than a jacket and a pair of boots to go to the outhouse.  Unfortunately, one wintery morning about a month ago, he was rushing and fell on the steps and broke a rib!  What a sight!  But all is well.

 I get up a bit later and that is when Fred, the lazy luxury dog stirs.  When David goes down he burrows under his blankets, afraid he will be spotted.  But by the time I get up at a civilized 7:00 or 7:30 he is ready and as soon as he hears my bracelets jingling I can hear the thump s he leaves the couch and heads for the door. It takes me a bit longer as I wear sweat pants and sweat shirt, socks and boots for my trudge outside.  Of course, in the dead of winter, I have to wear hat, gloves and coat so I have to leave extra time, and now that it is sunny in the morning, David better start wearing pants!

The water issue is a bit cumbersome, but not too bad. We prefer the water from a freshwater spring in Fox which is about 7 miles from our house. 

When I was going mushing twice a week I would stop on the way home, which was just a little detour.  But now that my schedule is a bit erratic, either David or I or both of us load up the 5 and 7 gallon jugs and make our way to Fox.  We could go to the water dispensaries around town which sell water for about 25 cents per 14 gallons, delivered from a nozzle much like a gasoline hose, but we don’t like the taste.

The Fox adventure is quite interesting.  First we load up the car with the jugs. The water from the spring is collected in a large two-part tank with two spouts. The water spouts are in a hut with two spouts from which water comes when you push a button.  Of course, the dripping water creates quite an ice build-up and the distance from spout to top of jug decreases significantly as time goes on.  I load the jugs onto a sled and drag them, two by two to the car, load them up and go on my way. The place is quite popular and sometimes there is a line of folks waiting to fill their jugs.  And sometimes folks have 10-15 jugs!

Once home we drag the jugs into the house and we are lucky enough to have a 40 gallon holding tank under our sink.  So we pour them into the tank and then we access the water via a foot pump.  This is much better than some folks who have to stack their jugs on their counters and then use the water right from the jugs.  HOWEVER….the water from the sink flows into the dreaded 5 gallon slop bucket under the sink drain.  Which means toting it outside and emptying it in the designated area BEFORE it overflows.  Often we are not so lucky and we have a little mess.  We have learned, and now keep a dish pan under the bucket, but if to gets too full, removing it from under the sink is a challenge.

And, of course, the water is COLD. If we are very conscientious, we put a kettle on the stove before we eat dinner and then have nice hot water to do the dishes afterwards.  If not, we have to wait.

Showers we take at work.  Since many people live in dry cabins, many places have showers for their employees.  I have showers on my floor in my building, as well as the gym, and David has showers at work, but often we share a shower at my workplace.

All the "dry-ness" is forgotten when I look out my bedroom window while I put on my makeup.

What Next?

Since we have arrived in Fairbanks I have had to fend off repeated attempts to take us cross country skiing.  "What do you mean you don't ski?" "Have you skied to work yet?"  "Where ar your ski's?" and on and on.  Everyone keeps skis in their office at UAF and just hops out to ski and the miles and miles of University groomed trails at lunch.  There are ski trails, walking trails and even "pooch loops" for those who prefer walking with their dogs.

Well, I was quite dubious about the whole thing, given my great lack of balance and overall clumsiness.  But Dylan had given David cross country skis and boots and I had picked up a whole outfit for $10.00 last summer at a flea market, so when Gary, my great boss, offered to take us on December 11 off we went.

I learned how to get up from a fall, and even better, to get up, which was a good thing because I think I was down more than I was up. David, of course, didn't fall once.  And Fred stayed inside, even though Gary and his friend's dog romped along side of us as we skied on the Tanana River, just below Gary's lovely home.

 Gary's house

 The skier's at -10

 The skiing group...2 pro's and us

 What a stance!  No wonder I kept falling!  Notice the garage sale fashions!

 Gary and G'winzee the Venetie dog who stays outside all day and night while Fred the luxury dog lies wrapped in a blanket next to the fire!

 What a boss!

the most amazing thing is that we loved it and can't wait to go again!!!!

This Sure Isn't Kansas

It is hard to live in Fairbanks and not be aware of the dogs:  dog trucks with their beds filled in with a box capable of holding at least 12 dogs; dogs howling in the trucks parked in parking lots; dog yards of anywhere from 8 to 100 dogs; banks with dog biscuits; several stores dedicated to mushing equipment; and, of course, all the trails filled with mushers and their dogs.

Dog lover that I am, folks find it hard that we only have Fred, but that is just fine with me.  HOWEVER, I have become a handler!  That means that I now work with a musher in her dog yard doing everything from scooping poop to feeding to running dogs.  Peg Harpsham is “my musher” and she is going to run the Yukon Quest in February. 

I was lucky enough to meet her last year while David and I were walking on a trail near her house when we lived on Buffalo Lane.  Shy, retiring me immediately asked if I could help in her yard, and when I did not hear from her right away gave her a call.  I cannot even imagine what she thought of me appearing in her dog yard with not the slightest idea of what to do.  She put me on a sled right away, which was a disaster!  On the sled...in the snow!  Back on the sled (having run after it while Peg jumped off her own sled and caught my 4 dogs)...in the snow!  As you can see from this photo, I was far from relaxed.

 The Quest is the 1000 miles race from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada to Fairbanks. (That’s this year.  Next year it starts in Fairbanks, as it did last year).  Peg started conditioning her dogs in September, as soon as it got to be in the 40’s since the dogs do really well in cold weather, but suffer a bit in the heat. 

She started conditioning me as well!  I learned to hook up first 4 and now up to 8 dogs to a 4 wheeler and take them out on the miles and miles of trails behind her house.  We started at 3 miles each time and are now up to 30 miles.  When we started we ran the whole way in sunlight and now, when I go on Thursday’s after work, the whole process is in the dark! I spend about 4 hours on Thursday and all day Sunday at her yard and am just in awe at what dedication it takes.  She has 45 dogs…that means it cost over $40.00 per day just to feed them, not taking into account the equipment, etc, etc.  All the feed stores here keep a full pharmacy of medications since all but the most difficult cases are treated at home.

What am I doing?  The noise, the power, the sheer energy of the dogs is overwhelming.  But last week I knew that I had made progress when I was kneeling in -15 degree weather with bare hands, untangling a line that hooks the dog’s collar to the main or gangline totally unfazed by the 7 dogs leapt about, screaming and howling and ready to go!  Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?  However, to all those who say it is just a matter of time before I have my own yard and sled, etc, etc,. I say “NO WAY!”

So far we are running the dogs on 4 wheelers because the trails are not quite ready for sleds.  That’s fine with me since the tales of falling of a sled are horrifying.  Apparently one must “hang on at all cost” which means somehow hooking one arm under the sled handle while being pulled along face first in the snow while trying to jam a snow hook in the snow with the other hand.  How will I ever manage?  The power of the dogs is fantastic. 

The dogs are so powerful that one day Peg, "my musher" was hooking up dogs to her 4 wheeler and I was hooking up to mine and she went past me and shouted back, "Where is my 4 wheeler?".  Well, she had 8 dogs hooked up, her ice hook attached to the lead dog and dug into the ground and the 4 wheeler in gear with the brake on and the dogs simply took off and were running down the trail pulling her monster 4 wheeler.  They are amazing!!!!  They eventually stopped when the 4 wheeler hit a rut and they could not dislodge it.

The whole 4 wheeler thing is so typically Fairbanks...Peg, "my musher" only had one 4 wheeler and it was too expensive to rent one for months and months so I started asking around if anyone had one to rent privately.  One day at work a guy called who I had never heard of and offered to lend me his.  It turns out that he is the next door neighbor to a woman I sing in a choir with and I had asked her if she knew anyone with a 4 wheeler.  I didn't even know this amazing man and he lent me the 4 wheeler and a trailer!  Wow!

I took David with me a few weeks ago for a ride and all he could say was “You’re nuts”.

In order to run the Quest Peg must qualify by finishing two 300 mile races.  She will run the GinGin on December 26 and the Copper Basin on January 7.  This will be my first race experience and I can’t wait, despite the cold.