This year July took me back to Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska, for work. We had nice weather, but it was chilly because of the wind. Luckily we had lots of extra hands to make the work go faster! Many times it is only Hank and I setting up each field site, but this summer we were lucky enough to have Andy, a summer intern, and our MMS COTR Warren. Andy took lots of pictures because it was his first time north of the Arctic Circle, so I’m going to pilfer some of his work for this blog entry.
A storm had blown a little bit of sea ice back onshore in the Barrow region a day or two before we got there, but that didn’t matter to us. Just made it all the more scenic to work on the Barrow beach.
When in Barrow, we work in old Naval Arctic Research Laboratory facilities now owned by the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), who help us with field site logistics. One of our main staging buildings is the BASC Theatre. Named the theatre because when the Navy was there, this Quonset hut served as…what else? A theatre.
I know what you’re dying to find out next. The outside is so fabulous; you’re wondering what it looks like inside the theatre!! Well, you’re in luck. I have pictures of that too!
The bright red, shiny area in the picture above is our reflective safety tape so that snow machines traveling down the beach in the dark of winter don’t have any accidents. It probably goes without saying that it’s great to have a warm, inside area to assemble everything before we carry it out to the beach for installation.
Part of the finished assembly…
After the work was finished in Barrow (quickly thanks to our extra helpers!), we took a drive north as far as the road goes. Now is probably a good time to mention our rental vehicle, which was complete with a custom bumper and pinwheel on the antenna.
Oh, and what you can’t see in the picture is that this baby had absolutely NO power steering. Not sure if that was a ‘feature’ or lack of fluid, but for at least the next week after returning home I was turning the steering wheel on my personal car WAY too hard around corners because it was so easy compared to the rental car.
At any rate, it worked, and not far from where we set up our antennas on the beach, lies the Barrow Whalers football field.
The field is nestled cozily between the Arctic Coast and a nearby lagoon, which you see the background of the picture. The home field advantage definitely has to include the challenge of the Arctic wind, both on body temperature and throwing trajectories.
We continued further north to the boat launch, past many hunting cabins, and the local Barrow palm trees…
OK, enough sight seeing, back to work! It was time to head to Wainwright to do it all again. It’s kind of like the instructions on a shampoo bottle: lather, rinse, repeat. We got on the plane to Wainwright the afternoon after landing in Barrow minus Warren, who had to return to his regular job in Anchorage.
Era Alaska is a great company that serves many of the villages in Alaska. The only part I don’t like is that they ask you how much you weigh when you check in.
Anywho, we got a great view of Barrow as we took off…
…and soon after we landed in Wainwright, which is a much, much smaller community.
There aren’t many pictures of our installation in Wainwright, probably because Andy had more work to do with Warren gone, and Hank and I took pictures a year ago, so we figured we would leave the documentation to our excited intern Andy. There were fewer pictures of the setup in Wainwright when compared to Barrow, but Andy didn’t disappoint. As soon as we landed, we were all anxious to get to work. I was obviously no exception.
Our set up in Wainwright is a little different than in Barrow because we’re on a tundra bluff rather than a sand/gravel beach. This is actually much preferred because we’re sure the ground beneath our antennae isn’t going to shift over time and during storms.
Soon enough, we had everything set up outside.
Needless to say, we were all happy as Hank has illustrated.
The climax is always after we have the antennas set up outside and flip on the power switch inside. Luckily, this was a well behaved site where we were able to high five after turning things on rather than scratch our heads, as often happens.
In Wainwright we set up our electronics inside of a Conex rather than a former theatre.
Happy with a successful installation, we decided to take a stroll on the beach back to the Olgoonik hotel.
Unfortunately, we were quickly met with no beach to walk. Beach erosion has taken control of coastal Wainwright.
Soon enough it was bye, bye, Wainwright. We’ll see you again soon!!
Back in Barrow we had a few hours to kill before our flight to Fairbanks, so we made sure everything we set up there was still standing…it was. Yea!! We made a quick stop at the local Napa, where you can buy harpoons for all of your subsistence hunting needs.
One last dinner north of the Arctic Circle, and then it was time to get to back to the airport after a successful trip. Thanks for the help this summer, Andy!!
I was anxious to return to the Fairbanks summer as opposed to the Arctic summer, and didn’t delay checking out the progress in my porch garden when I returned from Barrow. There were strawberries ready for picking...
...and broccoli heads getting bigger and bigger.
Peppers were beginning to ripen,
and the flowers were looking great too!
Every year in July, the Fairbanks community celebrates Golden Days, which is to remember the first gold discovery near here by Felix Pedro in 1902. The largest parade in the state was held on a Saturday morning, so I rounded up the troops to go watch…my troops being friends with kids. Carrie and Thea were out of town, but I managed to convince Sue, Lola, Mette, and Kieran to head downtown for the festivities.
There were the usual parade entries such as fire trucks
and in an election year, many politicians, such as Alaska Governor Sean Parnell.
But there were also a few uniquely Alaskan entries including quintessential Alaskan jalopies
and dance hall girls.
After the parade, Sue and Lola headed home, while Mette, Kieran, and I went to the firehouse for free lunch and trucks to climb on. The fire house was open for business, and we didn't delay in taking advantage of the unlocked doors to check it all out.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski got a private tour, and after she was finished came out to meet her constituents. I took a picture of her while she was talking to a couple of women and then went back to finishing lunch when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and it was Lisa Murkowski herself! She smiled and said, “You can’t take a picture of me unless you’re in it.” So of course, Mette grabbed the camera, and I grabbed Kieran, and we posed for a quick pic with Lisa while others stood in line waiting to talk to her.
She struck me as a truly warm, genuine person. You just never know what's going to happen at Golden Days!
