Dawson City Music Festival

OK, this is going to be a long, picture-rich entry that will hopefully help to satisfy the many of you who have pointed out what a slacker I have been with my blog. Sorry! I always hate to disappoint my fans. ;)

About 15 hours after returning from Red Dog, I was on my way to the Dawson City Music Festival in Canda. Many friends from Alaska were going and had already left town, but I met up with Jeremy and Dianna in Tok on Thursday night to complete the drive over the Top of the World Highway on Friday. The festival started on Friday and went through Sunday night. We weren't sure how long it would take because the Top of the World Highway is a dirt/rock road that is only open in the summer. One thing we were in agreement on is that we wanted to stop in Chicken, Alaska, on the way. Who couldn't stop in a town named Chicken? First order of business was to find a bathroom so in the Chicken Poop we went.


Next order of business was the gift shop to buy some Chicken paraphenilia, where they had an air compressor, so we solved a small drama with my car tire running low on air, and we also found a list of facts about Chicken:


Not quite ready to leave we stopped in the Chicken Saloon to have a drink amongst I don't even know how many hats hanging from the walls and ceiling.


Our next and last stop was getting our pictures taken in the Chicken cut-outs. Chicken mushing!!


Back to the highway, which was rainy, and therefore muddy. Too bad because it seemed like the drive had high potential for gorgeous views on a less cloudy day.


In no time at all, we were at the border crossing, which we all made it through without any problems. Whew! Not that we were worried, but somehow crossing a border always makes me a little nervous.


In Canada, the roads improved, and we rolled into Dawson City by late afternoon. Well, almost. To get to Dawson City from Alaska, you have to take a ferry across the Yukon River.


The ferry doesn't hold too many vehicles...


...and there were a lot of people coming to town for the music festival, so we had to wait in line for a while. Those RVs took up WAY too much valuable car and truck space on each ferry crossing.


After crossing, we set up camp at Guggieville, which is kind of like a KOA campground. We knew there were gong to be lots of people and decided to go with the insurance of a reserved camp site, which Guggieville offered. The site left a lot to be desired, but we weren't there much, so it didn't really matter.


After setting up camp, we headed to the festival to see what was happening. It didn't take us long to find fellow Fairbanksans and a few other friends from Delta Junction.



It was raining, and we knew the forecast wasn't the best, but you never know if you can trust the forecast, right? Unfortunately, it was right this time. It rained the ENTIRE weekend. Ugh! We all quickly adjusted though, and all of the music was indoors, so it wasn't so bad. I thought I would throw in a few band shots for those of you who are into that sort of thing:

Snailhouse and Bell Orchestre


Justin Rutledge and Basia Bulat


Done Gone String Band


During the day, there were three venues around town that had bands playing, and then at night everyone gathered at the Dawson City baseball field to see the evening shows under the big top, which was set up in the outfield.


The infield contained the beer garden and was more like a giant pond filled with drunk people.


The festival ended Sunday Night with all of the singers on stage at once for a grand finale.


On Monday morning it was time to get in the car and head back to Fairbanks. Tom and Melissa were celebrating their anniversary and extended their return trip by canoeing the Yukon River to Eagle, Alaska.


We gave them a mini send-off and then hit the road. After three days of music which didn't end until about 2:00am, it was hard to spend the whole day in the car on Monday driving back to Fairbanks, but it helped that the weather was much-improved. Once again we made it through what has to be the most desolate U.S. border crossing...


...and returned to the winding, dirt roads of Alaska.


My favorite views on the way back were of the Forty Mile River.


Hopefully that's a float trip that can be lined up for the future!

Red Dog Mine: Work on Day 2 and a Wolf on Day 3

Work commenced on Tuesday morning. We were looking for a place to mount our antennas, which would be out of the way of the ship loading operations at the dock. In order to do that, we had to go and check out the end of the dock. The only way out there is along the conveyor belt that transports the zinc and lead to the ships. The conveyor belt is housed in a long grey ramping corridor that reaches out to the ships.


Before entering the conveyor belt walkway, we had to don safety glasses, hard hats, life jackets, and dust masks to ensure our safety along the narrow walkway and when we exited a few meters above the surface of the water.


After a bit of time and effort looking for a good spot for our antennas, we decided to head back and discuss our options, which weren't all that great. Simply enough, on our way back to the dorms, we passed a conex that would perfectly house our electronics. After we inquired about it, it turns out it is even half empty. Mission Accomplished!!


With our work completed, we could continue being tourists. They showed us around the rest of the port facilites, including the two largest buildings in Alaska, which were similar to airplane hangers and house all of the lead and zinc that is mined over the winter.


Every year, as soon as the sea ice breaks up (usually early July) and ships can reach the port, the buildings begin to empty as the zinc and lead are tranported along the approximately mile long conveyor belt to the ships.

When it was time to leave, we boarded the transport bus to travel back to the mine and the runway. Along the way we were treated by a wolf sighting! Ah yes, another benefit of working in Alaska.

Red Dog Mine

Monday morning was spent in Kotzebue before catching the chartered flight to Red Dog Mine, where we were to scout out a potential new field site for mapping ocean surface currents. As the pilot loaded our luggage in to the nose of the plane,


I was thinking it was kind of sad to leave Kotzebue so quickly. We barely had time to get our bearings. It would have been neat to hang out a little while longer, so hopefully there will be a next time. One last glance as we took off, and it was goodbye for now, Kotzebue.


A short flight over the tundra and through a mountain pass


delivered us to Red Dog Mine, which I believe is the largest zinc mine in the world.


The mine is about fifty miles away from their port facility, where we were going to stay, so we still had a little bit of traveling ahead of us. The man who drove us to the port was super nice and took the five of us on a little tour of the facility before we were whisked away. Here are Oceana, me, Hank, Larry, and David posing in front of the mine.


The pit could definitely swallow up pretty much anything in sight and is in the middle of a gorgeous setting. Do you see the bulldozer in the bottom left hand corner of the following image? (You may have to click on the image to blow it up)


Well, here it is on the road when you're right next to it. Notice the size of the driver in relation to the tires. Hopefully that gives you some sort of idea how big the mine is.


Getting to the port from the mine required passing the tailings pond and proceeding across the tundra and more hills to the coast.


Along the way, there were giant snow fences to keep the road from being completely drifted over and unnavigable in the winter.


We arrived at the port just in time for dinner and to get a good night's sleep. Is this work? It seems more like a vacation so far...

Kotzebue

A long day of traveling began with flying from Fairbanks to Anchorage. The best part of any flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage is the potential to catch a glimpse of Denali along the way, and this one didn't disappoint. The peaks of both Denali and Mount Foraker were visible above the clouds, causing everyone to crowd the windows on the right.


After a long layover in Anchorage, we flew to Kotzebue, Alaska, where it was 61 degrees. 26 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and it was above 60 degrees! Who could ask for anything better?


After getting a bite to eat, we took a stroll around town. Many villages in northwestern Alaska are threatened by coastal erosion, and Kotzebue is no exception. Walking along Kotzebue Sound, the coast is reinforced with concrete.


The trash bins are elevated to keep out any animals and to keep the trash bags from blowing away (Thanks, tundratantrum!).


According to literature at the hotel Nullagvik, Kotzebue is Alaska's largest Eskimo village. Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue landed at present-day Kotzebue in 1816(!) and found a large, well-established settlement - the home of the Inupiat Eskimos - bustling with subsistence hunting and fishing activity. This was the regional center for trade in northwest Alaska. Many of these subsistence practices persist. We came upon a small shelter on the beach where someone was drying fish and game meat.


Lining the perimeter of many buildings in Kotzebue, as well as many other structures in Alaska, are thermal siphons. The way I understand it, thermal siphons draw heat from the ground, helping to keep the permafrost frozen. Here are some thermal siphons outside of our hotel:

Busy Week

I have a busy week ahead. I found out yesterday that I'm leaving tomorrow to scope out a potential research site for the University at Red Dog Mine. To get there, we have to fly through Anchorage and Kotzebue, where we'll spend Sunday night. Then on Monday we will continue on to Red Dog Mine where we'll stay until Wednesday, when we return to Fairbanks, again via Anchorage. On Thursday I leave Fairbanks to attend the Dawson City Music Festival just across the border in Canada until the following Monday. Needless to say, it will be a busy week, but hopefully it will make for some good blogging! Talk to you on the flip side.

(Click on the map below to see where the mine and Dawson City are located.)

Fourth of July Fun

One of the best things about Fourth of July is that I get a four-day weekend. My employer is kind enough to always give us two days of vacation rather than one. Thank you very much, UA. Don't get me wrong. I love my job, but it's always nice to have some vacation time.

This year it was also a treat to have four days of sunny, eighty degree weather without any smoke from forest fires. Woo hoo! It was like solstice weekend all over again. Similar to independence celebrators throughout the country a cookout was on the list of things to do. However, unlike the Lower 48, fireworks posed a bit of a problem.

Mette and Max were gracious enough to be the Fourth of July hosts for those of us who stuck around town for the weekend.


It was great because we could all help break in their new deck and enjoy the sun. I showed up a little bit early and got some time in with Kieran before he fell asleep.


Soon our fellow patriots arrived and the feast began.


After eating, of course fireworks were in order. This poses a problem because the sun was still shining even though it was nearly midnight.


We had sparklers and poppers, but not all of the sparklers would light and burn optimally, which visibly disappointed Dianna.



Mette and Max sure know how to throw a party and how to celebrate a sleeping baby!