There is a beach! and "Discovering the Coefficient of Friction"

This picture is of the Swanburg dredge.  It is just East of Nome, on the Nome-Council highway.  Along with the world's largest gold pan, it is probably one of the most photographed objects in Nome.  It is interesting to see the location and physical state of all the abandoned gold dredges around Nome.  The different sizes are also amazing.

The beach is losing its ice and snow covering.  There is lots drift wood, and rocks, and sand.  The sand does seem to sparkle more than other places I have been. I could see how someone could get gold fever.

Speaking of gold fever, many of you might watch the show "Bering Sea Gold" on the Discovery Channel.  I have not watched an episode on television, but I was treated to some "Live" action.  The following pictures are of the Discovery crew getting one of their huts off the ice.

This episode might be (or should be) called, the Discovery crew "discovers" the coefficient of friction.

 or, lack of friction....

or, the physics of frictionless travel...

I got to watch this on my way to a local store.  The locals were wondering how long Discovery was going to risk being on the ice.  If you cannot tell, there is a lot of liquid water on top of the ice.  If they had pulled off the day before it probably would not have been a problem.  The ATV was pulling the hut at first, but the hut started to swing back and forth, and it looked like the hut started to swing the ATV.  The driver had to stop, and when the hut stopped, he could not get it moving again.  He tried to bounce it forward, but the weight of the hut just pulled the ATV back.  Then they brought their snow machine(mobile) over.  They tied a rope to it and tried to get the 2 vehicles to get the hut moving.  It did not work.  I was sure the snow machine and ATV were going to slide together, but the drivers were actually careful to keep that from happening.(at least while I was watching)   I had to keep going, but I heard that later, they got a pick-up truck part way on the ice and were able to get the hut pulled closer to the beach.  A few days later they finally got it off the ice.  If you watch the show, they have a couple of expensive yellow tents.  They were on the ice for days after the hut came off.  Their helicopter spent a few days flying around with a camera and swooping down at them from different angles.  We could see the tents and helicopter from the hospital.  We were coming up with possible dialogue for the show.  I may have to watch the show to see if we were close!  

Sunrise is now 6:52am, and sunset is 11:09pm.  My walks to work are much brighter.  These first two were taken on my walk to work on April 24.

The following was the next day April 25th.

Until next time, Peace.

Nome 4 weeks.....or "30 days in the cold"

4 weeks are complete in Nome.  It actually has not been too cold since I arrived.   There is more light on my way to work this week.

These pictures were of the sunrise on April 18,2014.  Not a bad way to start a Friday.  

There are State of Alaska Road department trucks in Nome.  There are not many roads, but there are a few workers.  One of their tasks, at least in the spring, is to melt the ice from culverts, so the water can drain.  It seems the melting and refreezing causes the culverts to become blocked.   This leads to a back up of water when things really start to melt.  I am told by some Nomites, it is surprising that the State has not come up with a better answer.  The back ups happen every year.  Most of the time it is just a street that is getting covered with water.  This past week it was a ditch, with a more interesting situation.

It took a few days for the State to get around to cleaning out this particular culvert, but they did accomplish the task before the hospital lost power.  Above was the scene on Wednesday and Thursday.  I did not get a picture of the State workers, but they were out Thursday evening.  On Friday morning the problem had improved.

I would say from the water line on the box, that as long as it is below 1/3 - 1/2 of the height of the box everything is fine.  

I went for my first outdoors run in Nome last evening.  40 degrees felt awesome.  I got in 4.7 miles.  There were a few muddy spots but not bad at all.  It was nice to leave the treadmill for a day!

Nomites, are what people from Nome call themselves.  I like Nomans (Rome has Romans), myself.  I think if you were from Nome,  Nomers sounds too much like Gomers, and would probably be offensive.  Nomians might also work, but Nomites seems to be the standard.

Spring is in the air.....

.....and MUD is on the feet.  

Spring time in Nome!  It is only the 4th week I have been in Nome, and I cannot tell you how welcoming the mud is on the way home, after work.

 The wind blew the ice back in, and closed off the open water on Norton Sound.   We have had more snow the last 3 days, and it was kind of depressing. The last 2 days there has been less sunshine due to fog, but the temperatures are climbing!  It is supposed to be 38 degrees today! 

For the next 9 days, the lowest "high" temperature is predicted to be 25 degrees.  Every other day is supposed to be above freezing, with one day at 43 degrees.    It has been good to see it all melt.  Like I said in an earlier post.  Every day it gets above freezing in Nome, seems to be a good day.  Every day with sun not bad either.

"It does NOT taste like chicken."

Yesterday I had my first experience with muktuk (whale).  I am told this was white muktuk as it was from a beluga whale.  If it had been from a bowhead whale it would have been black muktuk.  This was pickled, as opposed to raw, or fried.  I am told these are the common ways of eating muktuk.  I say "told" because I am not an expert on the subject, and was informed second hand.  My roommate spent a week in the villages of Shaktoolik and Unalakleet.  He was given a jar of pickled muktuk in Shaktoolik.

It was not as bad or as unusual tasting as I had expected.  It was very chewy, but in my honest opinion, if it had not been pickled it would not have had much taste.  Maybe the pickling spices were masking the natural flavor?  I would try muktuk in another form, if offered, but would not make a special trip.  For the record:  It does not taste like chicken.  You can quote me.

More pictures from Alaska

 I am glad I found this decorated walrus tusk.  This pretty much is a memento of my trip to Nome.  The best part is that I bought it on a silent auction.  The money is going to help a young boy who is fighting cancer.  It was great to see this community come together to help raise funds for the family.  I am thankful I was able to take part.

 Pilot Bread, a bush favorite.  They are made in New Hampshire, I believe.  They are loved in the Alaskan Bush.  Hawaii has spam.  Alaska has Pilot Bread.

Polar bears! Wolves! Caribou! Moose! Caribou! Salmon! Sled dogs! ankle biters????

When I think of Nome, I think of sled dogs.  I think of big, furry, majestic Alaskan malamutes, and beautiful Siberian Huskies.  I think of monstrous dogs, that are likely part wolf.  Huge, wild looking dogs, that are barely domesticated.  Dogs bred for the climate of the sub-Artic.  Dogs that could survive and flourish on the cold, harsh tundra.  Well, the days of Balto, must be long gone.  Nome has turned into the home of ankle biters.  Little, yappy, noisy dogs.  Dogs that are annoying.  Dogs that would have trouble getting out of a wet paper bag.  Dogs that wouldn't last a day without humans, let alone on the open tundra.
In 3 weeks I have seen 1 husky, a few labs, 1 St. Bernard, and a few other larger dogs.  I have heard and seen way too many ankle biters.  I thought maybe a large Paris Hilton fan club was based in Nome.  It is really quite unsettling.  It takes away from the feeling of the "Last Frontier", the rugged independence of people living on the edge.  People living by the sweat of the brow, and the work of their hands.   It is kind of disappointing.  It is like going to see a big, bad, outlaw biker rally, and finding them all riding in on mopeds.

Dust

There is snow and ice all over, but without much wind, the traffic in the morning causes a lot of dust in the air.  From inside it is hard to tell if it is dust or fog.  It is find of funny, because there really is not much traffic. 

This morning I awoke to a dusting of snow outside.  Not an unusual occurrence for April snow in Nome.  It made the walk to work even more treacherous, as I could not always make out whether or not I was walking on frozen dirt or ice.  Thank God for ice cleats.  I am sure they have not only saved me from a few fractures and a head wound.  They also save me time, as I can walk a little faster while wearing them.  The meteorologists are predicting temperatures in the 30's over the weekend and next week.  A lot of people seem happier today!  They are also predicting some snow along with the warmer temperatures, so it could really be a muddy mess out.  Good thing my mud boots made it to Nome.

Ice Cleats!

14 degrees and muddy

The sun is powerful.  I know that is rather obvious, but in Nome it really gets pointed out.  It has been 12, 14, and 18 degrees outside over the last 3 days.  Interesting enough, the snow and ice are still melting.  There is mud.  It is at least 14 degrees below the freezing temperature for water, and it is still melting because it is just that sunny.

I have found an Alaskan bush favorite.  Pilot Bread, or more correctly pilot bread crackers.  I guess people up here just love them.  It is probably that they are studier than regular saltines, and they can last forever.  They work well with fresh crab, and peanut butter.  I am sure tuna or other fish will also be good.

Mail is complicated

I was warned before I came that "mail" is complicated in Nome.  I knew Nome was remote, but mail makes rural Nebraska look almost metropolitan.  After getting here, I found out just how "remote", and how "complicated" it can be.  I mailed packages on March 18.  They were sent standard mail and were supposed to arrive on March 25th.  Since I started work on March 24, I thought this would be perfect.  On March 24, the traveller I was replacing, told me my packages would not be arriving.  She said to expect them in a few more weeks.  She was right.  Even though I mailed all 5 packages on the same day, I have only received 2 so far(over a week late).  The funny part, is that I had a niece mail a package to me since I have been here, and that one has already arrived, beating 3/5 of the packages I sent.  When you hear about being in the "Bush" in Alaska, you are hearing about being way off the beaten trail. 
Today I finally received the last 3 of the original 5 packages.  Tomorrow would have been 2 weeks past the supposed arrival date.  I am pretty sure everything was still there, but the boxes were toast.  The scary thing is that USPS is preferrable to UPS.
They don't have counter hours on Saturday at the post office in Nome.  Hard to believe Congress got involved when the post office was looking to end deliveries in the lower 48 a few months ago.

Mike: 2 Norton Sound Crab 0

Week # 2 in Nome is done.   I have learned that Norton Sound Red King Crabs are delicious.  They are a lot of work to get the meat out of the shell, but it is delicious.  A pair of kitchen shears would have been very handy,  but without those I had to improvise.  A brand new pair of needle nose pliers, a heavy duty fork, and a steak knife will work.  These crabs were big, and the boiling water burnt when it splashed up as I pushed the crab in with a wooden spoon.  Life has risks! 

    Any time Nome is above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, I think it is a win!  There has still been lots of sun, and the wind has only been here a few days.  I actually got to see open water this week!  That was a plus as well.
    I had a roommate move in.  Jonathan Wolfe is a 4th year med student from Vanderbilt University.  I showed him Pingo's and had breakfast there last Sunday.  We also ate this week at the Husky restaurant.  With a partner in crime I we also made it to the famous, "Board of Trade"  affectionately called the "B.O.T", or "Bottom Of Toilet".   It is the oldest bar in Nome.  It was not as bad as I had expected, but it does have an "unusual" smell.  It probably helped that we were there between 8 & 9 pm.  It is one of those places you have to visit if you are in Nome.
      This week, I also bought my first piece of walrus ivory.  There was a fund raiser for a young child fighting cancer.  There was a silent auction & I won the engraved walrus tusk.