my adopted home. I arrived in Alaska 23 years ago after a six week road trip from Colorado where I was living with my brother after the break up of my marraige. Alaska was the end of the road for those of us who left "America"(it also wasn't a Republican stronghold in those days, but that is another diary). Like many people who ended up here I was seeking a little adventure and had a long fascination with the idea of Alaska.
That fascination was first sparked by my father who was stationed in Alaska during WWII. He had a scrapbook of black and white photos that I would look at whenever I got the chance. The black and white format only served to accentuate the starkness of an already stark land. I created images in my mind from those images taken in 1943 and 1944 that I knew I would someday compare with the real thing.
I think some of my earliest memories of this place were in the late 50's. Again they came from the photos but also from Dad's stories. This was the only place to which he ever really traveled. His life was disrupted by the war and he was drafted. He was to go to North Africa and fight Rommel but a medical disorder landed him in hospital for several weeks. Since his unit had already deployed and since he was trained in desert warfare the Army, in its infinite wisdom, shipped him off to the Aleutians. Fortunately for him he never saw combat.
So here I am in Alaska. I have been asked to diary about the recent oil spill at the Prudhoe Bay oil field but I haven't had the time to put together the information so I am doing a little stream of conscience the day after my 53 birthday. So I thought it might be nice to share a little of what is happening in Alaska.
Jeff King just won his fourth Iditarod sled dog race. Yes those dogs really do like to run and most every musher I have known treats their dogs better than they take care of themselves.
Augustine volcano has spewed ash into the atmosphere for the last few months and now is dumping magma down its slopes.
The oil spill at Prudhoe Bay totals somewhere in the area of 201,000 to 267,000 barrels. The only good news it that it happened in the winter when everything is frozen up and most of the oil can actually be recovered without totally trashing the tundra. It certainly won't be without impact though. We are dealing with over thirty year infrastructure and corrision is taking its toll.
We are experiencing one hell of a cold snap with record breaking lows being recorded all the way into normally balmy SE Alaska. 5 degrees on my thermometer this morning. Seiners are arriving to take part in the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring fishery. A couple arrived yesterday along with two packers after crossing the Gulf of Alaska. They reported 70 knot winds and white out conditions. They arrived in Sitka with their rigging and superstructures coated in thick ice.
That is a brief snapshot of what's happening in Alaska today. There is so much to report about this place but so little time.
Cheers from the North.