Around the AK Homestead

Well so far this winter its been cold and we had a half foot of snow but it warmed up, rained, and melted it off. Now its just cold and frosty with light snow; no complaints as I at least dont have to shovel.

These are pictures taken in the last day or so and all within 3 miles of the house and as usual, if you double click on most of the pictures they go to large format:


Hay and land is very expensive



This place boards horses for hundreds a month





Dec 12th and note the lack of snow



Same place last year at roughly the same time



I wont be disappointed if we dont get heavy snow this year.



Montana Bills Old homestead; I always see a lot of deer around here on the way to work



Hardly even any snow on the roadway



I wish we could take this to our farm in Missouri, its so overbuilt it could stand up to a tornado (we were a little overzealous when we built it). I think we will take the King Crab pots just for conversation pieces.



The frost just keeps building up on everything which makes it look festive for the holidays



Three miles from the house in one direction is the glacier, three miles in the other is a boating paradise.



Not as many crowds in the winter...if I can see more than two boats on the water its a crowd.



This is a track of the elusive Felinus Arcticus



Felinus Arcticus in his natural habitat

Halloween

Just a couple of pictures from our Halloween activities; hardly any trick or treaters this year..kinda sad.



Harvested some taters......including Yukon Gold which are the best..



Granddaughter Emily after we carved the pumpkins



Granny Holly and Stephanie



The grandparents with Emily and Caleb on Halloween



Grandpa Andy with Caleb..he is a freshman in High School this year and a straight A student....yup I feel old



Emily, she was a princess for Halloween but it was hard to tell the difference...she is a princess everyday!! (and a Ham)



Caleb was Gangsta...or something cool and hip that I probably dont understand anymore..

All and all it was a good Halloween, good anniversary for Holly and I (11 years) and a pleasant day. I also started running again now that my surgery is mostly healed. I still have some weird pangs from inside where the stitches are probably dissolving but it feels good to be running again, I just have to take it easy for a while.

A Trip to Sitka

Just got home from a short week in Sitka. I had to work 18 hour days so I didnt get to do much other than work but I hit a few places waiting for my flight. The totem park is awesome and its hard to describe the intricate details of the totems on display. Some were turn of the 20th century and some were more recent but they truly display the artistry of the carvers.

Sitka is a small fishing village that used to be the Russian capitol of Alaska and its also the site of several battles between the Russians, Americans, and Tlingits. The skyline is dominated by Mt Edgecomb, a dormant volcano that sort of reminds me of Mt Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

Dont forget that with most of the pictures you can double click on them for a larger more detailed format.



Cannon on the ramparts of Castle Hill over looking Sitka



View of the Russian Orthodox church steeple from Castle Hill



Coast Guard bouy tender on Jablonski Island across from Sitka



Sitka Pioneers Home; if you have to go to a rest home, this wouldnt be a bad choice.



City of Sitka, worth a visit if you havent been



Mt Edgecomb which dominates the skyline



A more recent totem at Totem Park



This was a more modern long house support carving; note it has human hair and abalone shells incorporated into the design



A turn of the 20th century long house support pole carving



A totemic carving in progress



The most important representative carvings on Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian totems were at the bottom and you will note many totems with carvings of humans with top hats on top of the poles, meaning they were considered less important.



Fall in the rain forests of Southeast Alaska



Note the whale on this totem



The difficulty in maintaining the symetry is hard to imagine



A totem from about 1903......not sure of the meaning or if I want to know!



Some contemporary carvers add their own twist to traditional representations which creates some striking carvings







They are large and tall and impressive up close.

Adventures in Nome

I spent a couple of days in Nome this week. Nome is a mining town on the Bering Sea of about 3500 people and it still retains its frontier flavor. In addition to mining, its the northern finish line for the Iditarod Sled dog race. Weather was low 30s and Sun, rain, sleet, and snow all within a span of an hour or two.

I pity those who are cubicle bound...next stop Sitka in a couple of weeks for the 50th anniversary of Alaska Statehood.


Nome was incorporated in 1901 and at one time had Wyatt Earl as a lawman


Sill a lot of false front buildings...on the other side of these buildings is the Bering Sea


Umiak frames (skin boats)


The infamous Board of Trade Saloon


More my speed


Old mining equipment and ruins are everywhere


Early 1900s gold dredge south of town


Not much vandalism here compared to other villages


Tough way to make a living


Kevin and his kids Emily and Scott


Now days, people camp on the beach and float small dredges into the Bering Sea and they are still pulling a lot of gold from the beaches, its cold and unforgiving.






The Bering Sea coast




Fish Camp


Looks like a very cold Burning Man eh?


Ruins of an old mining railroad near Solomon 35 miles south of Nome


Its very beautiful in this area, kind of looks like the Black Hills


Hadnt seen a person for hours


An old roadhouse on the way to Solomon...dont be fooled by the weather in this pic, we had experienced rain, sleet and snow within 20 minute of this picture and it was about 33 degrees (September 21)


Solomon, year round population zero. Its not a painting really.


I wish this building could talk


I remember exploring old mining ruins in the Yukon when I was a kid (and we found some very cool artifacts that I still have)...would have loved to explore the inside of this building but it needs to be preserved for others


The old tracks had sunk into the tundra


White Alice Communications System. This is a relec of the Cold War and was used for communications for the DEW line and Ballistic missile control systems as part of NORAD. It was obsolete within a decade or so when satellites replaced them. The parabolic antennas are huge and dominate the skyline over Nome. In the distance you can see Anvil Mountain (Nome is also called Anvil City).




To quote COL Flagg from M.A.S.H., "it is so secret (but not any more) that even I dont know what I know"


Nome from White Alice site


Road from White Alice


Its a beautiful area and again, it reminds me of my travels through the Dakotas


Rock Creek mine, its a Canadian gold mine that promised an economic boom to Nome but shut down within 2 years...strange that with gold over $1000.00 an ounce that it hasnt re-opened but its owned by Canadians so what do you expect?


One of the groceries in Nome; prices were high but not as bad as the Yukon-Kuskokwim area.


Finally, we flew through Kotzebue on the way back...windy, cold, and a hair raising landing..yahoo!