We went out to dinner tonight at the delicious Sam and Lee's oriental restaurant (this place would give Chinatown "OK10minute!" a run for their money) with our cooperating teachers, Steve, and Vanni. Dinner conversation led to the firsts that I've had on this trip. So I shall start from the beginning.
First Airplane flight. Yep, that's right. the 6AM flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was my first experience in the air.
First view of the ocean. Landing in Anchorage I saw it a little bit, but that doesn't really count.... So, my first real open ocean view was the sea ice in Barrow.
First taste of Maktak. Not that surprising, but still a first. Oh and if you still don't know what it is, I'll explain. Whale skin with a little blubber attached underneath. Yep, I ate it. Raw. Tastes....a little krilly, but not so bad once you get over the texture.
First time seeing a Snowy Owl. That was cool, you read about it.
First time going out on the ocean- this weekend. On SKIS!!!
The piece of ice behind me is about 6 feet thick. The picture doesn't do the color justice,
the ice is a bright blue!
I went out on the ice with my cooperating teacher, Deb Greene. We skied down the coast for a bit and I saw the Barrow Tugboat- frozen in the ice in a little inlet. We skied past the gas tanks that supply the gas for the town of Barrow- for an entire year!!! We then set out on a whaling crew trail and skied away from shore. The above picture is taken about 1/2 mile from shore- this is the first pressure ridge that forms when the offshore ice runs into the shore-bound ice. Past the pressure ridge- which at it's peak was over 20 feet of jumbled ice, was an old lead (open water) that had frozen up. It was clear sailing across this until we reached the second ridge- we were now about 3 miles out. In the second pressure ridge I saw something I thought I'd never see in Barrow, much less out on the ice.
A TREE!!!!! 3 Miles out on the Ice!
It was unbelievable! Well, I skied up, and it was obviously stuck in the ice by somebody. Deb and I sure laughed about it. So that can be another first, my first Ice Spruce.
I'll end my blog with some pictures that really don't do the Ice Pack justice- but here you go!
Stay warm,
Peter
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