Ketchikan if You Can

Today started with a breakfast at the Valley Restaurant in Juneau with Shaun, Brianna, Brennan, and myself. We had two eggs sunny side up, sausage, toast and hash browns. It is a nice old style diner.

From Sitka: Runway's End

From Ketchikan-07-01-09

Flight from Juneau was off to a late start. On the way to Ketchikan we landed in Sitka, on a runway that starts at water’s edge, not quite as scary as the old Hong Kong airport landings but it was a little nerve wracking. After a little bit of time on the runway, we were off to Ketchikan, where it seems, they need a bridge to the airport. There is a nice three mile long road on the island where the airport is, but it leads to nowhere. The only way to get to the airport from Ketchikan is to go by ferry or water taxi. Hence, the need for the famous bridge to nowhere.

From Totem Park, Ketchikan-07-11-09

I spent a few hours with my colleague Bob. He showed me around this very cool little town on the Alaska's marine costal highway where mining and logging used to be very big. Now the gold comes from tourists coming up the coast on cruise lines. We also stopped by one of the totem parks near Ketchikan.

Then I spent that evening with my Aunt Carol and her partner , Jack. We had a good porter and a good laugh with Jack’s endless jokes as we took in the view from their condo. Then we went out to see an excellent and well and production of the Pirate Fisherman’s Daughter. It was great fun to see this locally penned play while gobbling up Dungeness crabs and Alaskan ale. I hope I can get back the Ketchikan soon.

From The view from Cape Fox Lodge, where the Pirate Fisherman's Daughter was played. Ketchikan-07-11-09

Joy in Juneau

Today was an excellent day for a trip through Alaska. The goals were to: get down to Juneau, to scope out our new, up and running, office in the Sealaska Building, a second visit this year with Shaun, Emily, Briana, JJ and Cy, and to take in all of the beauty of Juneau area. The only disappointment was that the office was not as far along as we had hoped, but we did make big strides in that direction.

From JuneauJuly10-09

The first problem of the day came with the plane I came down to Juneau in. It was painted with some odd cartoon characters that do not seem to have any connection to the real world. Take a look, see if you can figure out what this plane is supposed to represent.

From JuneauJuly10-09

Again, on this trip I got to see huge glacier flows from the air. The attached picture is of an area that seems to be area where a few glaciers are spawned. Only from the air can you appreciate the enormity of the glaciers that are flowing through British Columbia and Alaska.

After landing in Juneau, and cabbing it to the office, I had discovered that poor Chris was still fighting the bureaucratic cluster f*** demons in Washington, DC. Lots of people had lots of instructions, but no one new what they were supposed to be doing. Maybe we should have certified project managers running these office openings. By the end of the day all of the phones and data lines were up and running so we did not leave frustrated.

From JuneauJuly10-09

During lunch Chris took me up along Perseverance trail towards some old gold mining operations. The view in this valley was breath-taking. We took some pictures with my Blackberry phone camera, but digital images just do not do justices to the experience. There was a fast flowing clear water stream coming off of the mountain that made me pine for Montana. On our way back to the office Chris drove me through some interesting hillside communities that grew up on what looks like impossible cliff sides.

From JuneauJuly10-09

From JuneauJuly10-09

Then the real highlight of the day was visiting family. Shaun and Brendan(Rob's son) picked my up at the Sealaska building and then we went out to the Mendenhall Glacier to make up for our dismal picture taking experience of last March, when we could not even see the glacier. Again, digital pictures do not do justice to the real beauty of the place but I was so glad that it was a sunny day. We could literally feel the chilly air flowing off of the glacier. A local was standing there and was anxious to tell us a story about his experience of flying up on to the glacier with a helicopter, being left there for 20 minutes to stand there and appreciate the sheer size of the of the flow. Then Shaun took us out to Auk Lake to get a nother perspective on the glacier and it made me think of the opening scene of the Andy Griffith show. With its tall pines along a lake shore, you could go traipsing through with fishing pole on shoulder whistling the tune we all know so well. Then we went to a filed for another view, with fields of fireweed in the foreground and the Mendenhall Glacier in the distance. Quite beautiful.

I am so happy that I was able to spend so many hours with Shaun, Brianna, and Brendan driving around. Shaun made a yummy dinner of steak and tatter tots, while Emily, JJ and Cy played and laughed in the bedroom.

From JuneauJuly10-09

I was sent off to Ketchikan in the morning after a nice big breakfast at the Valley Restaurant with Shaun, Brianna and Brendon.

Fairbanks, Not so Fair

There are 71 fires burning in the state of Alaska today, so it was not such a fine day for seeing the state from the air. I did get some mediocre shots of Denali(Mount McKinley). The highlight of the day was in getting a chance to go over and see the Trans-Alaska oil pipe line. After spending a few hours looking at potential office space in Fairbanks with my colleagues I am on my way back down to Anchorage.

I am going to grab some food at the hotel bar and then head to my room for rest, watch TV, and go through emails until I can't take any more.

Flying to Anchorage

Today was a day for flying. There was the trip from Baltimore to Minneapolis that took just under three hours. Then there was a good two hour lay over at MSP. As I write this note we've just crossed over into British Columbia from Alberta at 34,000 feet.

I was very glad to have a little time with Julie this morning to chat and visit before she delivered me to BWI. A good way to start off a day that I would not otherwise be in good spirits about.

On the trip to Minneapolis I got to get through about 50 emails, it was cathartic, because no one could talk back until we had landed. I think our row of seat was the only one where the middle seat was empty. Another bonus for today.

At MSP they have Boingo Wireless available for a fee, but with my handy-dandy VZW MiFi "Internet in a pocket" device, I could get right on the network and start working away on all of the damned up email traffic. (Nevermind that you have to have a monthly data account with VZW and the cost of a MiFi to to contend with). The Internet anywhere(anywhere there is 3Ga) functionality makes it worth it. I got a lot accomplished with my colleagues in DC and AK, and I had fun none-sensical conversation with Leslie to boot.


Then came the dreaded boarding call for the 6 hour flight to Anchorage. Even though I paid NWA $35 for the privilege of sitting in an exit row I did not forward to this long flight. But again, it worked out. I got to sit in a row with an empty middle seat, and with lot of leg room too boot. I watched Happy Go Lovely, an mildly funny movie with David Niven in it with a comedic mistaken identity plot. There was a lot of dancing scenes in it too. Thank goodness for modern technology and the ease with which you can slide right through that stuff.

Boeing 707s

So Northwest Airlines sent an automated trip planner email yesterday to prepare me for the logistics of the trip on Wednesday. What it triggered me to think of is TWA. The grand old airline that went belly up and was swallowed up by American Airlines. TWA and PANAM were the big shot airlines when I was a kid, now neither airline exists. I remember flying around the world in great big old 707s, and we were dresssed to the Ts. Tomorrow I will be dressed in jeans and sneakers for my work trip to Anchorage.

Trip to Alaska

On Wednesday I am headed to Alaska for the second time this year. The first trip was in March, and my oh my it was cold in Fairbanks; negative ten degrees farenheit was plenty cold enough for me. On that week-long trip I went to Juneau, and Anchorage as well and they were not so bad as Fairbanks. None-the-less, Alaska is a vast and beautiful state, even in the cold of March.

This time I will be flying to Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kenai, and Fairbanks, and I have high hopes for not feeling anything cooler than 40 degrees this time around. This trip is for work but I do hope to see the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau (it was too foggy in March), and the Alsaka oil pipeline while in Fairbanks. I'd like to get a picture with Sarah Palin too, but I do not think she is going to have time for me while I am in Juneau or Anchorage.

The picture I've included with this post is a picture taken somewhere above Alaska on while on my trip in March. When I think of Alaska in the winter I think of this picture. This time around I hope to have more time for taking pictures and recording the trip.