timistravels

March 29/30

After a week at home (which included our June Nelson Scholarship selection day and our Fly-In where board members come to Juneau to talk to their legislators), I was off and running again.  This trip was to Kenai where I would have the honor of working with some amazing young leaders in this state!  I have helped with the Rotary Youth Leadership 7 out of the last 9 years, missing one when Harry and I were out of the country on our Panama Canal Cruise and the other last year when I tore my ACL.

This years group was one of the best ever!  I had a great time with them AND I was so exhausted when I arrived home on Friday night that Saturday was almost a bust… but I have recovered and am enjoying a beautiful spring day here.

Kenai/Soldotna are about a 3.5 hour drive south of Anchorage and about a 20 minute flight, I opted for the flight.  RYLA was held at a camp in the woods right off the main highway, but if felt like we were hours away from civilization.  On Thursday we started off with hours of getting to know each to know one another activities.  Within no time the youth and adult volunteers were laughing, talking and having a great time.

Friday was full of more content workshops on personality styles, diversity, ethical decision making and defining a leader.  The pictures I have posted are from the activity on Building a Leader.

Though both days were in the high 40’s there is still a lot of snow as you can see in the pics.

A good time was had by all.

Friday, March 9, 2012

This entry is written backwards from the last day to the first, because the last day was the most fun and interesting, starting off with watching the moon set over the Bering Sea (see picture) followed by lots of activities, including a tour of the Largest Crab Processing Plant in the World, Trident on St. Paul Island.

The film crew from “Deadliest Catch” was on site the same day filming the Wizzard as it came into off load crab.  Here are some of the facts of this plant:

• Crab are off loaded alive because if they die, they must be frozen within 60 minutes or they go bad.
• During this, the high season for crab, they will process 50,000 to 500,000 pounds of crab in one day (up to a 16 hour shift).
• To start off the crab are lifted from the boat in big barrel looking tubs and,
• 7-8 workers in the ‘hole’ putting the crab into the ‘braibers’ and then into the hoppers, there are 6 hoppers with 2 conveyor belts on each side of the door where live crab are placed.
• As the live crab move on the conveyor belt they are killed, these machines do 40 crab a minute
• After this they are “butchered”, where core body shells are blown leaving the legs and other edible parts to continue with.
• Once the pieces are separated by grade (low, medium and high quality by size), they are placed in metal containers that hold about 45 pounds.
• Each container is lowered into boiling water and cooked for 18.5 minutes for tanner/snow crab.  (if it were king crab that needs to cook for 25 minutes).
• After it is cooked it is first dropped into salt water.
• After the salt water it is then placed in ½ salt ½ fresh water,
• Finally, it is lowered into water that is -3 degrees  and b/c salt is in water will not freeze!
• It is then moved on another belt to a location where the 45#’s are placed in blue plastic bags and ultimately in a box.
• The boxes are stacked and put in huge freezer.
•  6000-8000, 45# boxes are done in one day.
• To do all of this work they need 320 staff, most of them are from foreign countries as there is not a lot of luck recruiting people in the states.
• Workers live and eat on site, (they have dorm like living quarters and cafeteria style eating).
• The workers pay for their housing and food in advance of arriving to the job, BUT if they remain during the entire season they get all that money back.

All of these steps are highlighted  in the pictures.

I have a video of the Wizzard trying to get into the harbor, it tried for over an hour but had to pull back out eventually due to the current, tide and amount of ice in the harbor.  It made me sea sick just watching the boat as the water was causing the boat to rock so badly.

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Thursday March 8, 2012

Though the weather on Wed. was great, the weather today was terrible, a blizzard hit the island and 55+ MPH winds were blowing and there was a total white out.  School was called off and we had to wait until Mac, the district go to guy could come pick us up and take us to the school.

Interviews went most of the day, lunch was ‘fish pie’ a local favorite, halibut, rice, corn, bacon, all in a crust.  YUMMY.

As the day progressed, the weather improved and we were invited to have dinner at the Trident plant cafeteria (where the workers eat).  Since there is no ‘restaurant’ in town, this was about the closest we could get and it was a nice dinner.

The best part of the day was the sunset, which there are photos of!  Sunset around 8:15 p.m.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

In the morning I met up with the three candidates for the superintendents position at the ANC airport.  My supervisor was flying in from Fairbanks with 2 candidates that had interviewed the day before in a district up north.  The 3rd candidate flew in the day before from MT.

At 11:45 our flight was a ‘go’ and we were all headed to the boarding area, UNTIL the announcement came over the system: St. Paul flight is on hold currently, we will update you at 12:30, as currently we don’t have a crew  WHAT????!!!! So, Tasky Timi grabbed my phone and emailed my new contact at Pen Air asking him, how once again there was not a crew for a scheduled flight, indicating I would like a call.  Within 3 minutes the ‘mucky muck, big wig’ called and said he could not believe it and he would get back to me within 10 minutes.  He did and informed me that the crew was on its way in and we would be off the ground by 12:30.  Well, we were boarding around 12:30 and off by 12:50, but at least we go the ball rolling.  I reminded him how URGENT the flight on Friday would be because of the company that was joining me… candidates for a job that only 1 would be offered.!  He said he would call me on Friday and keep in touch as to the status of the flight!  He will regret the day he gave me his # and email 🙂

We stopped in Dillingham for fuel and then took off for St. Paul.  As we landed it was a PERFECT March day here! Sunshine, blue sky etc.  We of course all joked that it was like this all the time here (not!).

Dinner with the board and candidates was a Costco based meal, and all loved it.  I brought fresh veggies, lettuce, tomatoes, etc for a salad… big hit!  Then after dinner was a community forum for all and anyone to attend and meet the candidates, it too was successful.

Funniest parts of the day:

1. using a district vehicle  I was headed to my place (teacher housing, VERY nice), and I could NOT make it up a hill.  I had to go in reserve down the hill, and tried again with no luck.  Tried an alternative road and same luck, I could not get the 150 truck up the hill.  Came into the school with my head hung low until we realized that the right front tire was almost flat!

2. at the end of the evening I took the same truck with a newly filled tire and headed home, with the female candidate who was also staying at the housing unit with me.  However we could NOT find the house, we drove around and around and around, drove by the superintendents home 4 times until I finally stopped to ask for help. How do I mange to travel the world and not get lost but on an island of 400 + people I can’t find my house! craziness!

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If you watch Deadliest Catch (I have never watched it) you may have heard of St. Paul Island, where I find myself tonight after many, many hours of traveling. One of the first people I was shown in the airport was one of the captains, leaving the island for a bit, however, I did not recognize him b/c again, I don’t watch the show.

Started off the morning with a 1.5 hour flight from Juneau to ANC, followed by a lot of wait time in ANC.  Once in the boarding area for my flight to St. Paul (Pen Air) I was almost sure I wasn’t going to make it in,  A HUGE winter storm was heading towards the island but I was wrong as here now as I sit in the school.    Winds are blowing over 50 MPH and it is cold.  We had such a strong head wind flying out here; we had to stop in Dillingham (see earlier blog on that community) and refuel.  It took over 3.5 flying hours to get out here!  How far would you be across the country if you flew 3.5 hours?  I am 880 miles west of Anchorage and only 500 miles east of Siberia, Russia (less to the waterways of Russia) while I write this!

I landed and they were in such a hurry to get the plane off the ground and headed back to ANC that it took almost 1 hour for the 12 of us that flew here to get our luggage, but mine all made it!  As Mack, the man that took me to the school (along with Dan a teacher and John a refrigerator sales man) drove we were all blinded by the TOTAL white out caused by the winds and the blowing snow.  (I now am wondering why a refrigerator repairman is needed as it is sooooo cold here I can’t see the need now J).

Dan is a 2^nd year teacher here, he and his wife (also a teacher) are originally from Michigan, huge MI State Spartan fans and most ironically, Amanda his wife went to Aquinas College, 4 years after I worked there, but still… that is pretty ‘small world’ if you ask me.

I went immediately to my meeting with the board and did not get a chance to even use the restroom; however, now it is 3.5 hours after we started the meeting and we are not even close to being done!  That is how tough it can be to select a new superintendent!    UPDATE, it ended almost 5 hours after we started.  WOW.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Because there are no planes that fly on Thursday I must stay until tomorrow and that flight does not leave til 4:15 p.m.  I will get a lot of work done since so far I have Internet and it is quiet in the School District apartment.  Though at 5 this a.m. as I was coming out of the rest room I ran into the guy staying in one of the other rooms.  This is how we roll in rural AK.  He’s here working at the radio station, AND no one told him to bring food.  Hence he spent $70+ on items over at the AC store, enough for a few days.  See my pictures for the cost of some common day items.

Spent most of the day calling potential candidates for the superintendent job, arranging their flights and working on stuff I need to get to them, so the windy and cold weather didn’t bother me too much as I sat inside.  I eventually took a walk but it was still windy and cold and it indeed was cold.  The blizzard was to subside around 5 so hope tomorrow is better when I want to fly. There is a common saying on the islands: “This is the only place in the world where you can experience all four seasons in one hour.”

A little bit of information about St. Paul Island:

• No fewer than 248 species of birds have been spotted on the island. In spring, (May?) many rare birds are seen on the island.
• Other interesting sites on the island are the fur seal rookeries, the males stake their spot our in late May and wait for the females to come!  If I were here after May 31 I would not be allowed to go to the rookeries, but rather only view the action from some blinds that have been built for viewing.
• There are no dogs allowed on the island… mostly b/c of the birds.
• However, there are grey fox that are rather pesky at times getting into garbage and leftovers at the processing plant.
• Saint Paul is the largest of the Pribilof Islands and lies the furthest north.,
• It is just over 7.6 miles wide at its widest axis and 13.5 miles and has a total area of 43 square miles.
• The island was created by a volcano and so there are many cinder cones and volcanic craters on the island, the highest is Rush Hill about 650 feet above sea level.

Friday, March 2, 2012

I was to fly out at 4:15 p.m. but around 10 a.m. I found out that Pen Air had canceled the flight, NOT due to weather but because they did not have a crew, or as I was told later because of a mechanical.  I sent an email stating my concerns and received this from the Chief Operating Officer!  We spoke, but I still don’t have high hopes.

Timi,
Scott Bloomquist asked me to try to contact you, I don’t see a cell number in your email. Please email or call me back and I’d like to see what we can do to make amends to you for screwing up your trip.

So I walked (slid) around town a bit, school, museum, etc, took some pictures and enjoyed the sunshine even if it wasn’t that warm yet.  I went to the school board meeting in the evening and spent the night back at the apt. reading and talking to Harry on the phone.  Thank goodness the apartment has a phone and internet.

Saturday,  March 3, 2012

At 7:30 p.m. I finally left the island and got to Anchorage at 10:30… I will got home Sunday morning, but will turn around and head back to St. Paul on Wed.  Hope the traveling goes better that time!

Gustavus is 48 air miles west of Juneau, and is the “gateway” to Glacier Bay National Park.  Gustavus was created because receding glaciers and is surrounded by the mountains and icefields of Glacier Bay National Park on three sides and the ocean on the other. However, it is almost all flat, as it spreads across a large plain left behind by the glaciers. Year round there are less than 500 people in Gustavus and in turn it has as much wildlife as people! Wolves, moose, bear, whales and many other wildlife fill the area.   As I flew in it seemed a bit odd to me how ‘far’ away the mountains seemed, not typical of other places here in SE Alaska.  It was an interesting perspective to fly in as the other visits I have made here have been by boat.

Point Adolphus, could be seen from the air as we flew into Gustavus, however there wasn’t much whale activity as there is in the summer when the area is known as a great humpback whale feeding area.  The pictures of that here on the blog were from a boat trip I took there several summers ago.

Again the area that Gustavus sits on was formed when the glaciers receded and left a nice flat area for people to call home.  The town itself is less than one hundred years old. Homesteaders began arriving in 1917 to an area they dubbed Strawberry Point. In 1925 the name became Gustavus, when the U.S. Post Office required a change for its new post office, although locals continued calling it Strawberry Point and it should not be surprising that strawberries are still a big commodity in Gustavus.

At the Homestead B and B where I stayed with Sally and Tom I actually had strawberries for breakfast that Sally had picked from her garden in the summer.  She also served me rhubarb jam that was also quite tasty.   The richness of the community is shared by all that live here.  It is a very close community and everyone waves to everyone else as you drive down the roads.

My host gave me a wonderful 1.5 hour tour of the area so I feel like I saw every nook and cranny, as it is not that big of an area.  I can’t wait to take my mom here on an upcoming visit.  She would love the history and all the quirks of this community.

From Tok I backtracked to Delta Junction. DJ is where the Delta River and the Tanana River meet as well as being the intersection of the Richardson Highway and the END of the Alaska Highway.  There are beautiful mountains that are off in the distance,  and I have included some photos of them, as it was a beautiful sunny day as I drove the 102 miles from Tok to DJ.  It also warmed up significantly and was almost warm, here was a 70 degree shift is weather in 2 days!

Some quick history on DJ as it is quite interesting.  During WW II as US helped Soviet Union against Germany, the AK Highway was built connecting roads with Canada.  The roads met in an areas known and later called Delta Junction!  Eventually the Glenn Highway was built connecting this area to Anchorage.  This was a great place to have shipments come through and the area grew.  In our world today, this is known as the Golden Triangle Drive, Anchorage to Tok to Fairbanks.

After WW II Fort Greely an army base was built and used to train soldiers for cold weather combat during the Cold War. (the -33 can help you understand why it was good for that reason!)

Ironically, during the 1990s and 2000s, immigrants from the former Soviet republics came to the area, significantly changing the makeup of the local population and to this day the district has a large population of students from Russia and other Soviet areas.  Actually there was just a restaurant opened that is called “Taste of Europe” that served amazing pelmeni’s, piroshki’s, and other great Russian dishes.

I get to work with this board yearly and have come to love the 2 hour drive from Fairbanks to here, it is beautiful and I dream of riding it on my motorcycle sometime!

I will be home until the 15th, watch for more from my Alaska travels after that!  Next trip, Gustavus, home of Glacier Bay National Park!