Today’s journal is the National Geographic version. Lots of pictures and captions. We were out listening to a speaker discuss underwater archaeology sites in the area as well as remote operated vehicles to search some of them. After that, Dave’s celebratory last dinner at the local sushi and Japanese restaurant. He will certainly be missed, he has made numerous contributions during his 10+ weeks here.
The Barge Is Here!! Goods come in but once a year. Want a new car? Order it and have it shipped up on the barge. Washer? Same thing.
Up here, new stuff comes in either on a plane or on a boat. The barge arrived yesterday with lots of activity going on as the steel containers where unloaded. If you look carefully you can see one of the eight by eight by ten trailers on the ship.
The town and community have built special moveable piers and roadways so the unloading process is quick and efficient. Lots of equipment is used to move these massive crates. They can still only come off one at a time.
I wanted to get a shot of me next to the shipping container so the size woud show up. It didn't work though, I was too close and my arm was not long enough. You can tell the size of the container by the contents though. Can you determine what is in it?
The Polar Bear is Here!! We had hoped to see a bear and we got that wish. Isaac had to scare it away with a few shotgun blasts but other than that, bears and humans got along just fine.
The news came out over the radio this morning that a polar bear had been sighted out on the Point. We spotted this character from almost a mile away. We stayed a respectful distance away, often standing on the four-wheelers to see the bear.
The polar bear turned and ambled off, walked into the water and went for a swim. The entire encounter probably lasted 20 minutes. A pleasant experience for all.
Isaac, the day in day out bearguard for us was instrumental to us today. He calmly kept an eye on bear, monitored its progress out swimming, gave a couple of warning shots, and kept everyone safe. Thanks for all the good work Isaac.
Waves and Water Are Here!! Waves and water certainly contributed to the day up here in Barrow. Winds consistently blowing around 25 mph, a few gust got up above 35 mph. We weren’t the only ones paying attention to the weather and the waves.
The ice blew back in with the storm today. Large waves smashed icebergs into ice cubes. This blue one, come to find out, is more fresh water that salt, the native people seek these out when whaling for fresh water.
The blue ice was attacked relentlessly by the waves, some hit it half way up and went clear over the top. Wat a sight!!
The weather was tough today and a small barge type boat was running with the wind down the Barrow this morning before returning this afternoon. We do not know if they ran into trouble or not, the helicopter hung around until the boat got into the lagoon.
Well, hopefully this gives you an overview of what a typical day is like in Barrow. Stay tuned for what tomorrow will bring.
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