Wrapping it up and going back to the grind.
Saturday, May 8th 2010
16:30 - PolarTREC training officially complete. What an incredible experience with incredible people. Time to pack.
18:00 - Farewell dinner with Janet (and family), Kristin and the rest of the PolarTREC teachers. Thai food + great company = good times!
23:00 - Seven of the twelve PolarTREC teachers load into a Chevy Suburban, with luggage and depart from the Westmark Hotel for our trip to the Fairbanks Airport. Approx. 20 minutes. We had a fairly smooth check-in process, except for Karl, who was attempting to preserve his newly made, fragile, very sharp, stone tools by carrying them on his body. TSA had a blast interrogating him! He eventually had to place the flint mapped obsidian in his luggage, hoping the fragile, sharp, glass edges did not break.
Sunday, May 9th 2010 - Happy Mothers Day!
01:00 - Depart to Seattle, WA - Attempt to sleep on plane, but hard not to look out the window at the incredible topography of Alaska. As we approach Seattle (4 hours later) the sun was hidden just behind the Cascade Range revealing a spectacular silhouette of the mountains. Time for COFFEE!
05:30 - Once we touched ground, the massive Mount Rainier revealed itself to the south east. I never really knew how big this volcano was until I could see it and compare it to the rest of the Cascade Range. The last time I was in Seattle, it was very foggy with low visibility. With four of us needing to go to the opposite side of the airport, we all do a team farewell in the form of a hands-in-the-middle formation, screaming POLARTREC! We got lots of strange looks. Off we go! As we scramble for a quick breakfast, I catch up on what's happening in the world. BP oil leak still flowing strong=(
07:05 - Four of the seven teachers depart for Minneapolis, Minnesota which is the northernmost state apart from Alaska, the other three head to Colorado and Utah. Near the end of this flight I am able to see the spectacular 'Land of 10,000 Lakes' of Minneapolis MN. The lakes formed as a result of The Wisconsin glaciation 12,000 years ago.
13:00 - Flight to Pittsburgh, PA. I am the only PolarTREC teacher on this flight. It was sad to see my new friends head off onto different parts of the country throughout the last day, but I look forward to following them on their expeditions throughout the next year. As I get closer to Pittsburgh, the reality of going back to the daily grind begins to set in. I am sad that the best professional development experience of my life has just officially ended, yet excited to begin this incredible experience with PolarTREC. Summit, Greenland - three months and counting!
17:00 - Home - My wife and three kids greet me with a huge hand made 'WELCOME HOME DADDY' sign and hugs and kisses. I am glad to be back home. Now the jet-lag sets in...
All the best,
Jim