We visited Poker Flats Research Range which is part of the geophysical institute (university of Alaska, Fairbanks). Here, they set off rockets for weather and atmospheric research. Our lecturer, Don Hampton, an optics guy, was very thorough in his description of their research function. He had a 1950s version and a current day version of […]
We went to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks where Dr. Hui Zhang lectured on the aurora borealis. She presented what the aurora is, how it is formed, its cycle and how it affects us. We then had a presentation by the librarian from same institute. In the afternoon, we went to the
We took a 12 hour train ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks. We passed through Wasilla which has McDonald’s, subway, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut. Moose alerts. The moose hear the train and start running away. Magnificent. “We’re going to get a good view of The Mountain,” announces the conductor. We have perfect weather and can see
Parka is the name for squirrel. Squirrels were used to make coats, hence parka. Icebergs are black in the spring because they soak up the mud they sit in. One hazardous sport is fishing on certain shores where mud is abundant. It is not uncommon for people fishing to get caught in the mud without
My travels to Alaska began at 4:15am. I got my four hours of sleep in so I was ready to go. I never “failed” going through security before so I was very surprised when I had to go through a manual pat-down by TSA. It was surrealistic to be out in the open, more or
Alaska – the Beginning Read More »
