Pilgrim Hot springs

About 2 weeks ago, I got out of town into the tundra for the first time. We finally had some time off work, so a few of the nurses and myself went 60 miles north of town for a day of fishing and playing on the tundra. It was an over cast day in Nome, but the sun was shining over the pass!

This is a view of the tundra. All the white is actually tundra cotton, a type of flower that is in bloom right now. Looking over this, I felt like I was in Nebraska or something.














The Musk OX heard. There are a TON of musk ox in the area. These were on the road and running from the car.













When spooked, musk ox form a circle to protect their young. The start snorting and pawing at the ground and charge. Luckily for us, they lose interest quite quickly and run away.









This is Pilgrim Hot springs. At one time, in the early 1900's the area was used as an orphanage during the flu out break. There are a few small out buildings where the kids stayed still standing. The tracker is still used to help keep the grass under control.

The view from the actual spring. There are actual trees in this area. (there are none in Nome)











The hot spring. It was about 115 degrees. The tub is about 6 feet deep and you end up treading water when you go in. Also there mosquitoes are so bad, you have to be underwater or covered with bug dope to spend much time out here, but the view is amazing!


Standing on the tub.

Nurse Allen and myself at the springs.

Inside the church at the ranch. This painting was done in 1920 by a 12 year old boy.

Tundra cotton. The whole tundra was covered in it. It makes it look like it is still covered in snow.

The actual cotton.

frolicking on the tundra.....

Yellow tundra flowers.

Laying in the tundra cotton.

Salmon Lake Trip

I took Thursday off of work and Sarah and I drove 35 miles up the road to Salmon Lake. The hope was to do some fishing, but the lake was frozen, so we just enjoyed the tundra in all of it’s new summer colors.




The actual road. There are 3 roads leading out of Nome.




Me driving Peter's truck. He was on vacation and loaned me the truck for the day.

This is the river out side of Salmon Lake. It was a cloudy, rainy day.

The actual lake. As you can see, there is still ice in the midde. There was not enough unfrozen area to try to fish.

Sarah and I. Sarah is one of the nurses.

Sarah feeling the same way as I about getting out of town.

It has only been in the last week that the tundra is starting to green up. We have had rain for a week so all the plants are taking advantage and trying to bloom.

All the new flowers are in bloom.

Me and my new fishing boots. Up here I had to buy insutlated ones to keep from freezing. I also have to wear wool sox and put warmers in the toes if I plan to stay in the water very long.

Sarah holding MY fish. They were only biting with the fly rod. This is a Greyling. They live to be about 30 years old and there is a limit on how many of the bigger fish you can have. This is they only state where I have lived that you have to throw a fish back because it is too big. (anything over 18 inches goes back)

The greyling in the water. These are fun fish to catch, they really put up a good fight.

Notice the large dorsal fin. This is how you know what type you caught.

One more of the fish, out of the water.

At the end of the day, I caught 3 total fish. As is normal for me, I also filled my boots with water, came home totally soaked but had a beer and a great time!

Beach Bonefire!

In May (yes I am a bit late in blogging), we, the medical staff of Norton Sound, got together and had a bone fire on east beach, 2 miles out side of town. As you can see, the ice was still in and it was a bit cold, but we all had fun anyway.






Starting of the fire. We burned wooden pallets for fuel. The pallets come up with all the crate shipments but are not sent back so there are a bunch of them around town.










The pallets make a nice hot fire. It makes me want to put my fire gear on and stand right in the middle of it!

This was at 1130 pm. Notice how light it was.


















On a dare, I went out on the ice pack to check water temp.
















It was around 33 degrees F.

This is Sarah, Corissa and Andrea, three nurses at the hospital.

Bridgett and Sarah.

Sarah and I had a marshmellow eating contest....

I won with 8 stuffed in...

Northern Lights

A friend of mine from Kotzebue sent these to me. They were taken this past winter while it was still dark. They were taken through a plane window so they are not the best, but it gives you an idea of what the northern lights do look like.

My trip to Seward

The other day I escaped from Nome and went to Seward and Anchorage for the weekend. Here are a few pictures from the Seward area. I went on a cruise with Major Marine Tours to the Fjords in the area. It did rain on me all day, but I still was able to see some great things!



The little town of Seward. I drove down from Anchorage, about 3 hours south. There isn't much in Seward but I still had fun.













Major Marine tours. Check them out on line. I did the 5 hour Fjords tour. It came with all you can eat Salmon and Prime rib, and a TON of desserts. They also have a forest ranger on board so you can ask all the questions you want.












The Star of the Northwest. The boat we used. I think there were about 200 of us total on the trip.

It was a overcast and rainy day.

The boat harbor.

More boats.
















the fjords. The snow is melting fast down in Seward. They are getting green. It smells like spring down there.










Most of the cruise was wet and rainy. The clouds hung so low it was hard to see the tops of the mountains.



























Most of the fjords are in national park but some areas still have peole living in them. This house is only accesable by boat and does not have power or running water. It is owned by a local doctor.














The main reason for me going on the tour was to see the puffin birds. I did get to see them, but they fly so fast, I was unable to get a good picture. We did see a pod of Orcas though.











More orcas. I also saw a humpback whale, sea lions, tons of birds, bald eagles, brown bear, mountain goats and a few halibut (caught by the local fishermen in the warf)

I thought this was funny. Have you ever wondered what they do with all the left over boeys at the end of the season? This guy decided to use them to decorate for christmas!