alaska

Hi!

I've been back home for a week. Coincidentally, I've also been laying on the couch for a week. Tired is such a simple word for such an all-consuming feeling, isn't it?

I had a good time in Alaska. I also had a bad time. I laughed, I cried, I drove out of town in a frustrated funk (on what turned out to be a frickin' LOOP ROAD. I couldn't even run away correctly that day. I didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or drive off a cliff when I figured out what I'd done. L.O.S.E.R. Or just overly sensitive naive one. Whatever). I worked from 8 am until 1 am a time or two, I had dinner with old friends. I wondered why I dared call myself a scientist (nervy). I also wrote a little bit for the Discovery Channel blog...but not as much as I'd wanted. Seems a lot of what I really wanted to say wasn't exactly the right sort of thing for an "official" blog. You know?

I couldn't exactly write about having beers down the hotel hall in the room of the guy that was lead scientist for the DC-8 and laughing at him about how pissed he was that when they were diverted to Iqaluit they discovered that they not only had to share rooms (4+ to a room, and this means sharing rooms with weird and excentric scientists), but also laughing at him at how disgusted he was that there was no beer anywhere nearby (all the while I was smiling at how stereotypically atypical he is with his penchant for bare feet and ponytails. What a good guy. Raises alpacas. Very very smart. Lives life the way he wants.). We also talked a lot about the science, and I felt on-board. It was a nice evening.

I couldn't write about Wonderboy admitting to me at our dinner one night that he thought atmospheric scientists were simultaneously the biggest bunch of alcoholics and vegetarians of any branch of science he's ever seen. I couldn't write about the lively political debates we had at dinner, particularly when Wonderboy, my conservative hero, was there. (I so enjoy talking with him because we are so different but still respect each other. He makes me realize that conservative doesn't always mean dolt. I don't agree with him, but he's got intelligent reasons for his beliefs, which I respect.)

I wrote about the wonders of dog sledding, but didn't post about my trip to Chena Hot Springs or my hike in Denali. Here are some photos:

Here are me and Mian in the hot springs (I was in grad school with Mian YEARS ago, and she's up at NASA Goddard now). Good heavens it was amazing. There was snow all over the place and we were thus in our bathing suits. If there had been seats and drinks served there in the pool, I would have stayed all night. (Apparently, it's one of the primo places for Japanese tourists to go in the winter/spring time to view the aurora. They believe that babies conceived during the aurora have special gifts. So that's why the winter is their busy season.) No conceptions were going on while we were there. We pretty much had the pool to ourselves.


A picture of the hot spring water flowing toward the pool. Very eerie looking.


Icicles.

Two of the six moose we saw on our drive back. Good god, those things are monsterous. My memory of this involves Mian shouting to Gao to stop in the middle of the road, Gao shouting at Mian to GET BACK IN THE CAR, THEY ARE BIG DANGEROUS animals, me frantically rolling down my window and standing up to lean over the car roof to take pictures while Gao was shouting at me that cars were coming and to please get back in the car. OMG, can you say TOURISTS? But they were MOOSE!!!! Like in Northern Exposure!! So cool! Can you even see them?



Me being attacked by one of the vicious sled dogs at Denali National Park. I was so frightened. He was such a brute.


Another one of the vicious sled dogs. Can't you feel the intimidation?


A shot of some of the Alaska range from Denali.


Me and friend Carolyn (University of New Hampshire) hiked for about 1.5 miles in the snow. While it snowed on us. Nice conversation, peaceful setting, mountains, snow, life was/is good.


More later.