When In Nome, Do As the...
Nome, Alaska.
In my military-inspired, non-politically correct parliance, Nome is beyond even BFE.
Literally perched on the shore of the Bering Sea, you can easily imagine that the edge of the flat world is just over the horizon. The populace lives off tourism (there's a lot of wierd folks out there that have too much money, I reckon), gold nuggets on the beach, and subsistence food gathering. But I can't really think of a good reason why, given all the other green acres on this beautiful globe, anyone would live here.
I guess some things aren't easily known.
But I have some time to try to find out. I flew in this morning from Anchorage, with Boatswainsmate Chief Steve Garcia from Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. Our three day mission... to get on as many of the twenty-something commercial fishing vessels here as possible, and bring them in to the safety fold. We are flying back out to Anchorage, weather permitting, late Thursday.
Unfortunately, I do not have the plug-in cable-thing for my digital camera with me, so you have to be satisfied with text until I get back to Juneau on Friday. I have been taking some great pictures, and I look forward to getting them out here for y'all.
The sun came out at Noon, and we had blue sky the resy of the day. The reminder that we are standing on the edge of the Arctic Circle came in the form of a stiff afternoon breeze that blew in, at about 20 to 25 knots, frigid out of the north, seemingly out of nowhere. It lasted about three hours, whipping up the shallow Bering into a white cap froth, and then died again almost as quickly as it arrived. Sitting in my room at the Nugget Inn, I feel something akin to sunburn on my face. Nature is raw...
And light, too. The farther North and West one travels, the longer the day. Right now, at 11:15pm on 22August, it is still light enough outside to read. It is dark down in Juneau, but hey, this IS the end of the world...
One thing I can say about the folks here, they're very friendly. Everyone waves, says hello, shakes your hand while looking you in the eye. It is refreshing, and I'm sure, a consequence of the remoteness and hardiness of the land and those who prosper here. I like it.
Not that I would ever live here, but like a bunch of places I've been, it's cool to visit (and then go home). More to follow-
KML
In my military-inspired, non-politically correct parliance, Nome is beyond even BFE.
Literally perched on the shore of the Bering Sea, you can easily imagine that the edge of the flat world is just over the horizon. The populace lives off tourism (there's a lot of wierd folks out there that have too much money, I reckon), gold nuggets on the beach, and subsistence food gathering. But I can't really think of a good reason why, given all the other green acres on this beautiful globe, anyone would live here.
I guess some things aren't easily known.
But I have some time to try to find out. I flew in this morning from Anchorage, with Boatswainsmate Chief Steve Garcia from Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. Our three day mission... to get on as many of the twenty-something commercial fishing vessels here as possible, and bring them in to the safety fold. We are flying back out to Anchorage, weather permitting, late Thursday.
Unfortunately, I do not have the plug-in cable-thing for my digital camera with me, so you have to be satisfied with text until I get back to Juneau on Friday. I have been taking some great pictures, and I look forward to getting them out here for y'all.
The sun came out at Noon, and we had blue sky the resy of the day. The reminder that we are standing on the edge of the Arctic Circle came in the form of a stiff afternoon breeze that blew in, at about 20 to 25 knots, frigid out of the north, seemingly out of nowhere. It lasted about three hours, whipping up the shallow Bering into a white cap froth, and then died again almost as quickly as it arrived. Sitting in my room at the Nugget Inn, I feel something akin to sunburn on my face. Nature is raw...
And light, too. The farther North and West one travels, the longer the day. Right now, at 11:15pm on 22August, it is still light enough outside to read. It is dark down in Juneau, but hey, this IS the end of the world...
One thing I can say about the folks here, they're very friendly. Everyone waves, says hello, shakes your hand while looking you in the eye. It is refreshing, and I'm sure, a consequence of the remoteness and hardiness of the land and those who prosper here. I like it.
Not that I would ever live here, but like a bunch of places I've been, it's cool to visit (and then go home). More to follow-
KML
posted by Ken at 11:48 PM
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