Panoramic view of the False Pass Small Boat Harbor this morning, facing north in Isanotski Strait

A gorgeous sunrise to greet me in False Pass, Alaska

4 shot Panorama of the village of False Pass (Isanax̂ in Aleut)

Spring travels continue

If all goes well, I will travel from Akutan to False Pass via the Alaska Marine Highway System on the MV Tustamena.  Below is a photo I took of the ship when it came into Akutan 2 Saturdays ago.  My trip to False Pass will be this coming Saturday, 5/28 departing at 0545am heading West and arriving at Dutch Harbor at 0915am.  The ferry docks there for the day departing at 1600pm then heads back East back to Akutan for an hour before proceeding to False Pass arriving on Sunday around 0645am.  That will give me the day in Dutch Harbor to do some shopping and have lunch which will be nice.  I've never been on a ship like this so I'm really looking forward to this experience.  I will be in False Pass for 2 weeks then will head to King Cove for 2 weeks before I go home for my R&R.  I anticipate being able to take some decent photos on the ferry of marine wildlife then I should have plenty of time at my next 2 destinations for more photos.  This will be my first time in False Pass and King Cove, adding to the long list of Alaska communities I've been to.  I still hope to get back to Adak at the end of July or August as well.  Gotta love Spring and Summer in Alaska!

MV Tustamena

Pen Air's Grumman Goose coming in for a landing

Goose splash down!

Alaska State Trooper vessel Stimson docked at the Akutan dock

View from Akutan Harbor.  Trident's Safe Harbor Church on the left and the dock in the distance.  

Akutan Island (Akutanax̂ in Aleut) is an island in the Fox Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska

Sea Otter, 10 May 2011

Red Fox at Sunrise, 11 May 2011

Found some fresh water

The following photos were taken in Adak, Alaska in the first few days of March 2011

Please be sure to click on each photo to see the full size high-res image.  I believe it makes for a more pleasurable viewing experience.  Thanks for looking, comments are welcome and please share the link to my site if you wish.  I have some photos that I will post later today that were taken in Akutan, Alaska so check back later.

 

Heart Lake

Heart Lake and Mt. Moffett

Sunrise

Amazing how the colors can change once the sun actually becomes visible.

This photo is the winner of the ADAK TU telephone directory

When viewing the full size photo, you can just see Alaska Airlines 737-400 Flight 160 on it's final approach to the Adak Airport.

Nice weather 2 days in a row!

Mt. Moffett. 02/18/11

Shagak Bay Sunset from atop White Alice

On the same horizon, just to the right of the above sunset beyond Shagak Bay
is Kanaga Island Volcano.

As if the daytime weather wasn't nice enough we had a full moon as well.

Adak Island full moon over Kuluk Bay.

Kuluk Bay full moon rising.

Adak full moon lighting up the night sky at approx 22:30

Went for a walk this morning to Lake Hood here in Anchorage.
The lights in the distance are from the Ted Stevens International Airport. 

The point of view is looking South and the temperature is about -10 f.

The following is from a recent Facebook conversation.

Dave: Good for you. Laying down is the worse thing you can do. Stand up and face forward. Lash yourself off to something if you get sleepy.

Me: Laying down was the only way I (and the others) got through it. Imagining that I was on the longest roller coaster ride ever. Standing up was not an option. In fact, I learned that urinating in a boat's bathroom in 30 ft seas requires a great amount of balance, bladder control and impeccable timing, lol.

The beginning of the end of the beginning of my Akutan Adventures

There have been no planes into Akutan for 2 weeks.  The winds have been ridiculous with gusts upwards to 60-70mph.  The odds were getting slimmer and slimmer that there would be a plane to get me out of there before Christmas.  The incoming provider arrived a few days ago on a tug boat hauling a barge to the Trident plant on the other side of town.  Then yesterday I got a phone call from a safety guy for the plant.  I met and had dinner with him last week.  He told me to pack and be ready because at the crack of crack a.ka. 0200am, I would have an opportunity to hitch a ride on the F/V Amatuli that was charted by Trident to pick up some higher-ups to get them out of Akutan to Dutch Harbor.  I accepted the challenge with Meclizine in hand (anti-puking pill).  Myself and 11 other guys sprawled out on any floor space we could get to lay down in 30 foot seas for about 6 of the 7 hrs!!  Yup, 7 hours!  But we made it to Dutch safely and though I'm exhausted and have a killer headache, I'm happy that I should indeed, barring any other natural catastrophe, be home for Christmas.  I have to wait all day here because I'm one of the lucky ones that has a confirmed seat on Pen Air out of here, all other seats on their 4 planes a day are booked through Sunday.  But I do have to wait in Anchorage starting tonight until Saturday before I get to begin the remaining 3500 miles home to Florida.  I should be home by Sunday.  I miss my kids so much, I just can't wait to get home.

Akutan, Alaska

After 7 full days of waiting in Dutch Harbor, I finally arrived in Akutan.
It's a small, very pretty village with a near by large Trident Sea-foods processing plant.
There are no roads, only boardwalks just wide enough for quads or the like to drive on.

This is a small mirror on the right wing float of the Goose sea plane. I thought it was a cool view where you can see the front of the plane.

Leaving Dutch Harbor

Arriving in Akutan

Window view of town

Splashdown!

I'm not sure how old this sign is but I doubt the population count has changed much

Russian Orthodox Church

5 shot Panoramic view of the village of Akutan

3 shot panoramic of Akutan's small boat harbor

The view just outside my door of the Bay View Hotel