Dmsparks's Blog (10)

It has been an exciting and exhausting 8 days. We spent our final day at the Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks. People come from all over the world to feel its soothing (and hot!) waters. It runs about 110F. I tried it but I could only stay in for about 30 minutes total. It drains you but it feels SOO good. They treated us to a farewell dinner of prime rib, salmon, and cheesecake. We thanked all our leaders and headed back to Fairbanks. The long hours of flights back home await me, but I a… Continue

After touring the Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy, we proceeded to Denali National Park. We drove for over 8 hours on a tour bus, but it was worth it. Besides the awesome scenery, we also saw 6 grizzly bears (1 real close--see the video), three moose (including one close up with a baby), a fox, lots of snowshoe hare, a golden eagle, and caribou. Check out the photos and videos. I'm really tired, but I have a lifetime of memories from the park. Continue

Today is the summer solstice and it is the longest day of the year. In Alaska the sun is up also all day anyway, so they call it the midnight sun. After hearing a few speakers and working on some energy lesson plans, we visited the Midnight Sun Festival, which is a big deal in Fairbanks. There was street dancing, lots of food, local art, and even a petting zoo. I captured a video of some native dancing. Very interesting?!? I decided to head back early and get some rest. Tomorrow, we are off to D… Continue

We finally made it back to Fairbanks after an 11-hour bus ride. I took a few pictures along the way, but nothing too exciting. We start back in the morning with a talk by the PI for ATEEC and the College of Science President from UAF. I saw a raven and got him on video making a strange noise. I also taped the helicopter from Toolik Field Station taking off and landing. We stopped at an arctic information center in Coldfoot and I bought a few maps and other junk. I am ready to come home, but we h… Continue

It was a long trip, but we finally made it. We took the four hour (and very bumpy) trip from Toolik Lake Field Station to Deadhorse, AK. We saw a grizzly bear on the way, from a distance. We also saw a caribou up close and a few herds on the way. We were picked up by BP and we spent the rest of the day on their property. We saw oil wells, learned about the Alaskan pipeline, and their environmental record. Mr. Streever is their environmental expert, and he is a smart guy. We learned a lot. We mad… Continue

What a long day! We left at 6:00AM and drove until 6:00PM. Along the way, I saw a moose, fed a squirrel, saw some mountain sheep, stopped at the Arctic Circle, and drove through some beautiful mountain ranges. God knew what he was doing when he created Alaska. It is so beautiful in the summer time. We are on the other side of the Brooks Range, which is much flatter and cooler. We also crossed the Yukon River and followed the Alaskan Pipeline up the Dalton Highway. It was long ride and quite bump… Continue

We met today for an orientation. By the way, ATEEC stands for Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center. I found out this is their 13th year. They usually have it in Iowa, but Dr. Brown is on sabbatical here for the spring semester. He helped with all the planning. I also found out they just received their renewal from the National Science Foundation for 4 more years. We found out about the projects we will build using Google Earth. More about those later. We then went to a place called… Continue

We meet at 1:00PM today, so I explored a little. It is so beautiful here. It is in the low 70's today with a little breeze. I walked with a few of the ATEEC Fellows to eat Breakfast at Sam's Sourdough Cafe. I had the steak and egg feast-chicken fried steak, two eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, and coffee. I was so full I could barely walk back. I got to see a little of the UAF campus. It is a nice campus with lots of natural areas and landscaping. I will write back later. Check out the lat… Continue

What a day of traveling! I went from Central time (Shreveport) to Eastern time (Atlanta, GA) to Mountain Time (Salt Lake City) to Fairbanks (Alaska Time). They have their own time zone! It is 3 hours earlier than Queen City. We left Salt Lake City at 8:50 and it was still light. It stayed light all the way until we got to Fairbanks (after midnight). I tried to sleep on the plane, but I was too excited. The sun never set the entire flight. It was a beuatiful sunset at midnight! I flew over Canada… Continue

I am a little excited and a little scared, but it looks like I will be leaving Saturday, June 16 from Shreveport, LA on my way to Fairbanks, Alaska. I am checking the weather and it looks like it will be in the mid-30's Monday through Wednesday of next week in Prudhoe Bay, so I better take some winter clothes. It will be so weird to leave here Saturday at 85 degrees and be near freezing by Monday. I will try to post every day or so, so keep in touch.

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