3/6/05 Instead of having people walk distances on the order of a mile in bitter cold, the university runs these shuttles.  They're like, really a good idea, 'n stuff.  :) However, they are not run in the most . . . efficient manner possible.  (I remember the director of ARSC (The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center) calling their number--MORE than a little miffed about an "unsheduled, unannounced break.")

      There are two shuttle that make the "West Ridge" run.  They are supposed to be "out of sync"--such that, one only has to wait (at most) 15 minutes for a shuttle.  However, the reality . . . here they are, side by side, with the drivers chatting with each other.  When they saw I was taking their picture, the outer shuttle quickly drove off---the inexplicable power of the camera. . . .  All that said, I feel almost guilty about putting up this bit---as the bus drivers are just about the nicest peeps yer' ever gonner' meet (I'm serious.).

      3/7/05 This didn't really come out at all (I have *got* to get a better camera!!!!)--but here is a shot of a "mirage"--the mountain turning over on itself in the sky.  This phenomenon is what gave rise to all the legends of "fairie cities" in the far north---the unique weather conditions up here, give rise to mirages--that defy description.

      3/9/05 BEAUTIFUL dawn-lit, low-lying clouds with a crappy "digital zoom." I have *GOT* to get a better camera!!!!

      A true piece of "Alaskana." :) There's this REALLY BIG dude--that hates winter--that won this really big lawsuit against the pipeline peeps, 'n stuff.  He decided to do something interesting with his circumstance. . . .

      He built an "ice tower"; he built a HUGE ice tower---by pumping up gazillions of gallons of water during the bitter cold of an Alaskan winter.  This thing is SOO big, that one can see in for miles---it's an odd sight: seeing it poking up above a mountain covered with taiga.  :) By the way, this thing fell at one point; the article in the local paper (the Daily News-Miner) ran the headline, "Gravity Happens." :) Also worth noting, is that, in July, as I write this, there is still some ice on the road---this guy has created SOO much ice, that he is approaching making his own glacier.  :) :)

      (Proofreading this--in April of 2008 (!!!!)--I think I don't actually mean to say "road," above.  However, just what I do mean to say, I can't remember. . . .)

      I'm sorry that these pictures are so crappy (even more so than my pictures usually are :P ).  I was in a hurry to take these--and ended up fighting against light conditions--as a friend of mine (in Upstate New York!) had just written me about a national ariticle (as in, this thing, like, made the "national news," 'n stuff) about this thing, 'n stuff.  Oh, by the way--he's the webmaster of this page, 'n stuff.  :) :)

      The scale of this thing . . . just boggles the mind. . . .  (!!)

      3/9/05 A Man and His Bulldozer. :) This is a picture of a friend of mine from my Church---and his bulldozer!  :) He got it for free, as it was stuck out in the woods.  He owns and operates a machine shop out on mile 15 of the Steese Highway, and is in the process of restoring it (the bulldozer, that is :) ;) ).  Some guys have all that fun.  -Way to go, Bob! :) :) :) :)

      3/31/05 This has got to be one of the best-kept secrets on campus: This is the basement of Mather library, in the International Arctic Research Center.  It has to be the best place to study---on the entire campus.  I almost always have the entire floor to myself.  And, being the only building on campus built with private funds--a gift from the emperor of Japan, to a one Dr. Shin Akasofu (!!)--it is also the best.  :) The air is always sweet, cool, and well-humidified.  Ahhhh. :) -Now why do I not spend more time there? Mysteries abound. . . .

      Oh, and this building was also shown in "Hot Times in Alaska"--a science program, with Alan Alda as the host, 'n stuff.  I wish I could have met him.  (They kept his coming a very closely guarded secret---to keep him from being, like, mobbed by peeps (some of them probably very much like me :) ), 'n stuff.) Alan Alda is one of the very few peeps in Hollywood that I have any respect for whatsoever---and I have no small amount of it [respect] for him. . . .

On to more Alaska pics.