Pentagons!...uh...Rollagons!

Hey, they do exist! I actually caught sight of two rollagons at the fuel station earlier this evening. They are in the process of transporting diesel from Barrow to Atqasuk because there is no fuel for the plane that usually makes the delivery. One of the drivers told me that they were completing their sixth of thirteen trips out to Atqasuk this week. Wow! I guess it’s not a terrible trip. Barrow is only about 60 miles northeast of us, but I’m not sure how fast they are able to move, especially carrying fuel, a potential hazard on the tundra.

I wish I’d been able to ask the driver more questions, but by the time I finished taking pictures of the rollagons from every conceivable angle, my face was so cold that I was having a hard time getting words to come out right. I hope he didn’t think I was TUI (talking under the influence)…that’s an embarrassing thought.

A couple of days ago someone told me that the tires on a rollagon are actually soft and pillow-like. There is supposed to be a photo or advertisement somewhere that shows a woman lying on a beach being run over by a rollagon without physical damage or discomfort to her body. I asked the driver if the tires were actually soft and pillow-like. He looked at me blankly for a minute. Then his mouth curled into one of those you-poor-gullible-soul smiles and he said, “Uh…” So, I’m guessing that would be a no.

One of the trickiest anomalies of the Arctic is conflicting information. Equally reasonable and seemingly knowledgeable people can have two entirely different perceptions of the same event and pass on mutually exclusive information as indisputable fact. It’s often a challenge to determine if something I’ve heard is actually true or just true enough.

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After seeing the rollagons for myself, I realized that the description found here describes exactly what you'll see in these photos. (and the photo from the previous post is not)

This is the first one that I saw. At this point, it had just passed up the entrance to the fuel farm (I'm not sure why) and was about to back up.

Here's the second one as it turns in toward the fuel station where it will begin unloading diesel into the tanks.

In this shot, one of the drivers is hooking up the blue hose that will transfer the fuel from the truck to the fuel farm tank.

If I am understanding the article correctly, the rollers are what move the tires. And the pressure of each tire can actually be controlled individually by the driver without leaving the cab!

When I walked around to the far side of the trucks, I noticed a spare tire wedged in beside the tank and below the trailer there was yet another tire attached to some sort of arm that looked as if it could extend outward. When I read the article about rollagons it mentioned a "fifth set of tires installed under its cargo dock. That difference raises the vehicle's payload capability by 15,000 pounds, to 45,000 pounds." I'm thinking that must explain it. Anyone have a better theory? I'm open to ideas. This is the Arctic, after all. Our explanations don't have to be actually true...just true enough! :)

I took several more photos, but won't attempt to share them all here. If you would like to see more, just click on a photo and that will send you to my Flickr account.

Kid Quote

4th grader: Kimberlee, did you see the pentagons?

Me: Hmm. Which pentagons?

4th grader: The ones on the tundra.

Me: There were pentagons on the tundra?

4th grader: Yeah. I saw 'em.

Me: You saw pentagons? I don't know what you mean. Why were there pentagons on the tundra?

4th grader: I don't know. They just came.

Me: You mean like aliens left them there?

4th grader: Noooo! (giggles)

Older/wiser 6th grader: Not pentagons! They were rollagons!

4th grader: Oh, yeah, rollagons!

:)

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I hadn't seen the rollagons, but I'm keeping my eyes open. They are traveling back and forth from Barrow, something to do with the fuel farm. This is the first time rollagons have been to Atqasuk in over six years. I'm really hoping to catch a glimpse.

Click here for more info:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/print/122407776.html

A Few Good Eggs

I did a little reading about Easter eggs and learned some things that I hadn't known before (click here for Wikipedia's entry). Although decorated eggs are clearly associated with the celebration of Easter, they aren't directly tied to any authentically Christian observance. There may be a connection with early Christianity's roots in Judaism, but it's more likely that Easter eggs are one of those traditions that came to be accepted after-the-fact, an add-on that became popular and simply "stuck." None of that was really a surprise to me. But what I hadn't heard before is that one of the possible reasons for eating eggs at Easter time is that eggs, like meat, were not eaten during lent. Since chickens didn't stop producing there was quite an overstock by the time Easter rolled around! What a mundane beginning for such a playful tradition!

There is even a tradition associated with the beginning of lent called Pancake Day which served to use up eggs by mixing them into crepe-like pancakes a few days before the season began! This practice is still popular in many countries around the world. That sounds like fun and given Americans' fondness for food I have to wonder why it never caught on here. Maybe it's not too late!

Bright colors and creative designs are always a visual delight, but the real value of an egg is found beneath the painted veneer. Each egg is endowed with potential for sustenance or new life and that is the treasure worth protecting.

Sound familiar?

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Here are a few of the "eggs" in my basket...aren't they beautiful?