Flashback

A nasty bug has invaded my body and made me sick, sick, sick.

So, although there are tons of things that need doing today, I don't have the energy or motivation to move much less accomplish...anything.

This couldn't have come at a worse time (as if there is ever a good time).

Tonight there will be a (first ever) community talent show at school and I am supposed to take pictures. There will also be some guitar music that I've been looking forward to and don't want to miss.

I've heard rumors that there will be a faculty "act" and I've been warned NOT to video tape it.

So...you know what that means, right? :)

I'm hoping that this virus will run its course and I'll be feeling well enough to not only attend the talent show, but grab some photos and (of course) blackmail-worthy video too.

It should be a hoot.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a little flashback from summer involving two of my favorite little guys who are obviously experts at making the best of a bad situation.

What do you do when your bicycle falls apart? Cry? Curse? Complain?

Let these masters of the half-full glass show you...

The Arctic Springs Back!

As I suspected it might, the first day of Spring turned out to be a sunny, blue-sky day and the village was literally bustling with activity.  Snow machines and four wheelers zipped and darted all around, their riders obviously unbothered by a windchill in the negative forties.

And snow removal, which happens year-round to some extent, gets a huge boost this time of year.  Hauling tons and tons of snow from point A to point B is a fairly big job that requires fairly big machinery.

Two slightly out-of-focus ravens supervised today's progress from a distance...

...while two little guys busied themselves with big machinery of their own.

Yep, it's finally Spring!

Cold-Hard-Fact # 3

Anything that can freeze, will freeze...regardless of sunlight.

Could that be Murphy's Law of the Arctic?  

If it's not, I think it should be.

The sun has returned with amazing swiftness and magnitude.  In spite of quite a few blizzardy days, we have seen more blue sky in the last week or so than we've seen since fall.  There is every reason to believe that tomorrow's Vernal Equinox will arrive as a white, eye-squinting splash across the snow-covered tundra, though warmth probably won't be a part of the equation.

In spite of increasing sunlight, temperatures have remained in the negative twenties to forties for, well, weeks and weeks.  And that has presented some problems in the housing department.  It comes as no great surprise to anyone, I'm sure, that plumbing and prolonged cold just don't mix well.

Back in January, one notorious section of pipe running under the four-plex (where I currently live) developed an ice plug.   If you're thinking that this is starting to sound just plain gross, you're absolutely right.   (Lindsay's blog documents January's experience as it occurred).

Last night, unfortunately, the system froze up again.  Ugh!

This is the second winter that this particular section of pipe has frozen and last night, for the second time this winter, we were faced with it again.  Needless to say, this pipe is developing a rather nasty reputation.  After all, having your own sewer back up into your house is bad enough, but having other people's sewer overflow your toilet and gurgle up into your bathtub?

  

That kicks the disgust factor up a notch!  Don't you think?

Now, these pipes are not regular, run-of-the-mill sewer pipes.  They are a part of a specialized system that works on a vacuum controlled by a station centrally located in the village.  The pipes are completely encased in about six inches of heavy foam insulation and have electrical heat traces running through them to prevent ice from forming.  They're designed for the challenging conditions of this region and most of the time they work very well (insert Tim-the-Toolman's grunt of approval here).

(These are the components of the vacuum system that can be seen from outside our building.  The monitor indicates whether or not the heat trace is working properly, etc.)

It's something of a mystery that this particular section of pipe continues to freeze and it's a mystery that will not be solved until summer when the snow is gone, allowing maintenance workers to gain access beneath the building.   

Until then, we try to prevent ice from building up by using hot water and not sparingly so.  Hot water is used for washing all clothes and we are encouraged to wash often to keep a flow of warmth in the system.  I even use hot water when brushing my teeth which probably doesn't make much difference, but I'm not taking any chances!  

Thankfully, we have a great maintenance crew that knows how to handle this recurring problem.  Yes, the coffee creamer can is standard equipment 

(I asked).

They work in collaboration with maintenance guys from the city and use a nifty little machine that snakes down the pipes and shoots hot water into the plugged area, clearing the ice.  








Let me tell you, after breathing the aroma of sewer for a day or two... 

...maintenance guys are my heroes!

Rollagons Revisited

Back in March of 2008, I shared some photos of rollagons that were being used to transport fuel from Barrow to Atqasuk while the fuel plane was temporarily out of commission.

A few days ago, I received an email from an individual responding to the rollagon post.   I am continually amazed by the power of the internet and blogs, in particular, for connecting people, information, and ideas. 

A big thank you to Mr. Blackwell for adding his first-hand knowledge and experience to my original post and for allowing me to share his email with everyone.

Dear Kimberlee,

I was looking for pics of the Rollagon to show my son and ran across your blog. Best pics that I have seen. I worked on the Rollagon back in the ‘70’s at FMC in San Jose , CA. We were building under contract to the original inventor. It was probably the best project that I have ever worked on.
There are a couple of interesting stories that I can attest to being true.

The first relates to the rumor that a reporter volunteered to be run over by one of the original Rollagons. I say original because the first ones did not have the powered trailer, only the back deck. But back to the story – A reporter from the one of the gossip newspapers, I think it was the National Inquirer, did not believe that the ground pressure was less than a human walking on the tundra. The arctic contractor invited him to visit the work area to see for himself. He did and they ran over him. I wasn’t there but our project rep was present and sent pictures back to us engineers as proof. BTW- this same project rep was very safety conscious and always wore steel-toed boots in the shop. He found that they were not so great in the arctic when the steel almost froze his toes.

The other story is one only an engineer could love. The Rollagon used what was called a powershift transmission. It had a clutch for every gear and could run all gears in forward or reverse. This was very fortunate because at the first road test it went backwards when it was supposed to be going forward! It turns out that the drivetrain engineer overlooked the fact that the air bags were driven by a set of rollers as is shown in your photograph. He forgot that forward for the roller was backward for the air bag. Again, it was fortunate that the transmission worked all gears each direction so it was a simple matter of swapping the output direction and all was right again.

One big drawback to the original Rollagon was the lack of cargo space. You can imagine how limited it was as the only cargo space was the deck behind the cab. As a result we designed the powered trailer. This was quite an accomplishment when you think that it had to be coordinated with the front power unit for speed. This was before computer power was cheap and easy. The electrical engineer, Craig Joseph did a masterful job of designing a reliable non-computer-based controller that worked at arctic temperatures. Somewhere in my collection of photographs I have a picture of the Rollagon with the trailer loaded with stacks of 55 gallon drums. Unfortunately, I can’t find it so I was quite pleased to find your pics. Thanks for sharing.
I don't know if you are still in the arctic, the date on the page was almost a year ago.

Don Blackwell

For more information about rollagons, try clicking here or here (scroll down for article).

Cold-Hard-Fact #2

There is a reason they call it frost bite.

Okay, so as I write this our weather is -43 F with a slight easterly breeze of 5 mph. That gives us a windchill of 63 degrees below zero. School was canceled (for students) on Monday because of similar temperatures and today seems to be shaping up the same way.

I always have mixed feelings about canceling school because of low temperatures. We do live in the Arctic, after all. Can we really afford to give up on educating children every time it's really cold? I am one of those teachers who hates to see kids lose momentum and missing a day here or there can definitely lead to a stall. Moments in school are precious and my fingers often have to be pried away from time on task.

On the other hand, I absolutely understand the need for caution. The potential for frost bite, especially with children who aren't particularly mindful of such things, is a real danger. On several occasions I have developed blisters on my fingertips (like the one in the photo) even while wearing gloves! Thankfully, the blisters have healed quickly leaving little more than peeling skin to attest to my pain. Not a big deal compared to some of the injuries I've seen lately.

Forty below seems to be the magic number (click the link for Clare's excellent description).  It's the only common point on the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales.  Barring the escalating effects of wind, forty below is forty below whether you live in Alaska, Canada, Siberia, or even Antarctica.  It's like the Bermuda Triangle of the thermometer.   Once that threshold is reached or crossed, strange things begin to happen to both man and machine.  

A few years ago, the insurance company that covers our school district vehicles declared that it would not continue coverage if the vehicles were used while temperatures were -40 or colder.  So, on the coldest days of the year, vehicles are placed in heated garages, planes don't fly, and if someone feels the need to get out, it's their skin...quite literally.

Meanwhile, dedicated faculty and staff haunt the corridors of an empty school, secretly thankful for the windfall of extra time for getting work done.  And my sister, who lives down around Fairbanks, is out getting video of her own kids experimenting with bubbles at 40 below.  I thought some of you might enjoy seeing one of the weird and wonderful effects of extreme cold.

Cold-Hard-Fact #1

What goes up must come down and sometimes it's a bumpy landing.

I took this photo from my porch about a week ago. Not terrific photography, I know. The light was spare and it was in the -30's at the time, so I didn't spend a lot of time trying to get a better shot.

It always amazes me when I see airplanes this enormous on our tiny, unpaved air strip. I had heard, a few days before, that a plane was blown off the runway while landing, but I hadn't realized when I took this photo that this was the plane.

When I got to work the next day, I asked about it and was told that the airplane I'd photographed was a cargo plane that was hit by a 40 mph crosswind just before touchdown. Remember that really windy day I mentioned a while back? That was the day.

As the pilot attempted to land, the right wing dipped suddenly causing the wheels to edge off the air strip onto softer, unpacked snow several feet below. And that drove the prop on the far-right engine into the ground. Ouch!

My photos were taken several days after the accident, days after tireless crews worked with machinery on-hand to haul the aircraft back onto the air strip for assessment and repair. As I understand it, they used bulldozers to pull the plane and a front-end loader to move/remove the damaged engine.

A big thank you to Mel, our plant manager, for donating the following photos from the airport.

Several vehicles were being used as light sources while the work was going on. I am astounded that they were able to do all of this under such challenging conditions.

Notice the engine sitting on the ground!

Being off the road system, this village depends on air transport for just about everything. This particular aircraft was carrying building materials and possibly furniture. It could just as easily have been carrying fuel, a completely different scenario. Thankfully, no one was injured in the accident. In fact, I don't think the cargo was seriously damaged either.

It seems we were blessed with an uneventful ending to what could have been a tragic tale.

My hope is that we never take that for granted.

I Know How He Feels

It seemed simple enough.

Fly across the road...wheels spinning on packed snow, slide sideways to a full (and very cool-looking) stop at the porch, score some serious candy.

That was the not-so-well-thought-out plan.

Unfortunately, Halloween had one more trick up its sleeve.
In his enthusiasm, this trick-or-treater drove confidently off the road into snow that was
a little too deep,
a little too slick,
a little too...much for his four-wheeler.

While there may be nothing embarrassing about trick-or-treating when you're fifteen,
getting stuck is something else altogether (hence the nervous looking around).



Eventually, a helping hand arrives to save the day...
and maybe a little face.



There appear to be no other witnesses...
except for that irritating shutterbug on the porch!



But getting un-stuck is substantially more difficult than it looks.



Pulling backward doesn't help.
The only way out is
forward.



I can relate.

I know how it feels to be
stuck,
unsure of what to do about it,
and embarrassed that others see me
spinning...my...wheels.

As I press forward,
I’m thankful...for friends
with good timing.

And I'm hopeful that no one around me…
carries a camera.

Every Duck Has His Day

Remember No Spring Chicken? Back in March, I expressed some concern that the playground duck (alias Duck-o-Meter) might meet with a gruesome end come snow removal time. Not only was the duck buried up to its bill in snow, but a fairly large drift had built up around it making it difficult, if not downright impossible, to see.

A few afternoons ago, I was escorting some students out of the school when one of those enormous snow-wrangling loaders rolled onto the playground gathering up bucket after bucket of the slushy white stuff. I realized that this was going to be the moment of truth, so I rushed inside to get the camera.





I have to say, I was impressed with the operator's skill. By the time I returned with the camera, he had already made short work of the drift that had once stretched across most of the playground. It was surprising to see such an enormous machine move so fluidly, almost gracefully, in and around the play equipment without disturbing anything.



As you may have guessed, I have good news. At the end of the day, the duck was still standing...or sitting...or whatever it is that one might do when one's mid-section is attached to a stumpy metal pole.



The lone sentinel has survived to face yet another season of sunlight...



...another season of fearlessly keeping watch without rest or complaint.



And the snow...well...it went into storage, of course.

Spring Cleaning: Method & Madness

Over the course of the year, things can pile up. The process begins gradually and harmlessly enough, but the influx of even small things can be relentless!



At first, you just feel silly for getting a little behind.



Then, before you know it, you're in over your head!



So you start gathering everything together in neater, more organized, piles.









And that helps for a while.
In fact, some people don't even seem to mind the clutter!







But, eventually, life turns up the heat and the pile system...



...just doesn't cut it.



You're left feeling really swamped.



That's when it's time to do some spring cleaning!
So you go through the piles a little at a time...



...gather up any additional accumulation...



...make a clean sweep...



...and dump it all in storage!





And that's spring cleaning in Atqasuk.
All photos were taken during the months of April and May, except for photos #2 and #3. Those were taken earlier in the year. Click on any photo for a larger image or to see more.