Each year Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, AK hosts “Arctic Thunder.” This airshow featured the Air Force Thunderbirds flying team. Here are some of the static displays.
F-22 Raptor.
B-52.
In the bombay of the B-52.
C-5 Galaxy.
Looking trough the C-5 Galaxy.
AWACS.
Some fighter jet.
Coast Guard helicopter.
An old crusier.
A little cruiser.
From an aircraft carrier. What’s the Navy doing here anyway?
WWII cruiser.
B-25.
More B-25.
You are not going to believe this, but this really happens up here in Alaska. Every year the king salmon season opens for just a few days. King salmon are supposedly the best tasting and thus rare of the numerous salmon species. Thus, the fishing season for king salmon is tightly controlled. This year’s season opened on a Friday night at 12:01 AM and closed the next Monday at 11:59 PM. Fisherman line up at the choice fishing spots for hours before the opening time and wait until midnight to begin the quest for the giant fish. I went fishing for my first time on that Friday night at 12:01 AM. We fished until 2:00 AM and then quit (only 3 fish caught by 200 fisherman). This is called combat fishing here in Alaska. At this location over 200 fisherman were lined up shoulder to shoulder along a 50 yard beach. When someone got a fish, everyone pulled in their line to let the fisherman pull it in. There is some level of courtesy in the combat fishing world. All of these photos were taken after midnight. As you can see, it is the night of the midnight sun.
Around 2:00 AM a small beaver came swimming up the river through all of the feet of the fishermen. It was luck that it didn’t get snagged by a hook or stepped on.
This is what they are trying to catch - a 40 pound fish. (photo stolen from the web)
This was taken at 12:00 AM - midnight sun?
Combat fishing at it’s best.
Dammit, I hooked my pants.
I guess I figured it out.
Beaver swimming up river trying not to get snagged by a hook.
Denali (Mt. McKinley) is often shrouded in clouds. The mountain is so large that is makes it’s own weather. This was a rare day when the sky was clear. Click below to download a large panorama of the entire mountain range.
That’s the mountain in the background.
Yesterday this mother moose and twins were spotted out front of my place. By the way the mother was walking, these two were hatched the day before. They saw me and then ran into the forest.
Aren’t they cute.
Don’t even think of getting near them.
Let’s get the hell out of here. That guy with the camera looks dangerous.
This last weekend I ran in the Mayor’s Halr-Marathon race. 13.3 miles of treed trails. This time at least there weren’t any moose along the way chasing runners.
Gettin’ crazy along the trail.
Scenic course.
Crossing the finish line.
My friend Elizabeth and I did a day hike to the top of Twin Peaks about Eklutna Lake. Saw a large brown bear on the way. It was good he was a distance away.
It was up hill both ways.
I don’t know what this guy does, but I want to be in this business.
Sounds dangerous.
Chris and I took a side trip to Seward, AK to go on a glacier Alaskan wildlife boat trip. The trip was wonderful. We saw virtually every main animal species you can see in Alaska. Check out the photos.
On the Kenai on the way to Seward.
More Kenai.
Moose.
Leaving Seward.
Dall sheep.
Killer whales
Killer whales.
More killer whales.
Killer whale up close.
Holgate Glacier.
Scott & Chris at Holgate Glacier.
More Holgate Glacier.
Even more Holgate glacier.
Sea Otter.
Frozen on deck.
Rocky shoreline.
Sea lions.
Along the coast.
Humpback whale.
Black bear.
More sea lions.
Seal gull rookery.
Heading back to Seward.
Homer, AK has a large population of bald eagles. They are everywhere. This first photo is at the “Eagle Lady’s” house. She used to feed the eagles everyday causing hundreds of eagles to hang around pooping on everything, getting lazy, and forgetting how to hunt. She was eventually banned from this practice. This lone old eagle is keeping guard on the home front.
Old tattered eagle keeping guard.
Closer view.
Scouring the beach for snacks.
Eying the ocean for a tasty treat.
The Salty Dawg Saloon is a famous bar in Homer, AK. Chris and I visited this establishment and to experience some local color. We were there before the tourist season so only locals were in the bar. It was quite the deal. As the story goes, people would leave money for friends to come to the bar and have a drink. They would write the name of the person on the bill and pin it to the wall. Over time, it became the thing to do at the Salty Dawg, except you would put your own name on the bill, for apparently, a future trip to the bar when you have no money.
Bar built for trolls.
Signed money hanging everywhere.
We left our legacy.
Fredrickson Alaska Road Trip - 05/05/08.
My son Chris was in town so we did out usual road trip. We drove down to Homer, AK which is six hours south. Homer, as they say about themselves, is a little drinking town with a fishing problem. It’s where you go if you want to fish for halibut. Here are a few photos of out adventure.
Homer, way south on the coast.
In the mountains on the Kenai.
Going to the end of the Homer Spit.
Along the spit.
More spit.
This is not an optical illusion. They can get a 32 foot tide here.
Yes, a guy was living here.
On the pirate ship too.
This was disturbing.
This is disturbing on many levels. First, that I was in Fairbanks, AK; second, that I was eating at Denny’s; and third, that this place has a unique identity as the “most” something in the world.
The Grand Slam came with a moose patty.
This is where we beed.
This is the reason we have a gas crisis here in this country. This is a private pickup truck here in Alaska. I know everything is big here, but this is ridiculous. Can you imagine the gas bill to drive this monster?
Six gallons to the mile.
Anchorage had a cool air show. Here are a few photos of interesting aircraft.
UPS 747 open for business.
Waiting to get sucked in.
Under the 747.
Cockpit of a C-46 cargo plane.
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando built during WWII.
That’s some snow removal equipment.
Cockpit of the C-17 Globemaster.
C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.
In most cities a business offering therapeutic massage along with an emotional release would be raided every other week. But in Anchorage, anything goes.
And I can get supplements!
More bumper stickers.
I love the mob.
Going where no man has gone before.
Jesus in a test tube.
“Why can’t we all get along” Rodney King.
Haven’t we been ridden hard and put away wet far too long?
Seen in Wasilla, AK (it’s true).
Slush Cup is a drunken skiing event that happens at Alyeska Ski Resort at the end of the season. The resort digs a swimming pool at the bottom of a ski hill. Costumed skiers shoot down the hill in an attempt to ski across the pond. Some are successful but others set out to make the biggest splash they can. Check out the video.
30 degree water is not for me.
Safety guys in dry suits jump in to “save” the skiers. Swimming with a snowboard doesn’t work.
This guy is going to eat it.
Too cold for me.
Every year at Arctic Man they have a race featuring a combination of skiers and snow machines. This is one of the craziest events I have ever seen. Skiers begin the race on a mountain top several miles away. They first ski down an extremely steep cliff face to the bottom of a valley. On the flat valley floor a snow machiner picks them up with a tow line going 90mph. The machines sling the skiers down the valley to the next mountain top where the skiers let go and launch themselves down into the next valley to the finish line. Check out the movie.
90mph (photo stolen from the newspaper).
This is crazy (photo stolen from the newspaper).
Shooting down the valley (photo stolen from the newspaper).
Finish line. That’s straight down over this cliff.
Video from the race.
Arctic Man is a winter event for snow machine enthusiasts held in the interior of Alaska. It is about six hours from Anchorage in the HooDoo Mountains and is similar to the Burning Man festival held in the Nevada desert. Snow machiners from all over the country congregate, compete, drink, and generally go crazy for a week. It usually gets so wild that the Alaska State Troopers set up a sub-station at the event with mini-jail.
I had only been on a snow machine once before and was given my first lesson which was quite simple. “You have two choices, gravity or horsepower. You make the choice.” Yes I did dump the machine on my first hill, and yes going over 800 - 1000 foot cliffs scared the shit out of me, but I survived to show machine again. Here are a few photos from the top of the world.
In the interior in the Alaska range.
Sunrise on the drive up.
Hoodoo Mountains. We will soon be on the top.
Who let that guy drive?
Snow machiners lined up waiting for the 90mph skier race.
Snow machiners on the mountain top.
Waiting for the race.
On the top of the world.
Sunset on the way home.
Here are some more classic Alaskan bumper stickers.
I don’t get it!
Is there a 12-step program for tape?
WRONG! - Who wants a guy with a little minnow anyway?
Where’s that minnow guy when you need him.
Unique vehicles are not that difficult to find in Alaska. Here are a couple.
What a long strange trip it’s been.
Cilfford - The Big Red Truck. Note the gun rack in the window.
What can a stained Prozac mousepad represent in a person’s life? First, it came from our loving friend Barbi who passed away several weeks ago; second, I gave it to her (it started out clean); third, I am using a similar mousepad to write this post, and fourth I took this photo at her house at the party celebrating her life.
This is a Rorschach test for all of us to look deeply into this pad to see the loving and caring person who left these designs. Barbi is in our thoughts everyday and we will miss her. Our hugs and love go out to Bobbo who will soon learn to find his way in this world without his soul mate.
I see naked women.
On March 27, 1964 (Good Friday) a massive earthquake registering 8.6 on the Richter Scale hit the Anchorage area. This quake was the largest to have ever hit the United States in recorded history, and one of the largest known worldwide. Geologically, the effects were widespread and dramatic. Large areas were lifted up or dropped by several feet, landslides were extensive, ground failure led to large fissures in the ground, and landslides into bays caused tsunami damage thousands of miles away. Luckily, the casualties were considerably lighter than might be expected for a disaster of this magnitude. 115 deaths are attributed to the quake. This relatively low number can be attributed to the sparse population of the area and the fact that the quake occurred when most people were at home.
This photo was taken about forty miles from Anchorage. The tsunami that the earthquake created carried this boat inland and deposited it in the middle of a field. In the years since the quake, no one has been motivated enough to remove it. It has resulted in a reminder of the power of Mother Earth, and makes for a cool photo.
Where’s Gilligan when we need him (and the skipper too)?
It’s not what you think. Some of the outlying areas in Alaska don’t have effective zoning and building codes. Property taxes are paid on property that has completed structures on it. As long as your home is not finished, you don’t pay property taxes. So, as you drive around certain areas of the state you see homes that have no siding, an unfinished roof section, or an unframed garage. This is not the result of running out of money, it is the result of poor taxing regulations. It unfortunately makes many areas of Alaska look cheap and low-class. Here is one home I couldn’t pass up. It was the broken-down school bus in the front yard and the former piece of billboard “Tang” sign used for the wall of the shed (or was it the living room), and a half-built log cabin that got my attention. Across the street from this was a $500,000 custom built home. Diversity has it’s benefits - especially in Alaska.
Had this been in New Orleans it would have meant something else.
In North Carolina size apparently matters. Bigger is better as far as they are concerned - in many areas of conversation.
What are we measuring here?
My car wears a size 84 pant!
Is this the North Carolina equivalent of Mr. Johnson?
