Deadhorse

Over the past thee days I took a trip with a few other guys up to Deadhorse, AK which is where all the oil fields are in Prudhoe Bay and is also adjacent to ANWR, the focus of the debate on further oil drilling in the Arctic. While I can't advocate either drilling or no drilling on this forum, I will say that actually visiting the place would change lots of people's minds. Deadhorse is about 500 miles north of Fairbanks and the road is mostly unpaved and in pretty miserable shape all the way up. But, the drive was well worth it, especially when traveling through the Brooks Range, which is every bit as beautiful as the Alska Range near Denali. Highlights of the trip included 2 flat tires, finally spotting a grizzly, honking at caribou to make them run, and wading in the Arctic Ocean while it's a balmy 32 degrees. All in all a pretty great 3 days, even if most of it was spent in a car. Plus, there was full daylight the entire time. Bad for camping, great for driving and seeing stuff.

This is the Yukon river, which I believe is one of the longest rivers in the world.

The official tundra rainbow.

Caribou are surprisingly dumb. There's a big herd right outside Deadhorse, so they are around people alot. These jokers liked to stand in the road and only move when we honked the horn at them. One especially bright group decided to run in front of the car when we honked to get another group out of the way. Fortunately no caribou or vehicles met any harm, although they were pushing their luck.

"Sunset" 200 miles above the Arctic Circle. The sun never actually dips below the horizon up there this time of year. This picture was taken about 2:30 am.

Parts of the Brooks Range.

One of the guys spotted two grizzlies on a side road while we were heading up the Dalton Highway. By the time we got turned around onto that road one of the bears was already in the brush but we managed to get some shots of this one. Neither of them looked full grown but they were still huge.

Yours truly mean-mugging at the official Arctic Circle marker.

There's a name for this rock formation but I forgot what it is.

"...not north but North, outland and circumscribing and not even a geographical place but an emotional idea, a condition of which he had fed from his mother's milk to be ever and constant on the alert not at all to fear and not actually anymore to hate but just- a little wearily sometimes and sometimes even with tongue in cheek- to defy..."

-William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust

Frago

Had to cancel the Denali trip because one of my guys got shot (can't give any details here). Apparently Iraq is a much safer place for some people... Any way, a trip to the North Slope and the Arctic Circle is in the works, hopefully nothing happens to that one.
Happy Birthday to everyone who's birthday is on June 19th. If I could give a natural sense of direction as a gift, it would be in the mail.

"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them."
-Thomas Jefferson

Missing the Darkness

At this point it's officially light all the time. There's still a sunset and sunrise, but those do not translate into anything more than a couple hours of dusk. At 2:30 in the morning on Saturday it was probably just as light as at 7:30 or 8:00 pm back in SC, and that was the darkest part of the day.
Next week they're giving me a cadet intern from West Point so he can learn about what Infantry LT's do. What he's going to learn is how to use PowerPoint, Excel, and Word plus he'll have authority to answer email. End state for that week will be me not touching the computer. It should be the best week ever, until July when another victim arrives to do our dirty (read office) work.
Yesterday I decided to start assigning essays to soldiers who display a lack of discipline in addition to all the corrective training meted out by the NCO's. If any of them are exceptionally bad they might get posted here for the entertainment value. The first one is due Tuesday.
Planning on going to Denali next weekend, more pictures to follow. Above is a funny looking bird from the last trip, I call it a tundra rooster, but it probably has an actual name.

"…the source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material but spiritual, and, because it knows no limitations, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those who would enslave their fellow man."
Ronald Reagan

Knuckleheads

A while back, John Kerry got into hot water for his comments implying that people who end up in Iraq are uneducated and can't get any other job. While I in no way agree with anything John Kerry says, does, or thinks, there are a few knuckle draggers who make the rest of the Army look bad. This week's activities working for Uncle Sam involved punishment of soldiers who do stupid things like drink and drive and beat their wives. Discipline issues are by far the most painful and stressful part of the job because it creates extra paper work and takes time away from training. Thankfully there's good NCO's around who come up with painful solutions to discipline problems.
On another note, this video is pretty funny. Probably one of the best baseball manager temper tantrums ever.
Friday's edition of the Federalist Patriot featured this tribute to a Clemson Alumni and World War II veteran who just passed away:
"Another warrior from the “Greatest Generation” departed with honors this week. Mitchell Forrest Simmons was 89. He was born and raised in South Carolina. Upon graduating from Clemson, he joined the Marine Corps and attained the rank of Major, after leading assaults at historic battles on Guadalcanal, Peleliu and Okinawa. Mitch conducted his life as an offering, indebted to his Creator, rather than living life as if it were owed to him. He lived to go, not to stay. He fought the good fight and he kept the faith. I knew Mitch since I was a child. He was a great American and will be missed by many, especially his wife, Fran, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren."
Lastly, it was good to see that an American now holds the world hot dog eating record. Go USA.

"Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases." -John Adams