Redoubt Volcano Eruption in Alaska

View west of the east flank of Redoubt volcano and ash-covered terrain from recent eruptions.  Picture Date: March 31, 2009   Image Creator: McGimsey, Game

A Friend Writes from Anchorage on March 30, 2009 (Edited):

Air travel has been spotty and has closed down at times!  A friend who lives here has been stuck in Vietnam for two weeks and is awaiting the all-clear signal for a safe return!

Everyone remembers the almost-disaster in 1989 when a  jet had ALL four engines stalled at 40,000 feet due to volcanic dust!  It was almost certain DEATH for all on board as the pilot dove the plane straight DOWN thousands of feet trying to restart ash-clogged engines  One engine finally ignited and leveled the plane off.  The lives of all on board were saved!  It was horror for all those facing death on the plane!  The plane was a total loss!

We had a fair dusting of ash on Saturday and five inches of new snow last night.  So beautiful!  The ash irritates one’s eyes and throat and gives one a headache.  Wearing a mask and goggles does help!

Machinery including cars must be cared for!  A simple nylon stocking over the air cleaner of the car can do the trick!  Ash in the car’s engine block means a destroyed engine!

Heating systems that intake outside air may not be run because of the ash.  It is still quite cold up here so heat can be a problem for some!  I have in-floor modern heat myself though!

Sunsets and sunrises are beautiful due to the ash in the atmosphere.  Different views for sure!  There are RAPID changes day-by-day.  I’m so GLAD to be here and experience all the adventure, year after year.  The varying extremes over short distances, space, and time are so cool, for sure!

Nature is the GOD!!!

View to the east of the summit crater of Redoubt volcano, heavily covered with deposits from recent eruptions. The near ridge, right of the notch, is the upper reach of the Crescent Glacier on the southwest flank. Picture Date: March 31, 2009 Image Creator: McGimsey, Game

 

 Redoubt eruption column, as seen on the way to Kenai from Nikiski.  Picture Date: March 28, 2009
 Image Creator: Hagstrom-Sanger, Leigh

 

Ash and steam cloud from Redoubt volcano as seen from Cannery Road in Kenai.  Picture Date: March 31, 2009 19:15:00 AKDT  Image Creator: Sutton, Neil

Bike Trip to the Far North

Yukon Splendor by digital agent on flickr.com

April, 1999:

Crossin’ the border at Abbotsford,

Picked out of the short line at Customs,

Emptyin’ saddle bags,

Called inside – Computer check of ID

Bureaucracy, rules, forms, hassle, society

Whad’ya mean “What am I doin’ in Canada?”!

Crossin’ the Fraser River at Hope

HOPE!!!

Leavin’ the Land of Expensive Women and Fast Cars

For the Land of HOPE!!!

Getting’ colder by Prince George

Snowin’

Upper 20’s

Caribou stopping the rare vehicle to lick salt off the road

Hang a right to Dawson Creek

DAWSON CREEK!!!

Where it all begins!!!

The Alaska Highway!!!

Sheets of ice sliding off the bike’s windshield

The worries of the lower 48 sliding off my back

The purity of the cold and the snow fully cleansing

Headed north out of Whitehorse for Inuvik

WHITEHORSE!!!

Where the miners headed north for the riches of the Yukon

Where the bikers head west for the Land that is Surreal

Where the wolves give a biker a startled look as they cross the road

Where hungry bears root grass just feet away

Where eagles with six-foot wingspans glide not that far from one’s head,

THE YUKON!!!

Sittin’ tall in the saddle

Frozen toes

Frozen fingers

Full of warmth inside

THE YUKON!!!

Endless wilderness

Real people

On your own

You know you can make it!

‘Cause you’re on your own!

In the YUKON!!!

In the YUKON!!!

In the YUKON!!!

The Dempster Highway

Gotta get outta town on my bike headed north………..

When feelin’ blue, I always wanna get back to Alaska and the Yukon.

It’s a mindset,

a way of being,

a way of living,

a way of being authentic,

a meditation.

Dirt tracks,

almost no pavement.

The Dempster Highway

Sometimes no people to be seen for 230 miles (the Dempster Highway).

Ferocious wilderness where one can die.

Where one is on his own.

Damn, I loved it up there!

Heavy snow in April.

27 degrees.

The windshield on the bike would ice up at higher elevations. As I descended into the valley, it warmed up, and the ice would come off in one sheet and hit my face mask.

God, I loved it up there.

The Eagle Plains Hotel, Halfway Up the Dempster