Helicopter Flight, Tour of Umnak-November 1st, 2009

As this would be our last Sunday on Umnak, Lonnie said he would give us a Helicopter Tour of the island. I had been hoping for the past weeks to have one more look at Okmok, the Caldera, and today would hopefully be my chance. 

  It was a cloudy day, and Okmok had clouds right on top of it. Lonnie wasn't sure we'd be able to fly into it, but he said there were other things we could look at.

  We flew over the waterfall that Brodie and I had hiked to earlier in the week.

  We flew over some left over ammunition from the war.

  We saw the place where scientists keep some equipment for monitoring the volcanic activity.

  We finally saw the cows, that they are ranching. Some of the cattle are really big. They have very long horns. They are a tough breed, and fend entirely for themselves.

  As we came around the north side of the caldera, we could see into it quite well. So Lonnie said we'd be able to fly in and take a look. 

  At the entrance to the caldera, there are two waterfalls, that are really nice to see. It used to be very green and lush around them, but since the eruption in 2008, everything is now black.

  When Okmok erupted, it blew out the north side of the crater, leaving a entrance in the rim. 

  Inside Okmok there are several volcanic cones, lakes, streams, lakes inside volcanos, and now, at this time of year, lots of snow. It's 6 miles wide, with a large rim around the outside. It's very amazing, and very dangerous. I read on the internet that Okmok has an eruption approximately every 10 years. It erupted in 2008, in 1997, and in the 1960's. I'm not sure what other times in between then. 

  After we explored the inside of Okmok, we flew along the beach, and spotted a glass float, so Lonnie set down so we could take it for a souvenir. 

  We saw more reindeer, the Weeping Wall (a cliff face of many waterfalls), and several other waterfalls. 

  Lonnie then flew us across the Pass, to Unalaska Island, where we went and looked at the wild horses again. We chased them around with the helicopter for quite awhile, looking at them, and photographing them. They sure are a sight. Their wild beauty captures the imagination. 

  We flew back to Umnak, and stopped at a small island to see the seals.

  As we flew back to the ranch we had another look at all the buildings now left to crumble by he Army. Their base on Umnak was quite large. A few thousand soldiers lived there during the war. They built many, many buildings. Mess Halls, barber shops, theaters, pool halls, aircraft hangers, houses, munitions stores, and quanset huts for storing supplies and ammunition. Quite an operation the Army had here. There isn't much left now. Everything is weathered and collapsing. The cabin we sleep in, and the Ranch House are some of the few remaining structures.