The Ranch House

  The Ranch House is the main building where everyone else is. The Kennedy Family lives in their own section of the Ranch House. There are 6 Ranch Hands who live in the back end of the house. 

  There is a main kitchen area where the cooking is done, and everyone gathers to eat, and visit. Off of the kitchen area there is a pantry, a small bathroom, and a porch/cold storage area for storing food. 

  Down the hall there is an office, a workshop area, and the entrance to the Kennedy's portion of the house. 

  There is a common area with couches, chairs, a TV, movies, video games, and a wood stove. Everyone hangs out here, or in the kitchen. 

  Everyone has a laptop here, so usually when people aren't working they are on their laptops. 

  In the Ranch House everything must be shared, and people need to get along, as the 15 of us are the only people out here at Ft. Glenn. Everyone does get along, and it makes me think how Reality TV shows are so dramatized and made up. I have lived in a "work camp" situation a few times in my life, and I have to say that everyone usually makes the effort to get along and keep the peace. If people don't quite see eye to eye, usually everyone keeps it to themselves, as best they can.  

  We have met some very good people out here. It is a very different way of life, to live in such seclusion. 

  The only other inhabitants of Umnak Island, are some of the natives, at a small village on the other side of the island, called Nikolski. The village of Nikolski is very old, and apparently is the oldest and longest continuously inhabited village in North America. 

Our Cabin

  The cabin we are staying in is an old Army Barracks Cabin from WWII. It's one room, plus a bathroom. It's so nice that we have hot water now. It would not have been a very pleasant stay without it. We would have had to share the one shower with everyone else up at the Ranch House. And there are already quite a few people that have to share it.

  I wonder how many soldiers had to share this cabin during the war? From what I read at the museum, the men were very cold during the winters. There are no natural trees on these islands, so no wood for fires, other than driftwood from the beach, or other heating fuel they may have brought here.

  We have a propane heater, and one electric heater to warm our cabin. If the walls are insulated, it is not very thick. It gets pretty chilly in here at times, especially on windy days. I'm glad it is not winter yet. 

  We were nervous about the propane heater, for carbon monoxide poisoning. But we have felt no ill effects, and this cabin is plenty drafty, so lots of fresh air gets in. I'm not worried about CO1 anymore.

  I spend my afternoons out here, and work on my laptop, while Brodie takes his nap. Except sometimes the internet doesn't work very well this far away from the main house, so that can be frustrating.

  At night we all cuddle up on the bed together, and watch a DVD on the laptop screen. The three of us slept in one bed for a few nights, but Brodie wiggles too much. So now I sleep on a mattress on the floor. It's cold down there, but at least I have some room, and Brodie can have some room too. He kicks Josh in the night.

  The power out here is supplied by a generator, which gets turned off at night. The sound of it starting up in the morning is our alarm clock.

The Project, Progress up to October 16th, 2009

  For those of you who don't know, the purpose of this trip is not a holiday, but for Josh to build a "cabin" for the Kennedy family who lives here. Except it's not so much a cabin, as it is a small house, which is being added on to an existing building. 

  Josh really has his work cut out for him. He's been working really hard. He has a lot to try and get done in a month. Thankfully the weather has been pretty good since we've arrived. Everyone says this is the longest stretch of nice weather that anyone can remember for around here. 

  There are a few shipping containers full of supplies and materials for the house. Typically some of the things one wants or needs aren't there and Josh has to improvise. 

  Some days some of the Ranch Hands help with the building. Art, who we are becoming friends with, has been helping Josh every day. He works hard, and the two of them get a lot accomplished. 

Helicopter Flight to Umnak Island, October 9th, 2009

Finally, the sky has cleared, the rain has stopped, and the wind calmed down. Today we will get our Helicopter ride to Umnak Island. 

  After breakfast we went to the Hanger and loaded up. Our suitcases went in pods on the side of the Helicopter. As we waited to depart, the US Coast Guard Helicopter took off. It was a pretty impressive Helicopter!

  We were very excited to be getting a Helicopter ride. 

  On a quick side note, you can see the runway in one of my photos, and how the mountains, and water are right there.

  We took off, and now that the sun was out, what a beautiful sight Dutch Harbor was. We got the ariel view of where we had drove the day before.

  As we left the town behind, we were treated to views of some fantastic scenery. Mountains, with streams, rivers, and waterfalls coming out of every crevice it seemed. It was so neat flying between the mountains. I felt safe in the helicopter, now that the weather had improved.

  We saw Mt. Mukushum, a volcano, and then we could see the Bering Sea. 

  We saw a few old shipwrecks, and we flew over a place where some planes had crashed in WWII. 

  Lonnie took us on a bit of a tour of Unalaska Island. From the air we saw the free range cattle, and some sheep, that belong to a guy named Art, (we meet him later). 

  We saw an old dock left over from the war. 

  The really spectacular sight, my favorite, was the wild horses. There were large herds of them running free. Lonnie chased them with the helicopter a bit so we could watch them run. What a sight!

  Then we had to cross the pass, to get to Umnak Island, Fort Glenn, our final destination. As we flew toward Umnak we could see Mt. Tulik, a volcano, and a big slab of rock in the ocean they call Shiprock.

  We had a little look at our island. There was lots of blackness, volcanic ash, and aftermath from the volcano which erupted in the summer of 2008. Lonnie and his family were on the island and had to evacuate when it happened. Their accounts are rather frightening. I sure hope it doesn't happen again.  

  The land is recovering nicely from the eruption, but Lonnie's wife says it's not as nice and lush as it was. Perhaps with more time it will be again.

  We landed, in front of the cabin we'd be staying in. Then set to work. Josh had to install a hot water heater for us, so we'd have hot water. After considerable frustration, searching for parts, and tools, he had it working by nightfall. I was very happy for that. 

Dutch Harbor, October 8th, 2009

We awoke to a very rainy, windy, stormy day. Lonnie said he would not be taking us in the Helicopter today. It was miserable. 50 Kt winds, 6 Ft seas, fog, rain, and generally poor conditions.

  We went for breakfast, and then wondered how to spend the day. There is not a whole lot to do in Dutch Harbor, except for hard work. Not too many forms of entertainment.

  There are lots of fishermen of every sort. It seemed crab fishing season was just starting. The crab pots were stacked up high everywhere you looked. For those of you who watch The Discovery Channel, the program "The Deadliest Catch" originates here. We met camera men while we cruised around, and we saw the boat,  the "Time Bandit", from the show.

  Dutch Harbor has the regular community, store owners, businesses, etc. Then there are the fishermen, who live and work on their boats, and then the canneries. The canneries have their own housing for their workers, and there are lots of immigrant workers. 

  There were ships and boats everywhere to look at. Huge boats that catch, and process their catch on board. 

  The locals are allowed to sustenance fish, which I think is nice. 

  We went to the Hanger after breakfast, and Josh helped Lonnie put the Helicopter away properly. Then we went to the Ship Supply Store, to buy some proper rain gear, and rubber boots. 

  Afterwards we went cruising around, looking at the town, the docks, boats, and listening to Lonnie's tour guide of the area. 

  After we completed our driving tour we went to the Museum of the Aleutians. Took in some of the history of the area. A large Russian influence, of course, with them being so close. The Russians traded with the Aleuts, and to this day many of the natives have Russian names. 

  WWII was the other big historical thing out here, and there were many stories about that. 

  After we visited the Museum of the Aleutians, we visited the War Museum, and read many accounts of wartime on the Aleutian Islands, including the island we are bound for, Umnak Island, Fort Glenn.

  Lots of interesting stories, I wished I could remember them all. I could only take about half of everything in, Brodie required supervision of course. Touching the artifacts, and all around causing me stress. He's been a very good boy, though.

  We had run out of things to do in Dutch Harbor, but it was supper time, so we ate, and then went back to the Hotel. We shared some beers with Lonnie, and told stories.

Flying to Dutch Harbor, October 7th, 2009

  Try again today to fly to Dutch Harbor. 

  We got up, and had a few hours to kill again. We went for breakfast, then sat around waiting. Then Tom took us to the airport, again, and we waited around some more.

  Finally at 2:15 we were able to board our plane. It was a flight operated by PenAir. It was a smaller plane, it held around 50 people, I think. They were quite particular on the seating arrangements as to the weight distribution. 

  We took off, and flew to a place called King Salmon, where we landed to get more fuel. Then stopped again at Cold Bay. Apparently on these flights they stop to refuel often because there is the chance that upon arrival to Dutch Harbor, if the conditions happen to be bad, they turn around and fly back to Anchorage. Apparently this happens frequently. We hoped and hoped that this would not happen to us. The flight was supposed to be 3 1/2 hours long, so to turn around and have a 7 hour flight, and not even reach the destination did not sound like fun at all. Especially when traveling with a 19 month old who had already had enough of airplanes.

  I was pretty nervous of this flight, as the runway in Dutch Harbor was described to me as a  a very short runway, a spit jutting out into the sea, with mountains and ocean on both sides. Often foggy with bad weather as well. 

  We did our best to enjoy the sights on the flight. We could see volcanos and mountains reaching for the sky. Parts of the flight were clear and nice, until we reached Dutch Harbor.

  It was foggy, and raining, and the waves on the ocean looked pretty big. The plane rocked, and bounced, and I was very scared. At times we couldn't see anything. Then suddenly the plane was descending, there were mountains on both sides, and the plane was bouncing hard. Brodie was laughing like it was a carnival ride. I was scared to death. 

  The plane hit the runway, and hit the brakes, HARD. Once our hearts settled down those of us who must have been praying said "Thank you". 

  The fisherman, and the Fishing Boat Captain said that was a typical landing. And they still don't care for it either, even though they have done it many times. 

  We collected our baggage, and wondered what to do next. The Fishing Boat Captain offered to help us, but we said we'd be fine. 

  The rain was coming down hard, the wind blowing, but we were just glad to be in one piece, and to have all our luggage show up at once. (There was the chance it wouldn't come until the next day)

  As Josh went to find a pay phone, Brodie and I waited outside the airport. Then Lonnie, our Helicopter pilot, arrived. 

  There was no way we would go any further that night, so we found a hotel, then went for supper. 

  Then we went back to the Hotel with Lonnie, and got acquainted.

  

Anchorage, Alaska October 6th, 2009

  We awoke fairly early, so we got up and decided to look around. We were due to fly out to Dutch Harbor at 2:00, so we wanted to see a bit of Anchorage before we had to leave.

  Our Hotel was right near Lake Hood, where the most Float Planes in the world are. So we went for a walk to the Lake. It was pretty neat. Josh really liked checking out all the planes. It was nice because you could walk along there and look around, it wasn't all fenced off like things usually are.

  We went for coffee, then went for a long walk into the city, to kill time, and to purchase extra diapers. We must have walked 3 miles or more. 

  After finding the diapers we flagged down a cab to take us back to the hotel. We were tired.

  We checked into the airport around noon. As it was a domestic flight there weren't the usual security checks to do. As we waited for our flight, we could hear the talk and chatter of the other passengers, who were mostly crab fisherman bound for Dutch Harbor. It sounded like our flight would not be going. 

  We waited and waited. 2:00 came and went. Finally at 3:00 they announced that our flight was cancelled due to weather. Apparently it was stormy, and foggy in Dutch. We were disappointed that they took so long to announce it. Especially when it seemed everyone knew we would not be flying out, but we had to sit there and wait anyway. Most of the day was gone, no time left to sightsee.

  Tom, the Hotel Shuttle Driver came and picked us up again, and took us back to the Hotel.

  After checking in again we went to see what we could do.

  Deanne, at the Hotel Front Desk, gave us some ideas, and told us how to catch the bus.

  As we waited for the bus, a lady named Leanne drove up, and asked us what we were doing, and if we'd like a ride downtown. We were shocked. No one is this nice, out of the blue to strangers! We gladly accepted and off we went.

  I have to say that our whole experience in Anchorage was very surprising. The people there were VERY friendly. It is often said that Canadians are friendly, but these people are wonderful. It had been a long time since we experienced such kindness from strangers. 

  Leanne gave us a short tour of downtown Anchorage. She said she would have loved to be a tour guide if it paid better. It was too late to visit any tourist sites, so she drove us to a nice resturant for dinner. She said they had great food, and window tables with a great view. She was right. Thanks Leanne!