Back in March, Kyle got to go to Alaska for work. Work, in this case, was a radio propagation experiment involving the
HAARP. The plan was to fly to Anchorage, then drive to the HAARP site and to Valdez in order to learn how to set up antennas and associated equipment. Then Kyle would go back to Anchorage, then on to Juneau to set up another antenna. Throughout the final week they would spend time taking data from the various parts of the state. Below are some of the photos of Kyle's journey.
As with many things, not everything went according to plan. Kyle's flight out of Boston was delayed, so he missed his connection in Minneapolis. That might not normally be that big of a deal, but the next available flight to Anchorage wasn't until the next night at 9:30pm. However, this delay did give him a chance to see the Mall of America and visit this huge Lego store:
He did manage to get out of Minneapolis that next night and landed in this beautiful state:
 |
| Driving from Anchorage to HAARP |
 |
| Driving from Anchorage to HAARP |
 |
| Antenna site at Thompson Pass, near Valdez. |
 |
| Valdez |
 |
| Looking roughly south, near Juneau - taken from the roof of where Kyle spent the week working. |
Kyle had no complaints about the view. From the roof where Kyle was working, he could often see whales (humpbacks, probably) and sea lions out frolicking in the channel.
Kyle also got to spend a day hiking around Mendenhall glacier with another scientist. He had seen Mendenhall back in 2008 during a cruise with his family, but this time he was able to spend a lot more time in the surrounding area. The hiking was pretty treacherous as the trails were still covered in ice. The other hikers on the trail were wisely wearing crampons.
This sign was inside the visitors center right behind the fence in the picture above. So sad.
After the last day of the experiment, Kyle drove north out of Juneau and came upon Eagle Beach. Kyle loved this area. It was extremely peaceful, the only sounds were waves and the honking of geese. There were a few bald eagles, too, one of which startled the geese.
 |
| Eagle Beach -- north of Juneau. |
 |
| Juneau |
Overall it was a good trip. Some science was accomplished and Kyle enjoyed some beautiful scenery.
He did manage to get out of Minneapolis that next night and landed in this beautiful state:
Kyle had no complaints about the view. From the roof where Kyle was working, he could often see whales (humpbacks, probably) and sea lions out frolicking in the channel.
This sign was inside the visitors center right behind the fence in the picture above. So sad.
After the last day of the experiment, Kyle drove north out of Juneau and came upon Eagle Beach. Kyle loved this area. It was extremely peaceful, the only sounds were waves and the honking of geese. There were a few bald eagles, too, one of which startled the geese. 
0 comments:
Post a Comment