Berrimilla Down Under Mars Status Report 7 July 2008
K: Sunny, sunny Nome!!
The climatological data in the US Coastal Pilot says that, on average, there are only 5 sunny days between the start of July and the end of August in Nome (nearly as bad as Manchester). I guess we’ve been lucky. We’ve had 3 stunners so far and today is shaping up to be another beauty. Off to explore Teller and make our fortunes panning for gold like good little tourists today.
K: Sunny, sunny Nome!!
The climatological data in the US Coastal Pilot says that, on average, there are only 5 sunny days between the start of July and the end of August in Nome (nearly as bad as Manchester). I guess we’ve been lucky. We’ve had 3 stunners so far and today is shaping up to be another beauty. Off to explore Teller and make our fortunes panning for gold like good little tourists today.
Our friends from the Amadino are due in from Dutch Harbour today as well. Will be good to catch up with them this evening and see how their trip went they had a lot more headwinds than our run from Dutch. So now there wil be another mast peeking above the harbour wall in Nome until the ice clears (winds and sun starting to look favourable to start opening the pass at Barrow…)
K.
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 18:09
Microwaves
MJC – the large buildings are the frames for the collecting surface – with a big waveguide on a tower in front. Each building has a doorway and appears to be set up to be lived in – except that the smoke stacks for the stoves that stick out from each have all been shot up and are full of bullet holes…
Doug M – I seem to remember a story of survival following the ‘Italia’ crash and poor Nobile getting the blame for something out of his control.
Gonzales – last year they tested a tracked Humvee at HMP on Devon Island – looked a bit like the old snowmobile.
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 16:11
Nome Backyard Pics
Hmm…something happened to the pics that I just tried to send through with that last blog. Let’s try again…
K.
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 08:26
K: The backyards of Nome
OK. Stuff that people park in their backyards in Nome: very big Chevy and Ford 4×4’s; ski-doos; big snow mobile thingies with cabins; quad bikes; huskies; tinnies (small dinghies with outboards for the non-Australians); hydrofoils (yes, really); antlers; webber bbq’s; wheelie bins; 44-gallon drums; excavators; rusted kids bikes; stolen street signs; dead taxis and any other random machinery that has wandered in by mistake sometime during the last century and settled down to graze.
My favourite so far – the old yellow “snow car”. Does anyone recognise this thingy or know anything about its production history? It has 4 separate treads instead of wheels & looks like front and rear may be separately driven. Mal – reckon it might be a good next car for you when the old Holden finally packs it in!!! Looks to be of a similar vintage to your current car. She needs a bit of work, but plenty of room in the back for bikes, boards and other toys. Stuff that is definitely not found in the backyards of Nome (so far): mondo grass; water features’ slip’n’slides; swimming pools; pergolas; tennis courts or deck chairs. And I know that they’re usually in the front yard, but I haven’t seen a letter box yet…
Climbed Mt Anvil today. Absolutely fantastic. Proper account of meanderings and pics to follow. But right now we need to pack our bombsite of a room to shift to another room in the morning before heading out to Teller. K.
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 08:16
Fwd: Amundsen
PHOTOS
Roald Amundsen made the first flight across the north pole from Spitzbergen to Teller, 70 miles north of Nome some time in the 1920’s in an airship. There’s a magnificent sculpture of his face in Front Street and I’ll try to send a photo with this. The three of us are going on a guided tour to Teller tomorrow as the ice seems firmly fixed up at Barrow for the time being.
This morning, I borrowed a bike from the man behind the bar and rode to the base of Anvil Peak with heavyweight nik. M.B. T. B is a robust 75 or so, with much shorter legs than me, and Nome is flat so he doesn’t use any of his 18 gears above the lowest. Low seat and barely effective gear change made for an interesting ride out of town through the gravel patches and up the 4 miles or so of gentle hill out to the peak. I hid the bike in a bush, then climbed the scree slope up to where the road crosses diagonally and followed that up to the 4 big microwave antennae. Worth the climb. Then I broke all the safety rules and cut across the tundra around the side of the peak and back down to the bike, taking pictures of the lovely, delicate wildflowers and collecting some snow in a bottle on the way. Pics will be on cd posted to Hasta la Speedy tomorrow.
Paul – thanks for the Kiwi advice – I had intended to do the adjustment when Berri was on the hard at RPA but the pitch seemed ok. Could perhaps do with one turn now. Dismantled the gear linkage again by impossibly contorting torso, arms and wrists, but I’m sure it’s ok. The problem is that there is no thump as the gear engages in ahead. Just possibly might be that the pitch is too fine to provide the necessary resistance. I don’t know and neither does John, but we’ll watch it carefully…
Email from Spanish boat Amodina – headbutting the northerlies 2 days ago, 200 miles south and no sign of her yet on the flat calm horizon.
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 07:18
McQ: no relation to Wyatt Earp
Well we arrived in Nome around 0530 on 4th July- Independence Day, no less!!! After breakfast on the boat (scrambled eggs and bacon for Big A, Kimbra and myself and Big A, Kimbra and myself for the ginormous mosquitos!!) we scrubbed and cleaned wee Berri until she positively gleamed inside!! Then Kimbra and I wandered along the high street towards the Aurora Inn (our chosen quarters for the duration) Our amble through town coincided fantastically with the start of the parade, which was a brilliant spectacle and resulted in us carting stars and stripes beach balls, sweets, beads, candy, lolly’s and twirly wind things with us for the rest of our walk!!!
We dropped all our luggage and paraphernalia off at the hotel and headed back out to watch the street games and eat free ice cream at the fire station and got sidetracked in the Breakers Bar on our way back!!!
The Breakers is fast becoming our local here in Nome and also seems to be the favourite haunt of the local tug crews delivering diesel and stuff on barges to here and communities farther north. Hugely useful bunch of people to talk to and the verdict seems to be that we are a little early to get round the top- confirmed by the ice reports… so we wait, with baited breath for the next Canadian and Alaska Ice Forecasts over the next couple of days… if the sweltering heat (yes, indeed!!!) and bright blue cloudless skies over the past couple of days are anything to go by then the ice should be getting less icy by the second!!!! Of course, the northerly winds are a bit unhelpful, blowing the ice south and potentially closing any gaps before they fully can open for us round Barrow… its all exciting stuff!!!!
Kimbra went up Anvil Peak today and I had a quiet day, trying to write some postcards and visiting the museum… Nome is a mental and bonkers place- almost more so than Dutch, quite different but equally nuts!!! There is so much history here to learn about from the Iditarod to the gold rush to Amundsens voyage through the NWP and if we are here for a few days more a second visit to the museum will have to be done!!!
We have decided to take a tour tomorrow with local guide, Richard, to Teller, which is about 70miles north of here… Teller is, amongst other things, the site of the landing of Amundsens successful balloon attempt across the top… It will be particularly awesome to see this for me as two years ago I visited the historic site of the launch in Spitsbergen, which is quite a crazy thought!!! Hopefully we will acquire lots more knowledge and will report back tomorrow evening or the next day… oh and I nearly forgot- he has promised to take us panning for gold!!!! Since fickle and contrary me has decided that I don’t want ot be a king crab fishergirl anymore, and instead a gold nugget prospector, this is very, very exciting!!!!
I’ll try and put some phots up soon if I can…
In the meantime, congratulations and all the best to the parents of: Amelia Lindus, Oscar Russo, Elizabeth Thorogood and Lily Gillard and all other babies that seem to be popping out all over the world at the moment!!!! Lots of love to everyone,
McQueen
Ps Gill and Simmo, hope you have the most fantastic wedding day and I so wish I could have been there!!!! Lots of love to the whole family, Bol xx pps Uncle Iain McQ: I hate it when I waste the port by spilling it on the keyboard too!!! cor x
POSTED BY BERRIMILLA DOWNUNDERMARS AT 03:53
