To Dutch Harbor! And back ...

Well, it's after midnight in Alaska, and I should be sound asleep in my stateroom in Dutch Harbor. But I'm in Anchorage. How'd that happen?

Well, I left Anchorage around 3:45pm (Alaska time) and we made TWO passes to land in Dutch Harbor (after a 3hr flight to get there). It was too cloudy/overcast today though, much to my dismay. The first time, we were descending and all of a sudden the nose of the plane rose up and we were back above the clouds. The second time, we got far enough down where we could see the water below us (after descending through clouds/fog where you couldn't see ANYTHING), but I guess they were still having problems. So we headed to Sand Point, Alaska (another new city on my list of places I've been) to refuel and reassess. This was about an hour away. Well, there's nothing to Sand Point but a landing strip and fuel and a few houses on the water, so we refueled and headed back to Anchorage (two and a half MORE hours on the plane) because the weather didn't look any better in Dutch Harbor. See map of Alaska below for Anchorage in relation to Dutch Harbor (farrrrrr left) and Sand Point. Second photo is the view when refueling at Sand Point. Time was about 8:00pm.

 

The puddle jumper plane I was on only has seats for 30, and there were about 15-20 of us on board. About 10-15 of them had tried to make it to Dutch Harbor YESTERDAY and had the same thing happen. They got a free hotel last night and tonight and have tickets on flights tomorrow. I, however, paid for my hotel tonight (which will be reimbursed by NOAA) and am on standby tomorrow. I plan to get to the airport early, but chances are, I'm going to sit around all day ...

I met some nice guys just out of officer candidate school for the Coast Guard - they were on the flight yesterday that was sent back, so tomorrow is their THIRD attempt at making it to Dutch Harbor. I also met one of the female officers trying to get to the Oscar Dyson as well. She is in the same situation as the Coast Guard guys. At least my hotel room at the Puffin Inn seems nicer than the one they've been put up in at the "Executive Suites", considering one lady (who actually lives in Dutch Harbor) did say her towel rack fell off the wall when she hung up her towel haha.

Things I've learned today?
* This is already an adventure!
* I've now been on the scariest plane ride of my life (if this had been Michelle Miller's first flight, she never would have made it back on the plane from Sand Point to Anchorage ...), and I found it very enjoyable! All of these little islands remind me of playing Wii golf and one of the holes where you have to get the ball from island to island haha.

* My photos are in no way doing the beauty of this landscape justice. The left photo is mountains that were so high they were visible through the clouds (no, that's not snow all over the ground).

* I can stay up for over 24hrs and still be cognizant to type this blog post
* The power of prayer is a good thing: I had all of my luggage today!
* Sunsets are still beautiful in Alaska, even if they come after 11:00pm ...

Now, let's hope for two things tomorrow:
1. That I get on a flight to Dutch Harbor that makes it there and lands!
2. That my luggage follows me to DH as well. Apparently there were some people whose luggage was randomly removed from the flight today because we were over weight. Their baggage would come on a later flight. If this happens tomorrow, and I have a late flight, I may not have my luggage before the Oscar Dyson departs port on Friday morning, and then I'll have to make a Wal-Mart shopping spree in Dutch Harbor!