Final Days in Dutch Harbor

We are wrapping up our final days of survey in Dutch Harbor.  I have been lucky to be busy this winter and happy to be working in a place as pretty as Dutch Harbor.  Back in 2006 I spent a week or so doing GPS survey work here as part of my graduate research.  During that visit to Dutch Harbor I spent lots of time hiking and exploring as it was summer and I had a rental vehicle.  This trip has been very different, as all of our nice weather is spent working on the water.  Yesterday it was far too windy to work so I decided to bundle up and go for a hike.  The hike to the top of a nearby hill was very rewarding with expansive views, fascinating World War II relics and interesting geology.

This visit to Dutch Harbor is also different from grad school as I am not on a grad school budget.  We are staying in a nice hotel and eating good food.  But honestly, most of best meals are eaten on the boat.  Our captain is an amazing cook and has prepared for us everything from crab to rotisserie chicken to lamb stew.  Whenever the weather allow it the captain will start up the charcoal grill on the back deck and spend hours preparing us a fabulous "lunch" which is often served late in the afternoon.

Its been a great job, but I am ready to go home and see Molly.  Its been 6 weeks since she left for Seattle which is the most we have spent apart in the winter for a long time.  If all goes well, I we be back just in time to join Molly at the alaska anthropological association conference in Fairbanks.  

King salmon cooked on the grill

Bering Sea scallops also cooked on the BBQ grill

Snowy mountains near the survey area on rare sunny day

WWII bunker on a hill overlooking Dutch Harbor

Overlooking Dutch Harbor