Star Trek DS9: Onto Season Three /  by Mark

The third season begins…

  • …with the two-parter "The Search". In a misguided attempt to improve the show, Sisko returns to the station with an experimental ship, the Defiant. It was built to fight the Borg but then mothballed. The Feds managed to get the Romulans to loan them a clocking device--and an officer to go along with it. Now the cast can run more conventional Trek ship missions--they start with a search for the "Founders" in the Gamma Quadrant, and hopefully defuse the whole Jem'Hadar issue. Sisko bullies Quark into joining them, but then he almost immediately decides to return--the whole script seems like it was written by a committee. Odo makes quite a fuss when a new security officer arrives, but I don't see why--if I was Starfleet, I would be nervous about Odo too. He starts to obsess about a nebula--as if he had a homing instinct. During a battle, he grabs Kira and a shuttecraft. They find a rogue planet with a lake of goo--it's others of Odo's race, and they greet him warmly.
  • Part Two begins with Sisko and Bashir on another shuttle--they abandoned the Defiant. Dax and O'Brien manage to find them, and learns that the Dominion and the Federation are writing up a peace treaty back on the station. Meanwhile, Odo is trying to understand his new race, and is getting frustrated. He then gets some "Changeling" history from one of the others, and we get some "Changeling After Dark" action. Back on the station, the Federation is making plans for an alliance with the Dominion, the Jem'Hadar are running roughshod over the station, and the Dominion are taking over the Bajoran sector--and the wormhole. Sisko and the crew are being reassigned--so they go rogue and destroy the wormhole. Odo and Kira finds the crew all safe and sound--the whole thing was just a simulation. It turns out the Changelings are the Dominion! Odo rejects them and joins our heroes back at the station.
  • Quark's wackiness meets Klingon mumbo-jumbo in "The House of Quark". The Ferengi accidentally kills a Klingon at the bar, and ends up in an arranged marriage. Googly-eyed Klingon leader Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) guest stars, as does Mary Kay Place as the scheming widow. Meanwhile, Keiko loses the teacher gig (families are moving off the station due to the Dominion), and Miles wants to cheer her up. The solution is a botanist job on Bajor, which also provides an excuse for Rosalind Chao appearing so rarely on the show (only 19 episodes all together).  Seems like they needed a cheap episode to counter the costs of the two-parter.
  • Dax's history catches up to her in "Equilibrium". Dax's normally serene character gets a chance to be hostile and confrontative in this episode. She also has some hallucinations that reminded Mindy of a Doctor Who episode involving masks. The whole thing turns into a medical drama--will Jadzia lose her symbiont? We do get to see the Trill home world and hear more of her back story. Trills (the symbioses, not the hosts) apparently breed in weird underground pools. The whole thing turns out to be a Trill conspiracy involving a murder and a botched joining. The fix is to send Jadzia into the weird pool to "absorb" a lost host.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Closing Out Season Two /  by Mark

Let's wrap up the second season of Deep Space Nine--

  • It's a trip to a parallel universe for Kira and Bashir in "Crossover". They dropped into the "Mirror, Mirror" universe from TOS--you know, where Spock had the goatee. Mirror Kira is in charge of the Terek Nor station, where the "Terrans" are slaves. Nana Visitor wears a black catsuit and overacts at a Shatnerian level. Speaking of him, our Kira learns how James T. Kirk got Spock to preach reforms--and got the Empire overthrown by the Bajoran/Klingon/Cardassian alliance for his efforts. It's strange how everyone in the Mirror universe knows about the Kirk incident--seems like they would have kept it a secret. Garak is Kira's lieutenant, Sisko is a collaborator, Quark is still a bartender (but got caught for helping the Terrans), O'Brien is a simple maintenance man, and Odo is a slave overseer. Mirror Sisko helps them back to the normal universe. We'll see this universe again several times in the series.
  • Kira gets another big role when her boyfriend Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim) needs her help in "The Collaborator". He's about to be named Kai, but he's accused of being--well, a collaborator with the Cardassians. There's a lot of Bajoran mumbo-jumbo, dream sequences, and political machinations. Louise Fletcher as Vedek Wynn is like a viper--always scheming. Bereil is no saint either--he sacrificed a group of Bajorans to save many more (the needs of the many…)--or did he? Turns out he was covering up for the recently deceased Kai Opaka. He steps down, and Wynn is the winner.
  • Miles' wartime past catches up to him in "Tribunal". While on vacation (who needs a vacation in the 24th century?), Miles gets nabbed by the Cardassians and is tortured--all because an old buddy (John Beck) uses him as a patsy to help the Maquis. Rosalind Chao gets the biggest role she's had for quite a while. We learn a lot about Cardassian justice--trials are pre-determined, in order to be "efficient". Odo steps in to save him--he still has clearance from the Cardassian occupation. It turns out that his "buddy" was a Cardassian spy, and they use that to spring Miles.
  • Finally, it's the season finale--"The Jem'Hadar". They are the soldier class of the mysterious Dominion, and they nab Sisko and Quark while on a (misadvised) trip with Jake and Nog to the Gamma Quadrant. Like all multipart episodes, there's a lot of fluff. Quark worming his way onto the trip. The arguments around the campfire. A mysterious telepath. The annoying Nog character in general. There's also a recurring character--Morn--a silent alien barfly at Quark's--with a recurring joke that he will eventually speak. I assume the name of the character is a take on Cheer's Norm. Back at the station--the Jem'Hadar arrives, telling them Sisko is being held for questioning, and to stay on their side of the wormhole--they wiped out a Bajoran settlement there just to make the point. Replacement Captain Keogh (TV veteran Alan Oppenheimer) arrives to take command. There's a space battle, Sisko's rescue, and the destruction of a Galaxy-class ship. TIme to get ready for the big battle--dunn-dunn-dunn…

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Season Two in the Homestretch /  by Mark

Ka'Plah!

  • It's Klingon old home week in "Blood Oath". Three Klingons from the original series--Kor (John Colicos), Kang (Michael Ansara), and Koloth (William Campbell) meet at the station to plan for a final mission. Dax accompanies them, since she knew them in one of her former lives. The big question--how did these three change from the swarthy aliens of TOS to the bumpy-heads of TNG and the movies?
  • We get another two-parter in "The Maquis". There's political intrigue, sneaky aliens, long boring dialogue, and an uneasy alliance between Sisko and Gul Dukat. He gets kidnapped, so Sisko takes Kira and Bashir to save him--it doesn't go well. The finale is a showdown in space. This is the first appearance of the Maquis terrorists, as well as the "Badlands" which will later be the site of the Voyager premiere. Bernie Casey guest stars as an old Starfleet buddy of Sisko's, and Bertila Damas as a mysterious Vulcan woman.
  • Tailor/spy Garak is under the weather--or is it an addiction?--in "The Wire" (not the one in Baltimore). It's "Lost Weekend"--in SPAACE! Garak trashes the infirmary--why didn't Bashir have him under restraints, like anyone going through withdrawal? Bashir and Garak finally have it out, and we learn more about Garak's backstory. Paul Dooley guest stars as a Cardassian intelligence officer. In a subplot, Dax needs some help with a sick plant, and we get a McCoy callback from Bashir--"I'm a doctor, not a botanist". 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Past the Halfway Point on Season Two /  by Mark

Making progress...

  • O'Brien (who's getting a LOT of screen time lately) and Sisko find that "Paradise" isn't what it's all cracked up to be. The episode is similar to TOS's "This Side of Paradise"--except this time it's megalomania rather than weird plant spores.There's also a prison/slavery motif. 
  • Dax and Odo team up to investigate missing persons at a remote colony in "Shadowplay". The missing villagers turn out to be variables in a really big holodeck. There's not much to the storyline, so they add subplots with O'Brien teaching Jake life lessons, Kira and Bareil bickering and canoodling, and Bashir keeping an eye on Quark. The little girl in the episode (Noley Thornton) also played a guest role on TNG (in "Imaginary Friend").
  • Dax tutors a Trill trainee in "Playing God". There's an appearance by a "Cardassian Vole" (what looks like an ugly puppet)--they are infesting the station. How do they get up there in the first place? While we do learn some more about Dax's backstory, she is saddled with a goofy story about "subspace seaweed". The trainee is played by Geoffrey Blake, who's spent the last 20 years in minor and guest roles.
  • Quark gambles on love in "Profit and Loss". I think the producers finally realized they were making Quark the comedy relief on the show, so this episode gives him a bit more texture.  Mary Crosby aka the answer to "Who Killed J.R.?" plays the love interest under badly done Cardassian make-up. The episode ends up as a Casablanca knockoff--"look, you're getting on that cloaked ship..."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Even More of Season Two /  by Mark

Continuing on...

  • There's a con artist on the station (Chris Sarandon), and when he meets Quark, they become "Rivals". There's also a goofy "future sport" sequence with O'Brien and Bashir. Really, nothing major happens in this episode--just a "day in the life" of the station and a bizarre device that is never explained.
  • Odo finds out more about his origin in "The Alternate". We don't find out how Odo can shapeshift into objects and animals perfectly, but can't figure out human ears. James Sloyan--you've heard his voice on Lexus commercials--guests as the scientist who worked on Odo originally, and he wants Odo back. This episode is filled with technobabble, and we get some 90's-style CGI to show Odo's transformations.
  • Bashir and O'Brien star in "Armageddon Game"--message coming in! They're helping an alien race get rid of biological weapons, and terrorists show up to wreck the party. I noticed that people on the station spend a lot of time ordering and eating food in the Promenade--don't they have work to do? Keiko gets a great scene when she thinks Miles is dead, and the boys bond while they are hiding out.
  • O'Brien gets a second chance to shine in "Whispers". Is everyone on the station against him, or is he dangerously paranoid? Of course not--"O'Brien" is a replicant, assigned to stop peace negotiations. The real O'Brien is fine. We get a lot of narration from "Miles" throughout. At one point, O'Brien asks the station's computer if there are any telepathic communications--how would the computer know?

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: More of Season Two /  by Mark

After a long delay, finally getting back to Deep Space Nine. I'm going to try to stay away from describing the plot and just write snarky comments...

  • More Ferengi wackiness in "Rules of Acquisition". Quark can be an interesting character on his own, but get a group of Ferengis together and--blechh! There's also a whole Yentl thing going on--a female Ferengi poses as a male (their society is completely controlled by the males). Finally, we get the first mention of "The Dominion", who will become a major player on the show.
  • It's DS9 noir in "Necessary Evil". Odo's the private eye, Quark is the flunky--there's even a macguffin (a list of names associated with a five-year old murder) and a femme fatale (a glamourous Bajoran "widow", played by Katherine Moffat). We also learn how Odo became a "constable" and when he first met Kira and Quark--all via Odo's Raymond Chandler-esque narration.
  • After cameo roles for a while, our supposed star--Sisko--gets an episode in "Second Sight". On the fourth anniversary of his wife's death, he finds a new love (Eureka's Salli Richardson-Whitfield). Or--is she--a GHOOOST?? Nope--just a garden variety "psycho-projective telepath" (technobabble at it's finest). Needless to say, the romance doesn't end well.
  • Refugees arrive from the Gamma Quadrant and demand "Sanctuary"--and I have some questions. Question 1: when the refugees' ship is in peril, and they are beamed onto DS9--why beam them directly to the bridge?  Seems like a terrible security posture. Question 2: initially, the universal translator has problems with the new language of the refugees. How exactly does the translator work when there's no equipment involved?  Does it somehow alter the sounds waves in the air? Question 3: Doesn't veteran TV actor William Schallert have something better to do?

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Alaska Day 12: The Journey Home /  by Mark

Mindy awoke around 9a, then woke me up--we were out for 12 hours, which is unheard of for us. I guess we needed the rest. Some hurried ablutions, then out to the car. Stopped at Pick 'n' Save to get tissues and Pibb Zero (my favorite diet soda, and not available where we live). The supermarket had gastronomic quotes on the walls--one of the few times I felt the need to take photos at a supermarket. Grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Panera's--like a high-end Mickey D's.

On the way, we stopped at the Iron Skillet Truck Stop at Racine for gas--and kringles, a Danish delicacy and a childhood memory of Mindy's.  Like most car trips, the rest of the day was uneventful.

I really enjoyed this trip, despite the (minor) disappointment with the aurora. I did a number of things I probably would never have done otherwise, got to spend some quality time away from work and with my wife, while also getting away from technology. 

Back to normal blog entries next time.

Beard Day 12. I'm thinking I'll keep it.

Alaska Day 11: Four Characters in Search of an Airline Gate /  by Mark

It was a long flight day, starting at 1:40AM in Fairbanks. Alaska Airlines decided they weren't getting enough of our money, so they charged us $25 per bag, despite the fact that they didn't charge us on the way into Alaska. Their "partner" American Airlines explained that the carrier for the first leg of a flight decides where to charge or not. I guess they are partners with benefits.

Our journey took us from Fairbanks to Seattle to Dallas to Milwaukee over a 12 hour period. Fairbanks is a TINY airport with a total of 6 gates, at least one of which is used by the oil companies to ferry their employees. Dallas is just way too big--had to take a monorail from one gate to another, and of course this was our shortest layover. The incoming flight spent about 20 minutes driving around the place after landing, which didn't help. I was too incoherent by the time we reached Milwaukee for me to remember much of anything. 

Mindy's sister Amy picked us up while I went to pick up our car from the hotel--there was a comedy of errors as we attempted to do this efficiently, as often happens. We went out for pizza after we found the Mexican place was closed on Sunday, then we crashed at the hotel.

Beard Day 11: Looking particularly hobo-like in the middle of our flights.

Alaska Day 10: Long Days Journey into Flight /  by Mark

Mindy woke up at 7:30, and we got a last opportunity to enjoy the hot springs. We're going to look for other hot springs for future vacations. I noticed the top of the shower door is below my sight line--at first, I thought maybe people were shorter when the lodge was built, but the architecture screams the 70's.

(Fun fact--Greg Brady? Five foot two. The sets were built like dollhouses to make it look normal.)

Last breakfast at Chena--omelette and a pancake. Mindy packed us up, and we took the shuttle back to Fairbanks without issue. Mindy found another dogsled race--this time, a sprint race at the Musher's Hall. We got there just in time to see the last sprints of the day, which included a moose on the track (not sports slang--an actual moose on the track). He got out of the way just in time for a musher to make it through. We had a meal at the local brew pub, then back to the hotel to hunker down for the shuttle to the airport--7 hours later...

Beard Day 10. Look for this same shirt tomorrow.

Alaska Day 9: Mush! /  by Mark

Awoke at the crack of 9:30. Quick shower, then breakfast at the dining room (bacon, eggs, toast, home fries--hey, it's a vacation). We managed to get in the 11a trip to the "ice museum", a permanent building made of ice. There's a shell around it with an evaporative cooling system to keep the ice solid in the summer. There are two world-class carvers on site, and they have several permanent installations there--themed bedrooms, an igloo with an ice-xylophone, a wedding chapel, and a ice bar with martinis--you can keep the ice glass. The museum is kept at 20°, so we went to the room to warm back up.

Later we bundled up for that day's big event--a ride on a dogsled. The Bettles dog sled tour (which we skipped) ran 1-2 hours, so when we heard the Chena tour was 15 minutes, we started to feel gypped. However, the actual event was just the right amount of time. We got a running commentary from the musher, who was right behind me--we were all on the same sled, smushed together. I got some great video of the tour...

 

Before dinner, we geeked out at the Geothermal Tour. Chena is off the electrical grid, so they use the heat from the hot springs to run turbines which power and heat the facility. They also power and heat greenhouses where they grow produce served at the restaurant. We also took a quick side trip to feed their pet goats (not used for their milk--yet).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had salmon at dinner, then another trip to the hot springs--this time, Martha came along.  We were bushed by that time, so it was lights out early. Then, around 1a, we got a knock on the door--the lights are starting! (how would you like that job--running to each building like a cosmological Paul Revere?) We wrapped up and went over to take a look. While it was a little better than what we saw in Bettles, I still think it's mass hysteria. We hung out for an hour, then called it a night.

Beard Day 9: Bundled up for the day.

 

Alaska Day 8: Off to ChEEna /  by Mark

65°03' N, 146°03' W--Chena Hot Springs, AK

Slept in today, then took a long shower and had a big breakfast. Mindy took some time doing laundry while we waited for the shuttle to the Chena resort (with a long E). We found a restaurant across the street that was actually open, with a proprietor who was gregarious to the point of desperation--it was a little creepy.

Then back to the hotel and the shuttle van for the 60 mile trip across ice covered roads--there were storms in November, and when it's this cold, the ice doesn't go away until late spring. We saw two moose on the way. The resort is what you might expect--a cluster of rustic buildings in a valley. We checked in and found two rooms with their own bathrooms and even a TV--yay! We also signed up for various activities over the next two days. George is still a bit under the weather so Martha, Mindy and I went over to the hot springs (Martha just wanted to look). There are indoor pools, hot tubs, and then there's the "rock pool" with a sandy bottom--all of which use the mineral waters. You have to cross through a sheltered walkway to get to the outdoor pools--I wish we had brought flip-flops. They warned that you would get dehydrated (the waters leach your toxins) and they were right--I was woozy for a few minutes afterwards. I guess I have a lot of toxins.

 

We hung out in our rooms, then it was time for the "aurora snow coach".  Imagine if a tank and a shipping container had a baby. We took a very bumpy 30 minute ride up the mountain trial--Mindy described it like one of those virtual simulator rides without the virtual. I felt like I was in a paint mixer. Then we moved over to the yert--yes I said yert--a 30 foot in circumference tent with a raised top. We hung out there from 10p-2a, hoping to see the aurora. I chatted with a retired advertising exec, did some reading, and dozed a bit. I also availed myself of an outhouse--suffice it to say there was steam involved. It was overcast the whole time, so no northern lights. Back in the snow coaches for the return trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, today's score: 

  • Rode a new form of transportation - check
  • Sat in a new type of building - check
  • Got to see the aurora - sorry, but thanks for playing 

Beard Day 8: I've reached hipster stage.

 

Alaska Day 7: Return to civilization aka Fairbanks /  by Mark

Up at 7:30a. We hear there were "spectacular" lights around 2:30 last night, but I'm taking that with a large grain of salt. Breakfast is apple waffles and reindeer sausage. We pack up, then go over to the old lodge to pick out some things from the larger gift shop there--Arctic Circle t-shirts and toques.

Some laying about, then lunch--potato soup and beer bread. More chatting with the guests--they are impressed with Mindy and Martha's prowess in cooking (as I always am). We hear that the next group consists of 19 Asians with a couple of guides, although not the ones we were with previously--it will be a full house, even using the older lodge. Then, we hear we will go out on the 4p plane later in the day. So, more chatting and laying about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sven, the dogsled rider and guide, drops by and does his shpiel--he's the Henny Youngman of Bettles, and is apparently fluent in Japanese.

We wandered back over to the visitors' center, and Martha bought a small musk ox plush. She and Mindy have mentioned how expensive musk ox wool is--I would guess so, since they are all in the wild. Apparently, the fur from their bellies comes off in the undergrowth, and is collected that way.

We finally leave at 4:30 for a one hour flight, saying goodbye to Hazel (the manager) and Anna (chief cook and bottle washer). Flight is uneventful but pretty. Two planes were needed to clear out the place--at one point Mindy ominously texted "I think someone is following us". Waited at Wright Air Service for the hotel shuttle--30 minutes later, a cab arrived to hold all six of us (Sarah and Gavin were with us) as well as our luggage. Apparently, the hotel shuttle is down for repairs, and hotel management has never heard of renting a replacement. We got ourselves wedged in and made it to the hotel, only to find that Fairbankians (Fairbankites?) have dinner at 5p, after which the restaurants close. We got a pizza place on the phone and 90 minutes later we were eating. "Fairbanks--Bring Your Own Food!" 

Beard Day 7: Running out of beard references.

Alaska Day 6: Still above the Arctic Circle /  by Mark

Woke up around 7a--Mindy was already up. Made myself presentable. George has a sore throat. Breakfast is bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast.

We suited up (including George) and went out to learn how to snowshoe. The hardest part is getting them on--it takes another person (who preferably isn't already wearing a pair) to strap you in. We were all expecting a variation on tennis rackets, but like all sports, it's all EXTREME and day-glo metal. The actual walking part was easy--think walking in huge flip-flops--but exhausting. George and Martha dropped out quickly (I thought it was game of them to attempt it at all) while Mindy and I and another midwestern woman went down a trail. We went about 10 minutes more, thought we might get lost if we went further, and turned back. I was drenched with sweat by the time we got inside.

Lunch was a salmon burger and bean soup. After some rest, we went over to the visitor's center run by the Park Service. Ranger DaleLynn told us that the "Gates of the Arctic National Wilderness Park" is the second largest in the system--8.4 million square miles, no roads, structures, trails, or paths, formed in 1980 due to the pipeline. We watched a Nova video on the park--kept falling asleep after the morning's exercise. Went back for a nap, then dinner--chicken and pasta. 

We thought we would get another nap, but then someone shouted--lights!  We rushed around, got our gear on, and ran out to see--not much, although there was definitely something there. Some people were oohing and ahhing in what had to be positive thinking or hallucinating. We went back in to wait for better lights--at least it was clear. A second attempt yielded about the same level of success in about half the time. We hunkered down in the lodge, checking every half hour or so. The guy running the weather station dropped in--he works midnight to 8a, and downed two mugs of coffee while taking back two more in cups. He had just come in that day with a new snowmobile, dragged behind another one on a sled. He's got another one still at the depot, 30 miles away--you don't want to be without transportation here. Mindy went to bed, and I checked in with her every hour until 1a, when it became clear we had seen what we were going to see--imagine a rainbow going from horizon to horizon, then turn the rainbow dark grey. Well, we will get two more chances in Chena.

Beard Day 6: Me am clean shaven (comic book joke).

Alaska Day 5: Above the Arctic Circle /  by Mark

66°54' N, 151°31' W--Bettles, AK

We went to bed too early last night, so we were up by 5a. Some signs the the dog sledders were near, but not at the finish line yet. We packed (well, Mindy packed) for the next leg of the trip. There's a 40 pound limit on the plane, so we consolidated and left two bags at the hotel--we'll be back.

We went down to breakfast, then I thought we should have the coats handy for when the mushers came in. Of course, I saw flashes from our room's window for the first place finisher while I was doing so. We ran out and saw his team leaving the field--then it was time for the shuttle.

We were told to be there by 9a to check in at the airport, and the shuttle was on the hour, so we arrived to find Bettles Air Service closed. The others were dropped off at the airport proper, then we returned--no luck. Mindy went over to see what the hours were, and found the door unlocked. So, we hung out until the staff arrived--they thought it was an afternoon trip. We also met Sarah and Gavin, a young couple from Australia on a long trip. Mindy played in the snow with the son of one of the staff while we waited.

Then, we were off in the 6 passenger Piper. We loved this--I rescind my comment on the train, THIS IS THE WAY TO TRAVEL. Took lots of pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Took about an hour to get to Bettles Lodge--35 miles north of the Arctic Circle. A cozy lodge with multiple structures and a very nice staff. We went through a quick orientation, then got our winter rental gear worked out.

A quick lunch (soup and a sammich) was followed by a tour of the facility--we took a van around with two dogs that alternately rode inside or raced beside us. Bettles is there because of the airstrip--a combination fueling stop and lodge. It's owned by the federal department of transportation--as soon as you leave the road, you're in surrounding Evansville. Everything they need comes via air or the ice road--the latter only available a few months a year.

A nap followed, then dinner--pot roast, rice, and Asian slaw. It was time to fully bundle up for the bonfire. It was -11°F when we exited the building, but with the exception of the part of my face that was uncovered, I was fine. The weather did not cooperate--clouds moved on. We hung out by the fire until 11p, then I stayed up for an hour past that before crashing. Mindy kept checking every 90 minutes--no luck seeing the Northern Lights tonight.  Maybe tomorrow.

Beard Day 5--Flintstones, meet the Flintstones...

Alaska Day 4: Fairbanks! /  by Mark

We got to sleep in--well, 7:30, since the time change is playing havoc with our rhythms. Big breakfast in the lobby--Mindy made herself a homemade egg mcmuffin. Then we suited up and took a walk. We had made major plans (and acquisitions) for the weather--multiple gloves, balaclavas, heavy boots, long underwear--and so we managed to handle the bone chilling cold of...wait for it...17° F.

Where's the cold? Reports say that Alaska is seeing 20% of normal snow, and some of the qualifying trials for the Iditerod dog sled race have been shortened or cancelled. Fortunately, there's a trial ending in Fairbanks--just outside our hotel. It's supposed to end the next morning, so we'll listens for cheers in the middle of the night. 

While we waited for that, Mindy and I walked over to the visitor's center and got this pic.

Did I mention the Asians? We met them--about 50 of them--on the train, and they ended up at our hotel. They have a full-sized bus at their disposal, and they travel in a group. They seem nice but apparently speak no English.

Shockingly, there wasn't a lot going on in Fairbanks on a Sunday, so we mostly hung out at the hotel, except for a trip to a restaurant via taxi. We also packed for tomorrow's flight...

Beard Day 4--surprising how fast it went from actor perma-stubble to the ol' prospector.

Alaska Day 3: All Aboard! /  by Mark

64°50' N, 147°43' W--Fairbanks, AK

Another early morning. The hotel wasn't great, but we had a surprisingly good continental breakfast there. Then a two minute shuttle to the Alaska Railroad station at Anchorage. This is the way to travel--plenty of room, a dining car, and great views on the way to Fairbanks.

Went through Wasilla--saw neither Sarah Palin nor Russia. We're on the lookout for moose--when someone shouts "moose!", everybody rushes over, usually too late. Mindy coined "moostyria" for the phenomenon. Suddenly, a herd (well, five) moose appeared. Martha spotted them-she really wanted to see wildlife on this trip, so--check!

Dining on a train is interesting--4 cars worth of people want to eat in the single dining car at once, so Mindy and I scouted it out and saw a table empty out. She grabbed it and I tipped off the in-laws. Sandwiches were pretty good. 

Took more pics, this time of mountains and landscapes. You generally have .0001 seconds to snap it before your view is obscured by trees; speaking of them, here's where Christmas trees go after the holidays...

Reached Fairbanks around 8p local time. Our hotel didn't seem to remember that a TRAIN FULL OF PEOPLE arrives once a week, and thought a small van would suffice. Mindy got them to send a taxi with a driver who seemed to be from the cast of Gomer Pyle USMC--nice guy.

The hotel apparently hosts a lot of sports teams, to the point that the posted a sign in the elevator--"no horseplay or jumping". Their restaurant was hosting a bridal shower with My Super Sweet 16 of Fairbanks--short skirts and skin tight dresses--so we did takeout then crashed. 

Tomorrow we will end the day in the same place for the first time. 

Beard Day 3--I'm sporting the perma-stubble all the movie stars have.

Alaska Day 2: Like Flying in a Cattle Car With Wings /  by Mark

61°13' N, 149°53' W -- Anchorage, AK 

5 AM came early, but we had to get up and ready for the shuttle. Milwaukee's General Mitchell airport is okay, but most of them are rather generic. I took some pics--see if you can guess which airport is which.

 

We had to get back to the airline hub at Chicago's O'Hare, so we proceeded to taxi longer than we were in the air via Embriar puddle jumper. Then, a 2.5 hour layover until the leg to Seattle. Of course, the connecting gate was less than 50 feet away. I lucked out on the flight--aisle seat with an empty middle. I did agree to swap with George in the other aisle during the flight. I lost some weight since my last long flight, and I don't have the posterior padding I used to have, so I was ready to move anyway.

The Seattle airport is larger than I remember--it was looking like a long hike before a guy on a cart offered us a ride. Then. Came. The. Flight. Somehow, it takes almost as long to go from Seattle to Anchorage as it takes to go from Chicago to Seattle. Of course, two screaming babies were just in front of us. The dad seemed to be as annoyed as we were. I got through the last hour with some Frank Sinatra on the iPod.

We made it to the hotel, and what was on the TV? University of Fairbanks hockey vs...Ohio State! We just spent 16 hours in airports and airplanes, jumped 4 time zones--and still can't get away from the Buckeyes!!!

Tomorrow, we complete the triumvirate of transportation...

Beard Day 2. Mindy referred to me as "scruffy".