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Gk49245's avatar

On Aug 18, 1992, I arrived at ANC for my Delta flight to Seattle. Was in Alaska working on an auroral radio propagation study with the Univ. Of Alaska Fairbanks. And the ash began to fall. Finally departed ANC on Aug 25. We wanted to take home some “clean ash”, and we needed containers. Someone told us about REI, which I had not heard of before. We walked to REI from our hotel, which was 5 to 10 minutes north of Gweenie’s. That was when I joined REI - in the Spurr eruption aftermath. Got two one-pint Nalgene bottles, and filled them with Spurr ash off our rental car’s windshield. These bottles are sitting atop our refrigerator as I write this. Amazing what a pending volcanic eruption can do to stimulate memories. Have fun with your pending disaster.

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Julia Bedell's avatar

Omg! That is a wild, wild story!! You're inspiring me to collect "clean ash" myself, if that day comes. I feel like REI should do an oral history interview of you about this. Also, you stayed at Gwennies?! That's an institution, and I've still never eaten there. I want to hear more about this trip (auroral radio, too!?). Thanks for sharing

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Gk49245's avatar

Please post about your soon-I-hope Gweenie’s experience. We ate breakfast every morning at Gweenie’s, but our hotel was just north of there. We installed a shortwave radio transmitter station at Wales, AK (interesting place) with receiving stations in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Seattle, and State College, PA. Our project’s name was PENEX - Polar, Equatorial, and Near-Vertical-Incidence Experiment. In preparation for the coming Spurr emergency (and other events), you might consider getting a ham radio license. Carrot Quinn Substack-blogged about getting a license recently.

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Julia Bedell's avatar

That is incredible. Will do

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Devin's avatar

I have no cool story involving landmarks. I am just here to say your writing always moves me. And RUN!

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Julia Bedell's avatar

Hahaha thanks. From what and to where, though? Those are the questions :)

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jess's avatar

dude, thank you, gently, for bringing both mount spurr's reality and the miranda july film to my attention. x2, new to me..so out of it.

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Julia Bedell's avatar

Happy to provide such updates :)

Sadly the other Anc-area news isn't so... gentle? As it involves a nazi in a bar during a trans person's music set. A story for another time. Hope you're healing well

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jess's avatar

oh, my heart goes out : (

I didn't know. I had friends protesting in Healy this weekend. sigh. ugh. love.

(one day at a time for me, for it all....)

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