Driving Myself Rested
December 29, 2009
In the first four days off the island I’ve driven nearly 2100 miles. from Portland to Newport then to Seattle. Down to Vancouver then to Mt. Hood, Hood River & The Dalles. After that up and over to the Tri-Cities area and up to Spokane, then Coeur D’Alene. Cruising through the mountains and old mining towns I ended up in Missoula Montana when I figured it was time to head back. South Lolo and west on US12 back through the mountains to Lewiston Idaho and down to Walla Walla. Next up was Umatilla, Pendelton, Pilot Rock, Heppner, Lexington and up to Interstate 84 where I headed east to Irrigon and spent Christmas with family and friends.
The drive was great and relaxing. It was nice to drive faster that 30 
miles and hour for hours and hours on end. Seeing my family was great also. I don’t see them often and when I do it’s nice.
I’m in Bend now for the last week of vacation. Local live music is at the top of the list, a few open mic and jam nights and of course some skiing (uuuhm snowboarding) at Hoodoo and Mt. Bachelor.
Happy Holidays
December 18, 2009
Grand Aleutian Christmas Tree - 2009
I’m happy to say that I am officially on vacation. While I doubt that will stop the emails from pouring in to my inbox or keep the calls from reaching my cell phone, I feel better knowing that unless it’s an emergency… I don’t have to answer right away.
I don’t have many pictures in the way of Holidays, but thanks to Brian our Executive Housekeeper and his staff here at the Grand, we have a great looking Christmas Tree (and fireplace) in our lobby.
Holidays to you and thank you for visiting.
~Dan
Helix Wind.. a Recovery
December 17, 2009
Helix Wind Turbine
Last Sunday – for the weekly ‘Church of Scuba’ It was decided that we would scour the bottom of the bay in search of a local residents Helix Wind Turbine what was lost in the 125+ mile an hour winds that hit our island a week earlier.for
Check out Ann Hillmans report on the storm at the KUCB website.
We met at the small boat launch in Unalaska, near the Alyeska Seafoods plant at noon. Six of us divers surface swam about 281 yards to our respective search areas. Jennifer, Brandon and Myself were team 2 and Shari, Simon and Aura were team 1 (I just made that up to explain the teams) Team 1 practically descended on the target – reporting having to swim about 40 feet to it. Team 2 descended on an old ship wreck (by coincidence, not plan) after a few minutes of checking it out, we swam our pattern and found the wreck AFTER team 1 had already marked it and continued on a recreation dive.
Helix Wind Turbine
PLEASE NOTE: The turbine did not come off it’s mounts until winds reached 125+mph. More than twice the speed that it was rated for. Helix Wind is sending a replacement for free and some extra gadgets to help gauge the speed in real time. Please read the KUCB article!
The helix is in about 45 feet of water. The owners are not interested in it’s return. We decided that we would use the recovery as an experience in local salvage diving. Practicing underwater knots, c-links, lift bag inflation, monitoring and surface dive salvage profile planning. It will give our newer divers a chance at getting involved in recovery efforts of various items we come across in the drink. The photos in this gallery were take by Sgt. Jennifer Shockley of the Unalaska Police Department and the author of the world famous Unalaska Police Blotter. Google it, and you will see what I’m talking about… The rest of the gallery is here. We will document the rest of the recovery in January of 2010. (right after I return from Vacation) Those images will be in the gallery as well.
Sundays Picnic
December 16, 2009
Sarah
Sarah had a great idea for her birthday. Why not dress warm, put on the rain gear, grab dry mats, make some ‘hot drinks and soups’ then head out to the falls at the end of Unalaska valley! – OK – that is a great idea right. It was, and it was fun.
Meeting time was Sunday at three. We met along the creek and walked up to the falls, laid the mats down and took places around. We had Hot Coco with Baileys, Hot Buttered Rum, Hot Toddies, Chicken and Tomato Soups. It was just the five of us
(including Dakota). We sat around for about an hour joking, telling stories, taking pictures and watching Dakota level the few remaining trees on the island. Oh and of course we sang happy birthday to Sarah and we had a few beverages. To end the afternoon we walked along the creek to the larger falls before returning and packing it all up.
A nice, easy get together to say Happy Birthday! Click here to see the rest of the pictures
Saturdays Dive
December 15, 2009
Aura's Perfect Descent
Earlier in the week Aura sent out a ‘ I’m Having Dive Withdrawals – Someone Go Diving With Me ‘ So a plan was made to check out the new but unfinished small boat harbor. The Dutra Group was here all summer dredging out a small cove near bunker hill, placing rock to form a break water, they installed a small cement launch pad and pile drove a floating pier (or whatever it’s called)
Some Kind of Jelly Thing
The dive plan / profile was simple and fun. We agreed to test our navigation skills by only allowing ourselves to note our heading from the end of the dock to the end of the breakwater before actually getting in the water. Once in the water we could only descend and then head the direction we noted on the dock.
The bottom was mostly all sand, but still pocked with indentations made by the dredge. It looks like a mine field. Visibility was good, water was about 40 degrees and Aura being our chief navigator took us right to our destination. (nice job Aura)
I also took this dive as a chance to test out the underwater housing for my camera. I added a few images to the assorted dive photos gallery
Lets Dive…
December 3, 2009
Canon Housing for the G10
Last week I ordered a housing for my Canon Powershot G10 so that I could take pictures while diving. It arrived yesterday and I could not be happier with it. Rated to 140 feet or so I’m sure it’s going to last a lot longer in the drink that I will with water temperatures below 40. I’m hoping to dive all weekend on
Canon Housing for the G10
various projects and fun dives. I’ll be posting images soon. So check out the Diving Gallery under hobbies in the nav bar up top.On a side note, I’m still uploading images from the last few years of diving so please check the galleries often – chances are good that there will be recently added photos.
Webcam Enhanced…
December 2, 2009
Well for as long as I can keep it going – visitors can see live streaming video from Unalaska / Dutch Harbor. Last week I ordered a wireless camera so that I could let visitors see essentially what I see from my housing unit. Bayview 311.
Right now the camera is pointed out my northerly living room window towards the Grand Aleutian Hotel. I have some ideas in function and design of the presentation page, but for now it’s working and viewable via the link below.
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Random Photo
