The Journey to Nome

This entry was written the day after the event due to jet lag.

On June 5, 2009, I arrived at the airport approximately 4:30am eastern standard time. Upon arrival I checked 2 suitcases, which left me a carry-on item and a laptop bag. I received all 4 of my boarding passes when I checked in. I said my farewells to my family and went through security to go to my gate. I went into detail with each flight because each one was an interesting experience in itself.

As the day progressed there was a drastic change in demographics.

The first flight was flying from Baltimore to Chicago. American Airlines was the airlines that i started with. This flight was a shuttle plane that only held approximately 60 passengers. The passengers appeared to be more professional appearing with nice suits on. Leaving at 6am EST his flight was approximately 2 hours long so I arrived in Chicago (with the time change) at approximately 7am. Viewing the landscape of Chicago from the airplane window, the land was seemingly flat with agriculture giving the land a quilt appearence

The second flight took me from Chicago to Seattle. This flight was my first plane with Alaska Airlines and I continued to fly with them during the duration of the trip. This company has a partnership with American Airlines so they work with each other to provide cheap flights for travelers. This flight took 4 hours and 15 minutes. The plane departed at 8 am and arrived in Seattle around 10:15 am. The demographics on this flight included a large portion of elderly individuals. Looking out the window, approaching Seattle, the landscape was mountainous. The mountains were very wide with snow covering the tops. From the height of the plane, it seemed easy to climb them.

The third flight started in Seattle and flew to Anchorage. This flight was about 3 hours long, leaving the airport at 1 pm and arriving around 3:15pm. The Anchorage flight had a large portion of males with skiis and fishing rods. The landscape in Anchorage was also mountainous but with many differences. The mountains appeared to be more jagged and and rocky. In addition, they appeared to be closer together with steeper slopes.

The final flight left the airport around 5pm. This flight was unique. It flew to a town called Kotzebue before its arrival in Nome. The plane was the same size as planes used during the previous flights, however the airlines cut the plane in half and used the first half, typically used for passangers, to load packages, mail, and anything else that the town might need. This flight arrived in Kotzebue after 6pm. The runway was clearly not build for such a large plane so the plane had to be close to the ground prior to landing to avoid crashing. This town is located within the artic circle. The tundra landscape was flat with many ponds and streams surrounding the area and large potholes (from the airplane view). A large portion of the holes and ponds and dents in the ground had ice/snow gathered in it. The ground had some leafless bushes and appearingly dead grass. The Baltic Sea was covered in little icebergs. The town itself looked like a fishing town with a few bright colored houses in the middle of a dull colored tundra. At this stop, approximately 2/3rd of the passangers got off the flight. The demographics of this flight consisted of appearingly native Alaskans. Those who did not appear to be a native were wearing hunting t-shirts or gear. A couple of the people seemed suprized to see aquantences on the flight and started to talk to them at the begining of each takeoff. After the passangers and cargo got off the flight, new passangers got on the flight and we took off for the less than 1/2 hour flight to Nome. The landscape in Nome was similar to the landscape in Kotzebue. The airport was slightly larger with a little bit longer of a runway and a few extra warehouse buildings for planes. The airport itself was a warehouse appearing building.

When I got off the plane, I was instantly greeted by Ric Schmidt, the station manager, and his wife, Lynette Schmidt. After a few minutes, my roomates/co-workers arrived at the airport to meet me and help me with my luggage. I got to the house and received a grand tour of the house. There is one bedroom, a kitchen, dinning area, 1/2 bathroom, and living room on the first floor. The second floor has a boys bathroom, girls bathroom, and 6 bedrooms. I had a choice between 2 empty rooms on the second floor. I chose the baby blue room with a window facing the radio station.

As I was unpacking, my roomates offerred to cover my window. They wrapped the window screen with aluminum foil to block the never ending sunlight.

It was a long first day but my co-workers made me feel at home and excited to start my new position at KNOM.