Hitting the Club Scene in Kupol

The newest (and only) club in Kupol opened the other night. The Solstice Cafe is a place to get away from the crowds, the rat race here at the mine and listen to local music talent hoping to score a contract with a major label. An RSVP affair on night one, we will see if it catches on with the eclectic international crowd. I would imagine once the Wi-fi gets installed there will be a small crowd here regardless if there is music.

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We're Saved!!!

The first supply trucks of the season line up outside to be off-loaded. 2,100 of the containers and another 1,000 container equivalents will be delivered over the next few months before the man-made ice road turns to slush. Getting the needed supplies is a year-round job for the supply teams to source, purchase and deliver by container ship to port city of Pevek, located north of the mine of the Arctic Ocean. The containers are staged for delivery at the port and once the road is completed a race begins to get them delivered to the mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pevek

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Frosty Frames

While the interior of my room can get quite toasty, the aluminum framed windows (double insulated) conduct enough of the cold temperatures outside to begin freezing up on the interior. While it looks bad, a small fan given to me by the staff and the low humidity allows the ice to sublimate (turn into a gas) and thereby bypass the liquid state for the most part. Of course the window is still frozen very much shut from the outside!!

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A Couple of Russian Foxes

Walking back from lunch I caught a bit of movement out of one of the windows, had my camera handy just in case I did see something out a window (William Shatner I'm not), managed to get it out and on video to capture this pair of Arctic Foxes.

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Rebranded

I guess the term "diet" didn't sell well in the Russian language and has been replaced.....lots of little differences like this throughout the store though the shop clerk thought I was a bit different too :)

A "Moon Pie" by any other name

Walking through a small shop in my travels I came across a classic southern favorite gone global.

Kupol International

Kupol's airport has all the features you'd expect in a modern, well-run aerodrome.


Waiting for your bag to appear in Baggage Claim

The obligatory walk through the terminal

And of course waiting in line at Customs

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Bus Ride to Kupol

I'm sitting near the back of the turboprop aircraft that I rode to the mine site. Everything about the trip was very similar to a bus trip--the number of people, the way you got your ticket and how some of the luggage was stowed.

Look, it's a kupol!

Sitting inside the toasty confines of the mine administrative offices, the geographical structure that gave the mine its name stands out, literally. The Kupol mine is named for the unusually pointed rock formation in an area of mostly small rolling mountains. It was a balmy -25C and about noon when the photo was taken.

(Might need to do a little translation on the kupol page)

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupol

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31 Flavors Around the World

One of the many food shops in the Domodedovo airport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskin-Robbins

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And now we can say it in Russian :)

Browsing through the Domodedovo airport just outside of Moscow I came across a very familiar name. I wonder if these guys deliver in rain, sleet and snow also?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domodedovo_International_Airport

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A Couple of "Careless" Birds

A pair of Tu-154 passenger jets lie mothballed just off the main runway at the Sokol airport near Magadan. The aircraft was the backbone of the Soviet airline industry for many years with features that allowed landing on unimproved runways. Nicknamed "Careless" by NATO, the aircraft have been involved in about 1 major incident a year since they first started flying and due to noise regulations many have been sidelined like this pair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu-154

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokol_Airport

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Cultural Differences

Gee, my first thoughts when I saw this was that my hands would feel so much softer using Fairy soap than the harsh dish soaps of the competitors. While I'm sure it contains the same ingredients, and perhaps made by the same company, it probably wouldn't be a big seller in the states :)

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First Light Kissing the Kolyma Mountains

Things look a bit cold a few hundred miles out from Magadan. The mountains are up to just over a mile high with obvious rivers and lakes (albeit frozen right now) spotted throughout. Winter is 7-8 months long here!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolyma

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The main terminal at Magadan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokol_Airport

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SMP Bank sponsored this walkway to the plane this evening:)

We're not in Kansas anymore.....

The Neighbors

I'm in the big boy section at Houston

BB Test

Random shot....

Wintering Over

Ounce for ounce, one of the loudest of our local songbirds, the House Wren is supposedly a migratory traveler. Several pairs stick around all year I would imagine due to the mild winters, suet feeders and, if they get really hard up, they can always try a few seeds as this one did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Wren

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Essential Hardware

A special adaptor for my travels involves a 110 vac female adaptor on one side and a 220 vac male plug on the other end. I have been somewhat aware, but now almost completely up to speed on that quite a few power supplies sold are good up to 240 vac. Makes me a tad suspicious on the UL listings, but makes things very convenient. I also am carrying a small converter for those items which may not have the wide range though I've found none so far that I'd be taking with me on my travels.

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Canada Goose

My abled-bodied assistant is modeling my jacket that will be my best friend in the weeks to come :) Worn by people who travel in the frigid arctic (and antarctic) regions of the globe, the Canada Goose brand has gotten the reputation for being the best jacket for the job. Yours truly will be sporting his favorite color in the wilds of Siberia soon.

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A Northern Breed

The White-throated Sparrow, one of the several types of sparrows that frequent the backyard feeder, are migratory and winter-over in the states. This breed is a bit skittish and has a definite hierarchy. In a another month or so, they'll fly north to spend the spring and summer with my friends in Canada, "Eh?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-throated_Sparrow

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Update on the sparrows: one fewer will be making the trip back north as they are just a tad naive about cats!

Lazy Weekend

With the weather still cold and the day overcast, Big Red has crashed on our college-bound Senior's bed for a mid-morning nap. The canine knows better and I usually look the other way, especially if its not my bed.

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I Hear Nothing!!!

Sargent Schultz and I have more in common besides our northern European heritage and natural good looks :) We both can "Hear nothing!" when needed though the good sargent could also "See nothing!" and "Know nothing!". The noise reduction headphones will come in very handy for traveling---I would never dream of putting them on at home!

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Mini Decorations

Mini is sporting some new bling lately-----and if this week's Senior flip-flop holds it will be good for another 4 years or so....

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Union Station---Toronto

My last trip to our friends to the north had me across from Union Station in downtown Toronto. The train station serves 200,000 passengers a day and is the largest in Canada. Connecting the station to quite a bit of Toronto is PATH. A series of underground walkways that spread out under central Toronto for over 17 miles. There are over 1,200 shops along the way and the tunnels have an indoor mall feel with food courts, windows displays and sitting areas.

http://www.toronto.ca/path/