27 Jul Internet shutdown? No worries, let’s just go out. by Gisel Adame

Hello everyone,

Yes, you read the title right! There is a internet shut down currently in Nome, AK.  What happened you ask? Well, a large piece of sea ice cut a fiber optic cable on the sea floor. This first started our internet troubles in June. Shortly after we switched to a satellite fix, but then…you guessed it. It stopped working again here in July. I’m two weeks from being done with my internship, and this Social Media Intern has no access! Oh no! That’s okay, we have room for creativity right?

I packed up the camera gear, fully charged phone, and set out to create some content. Feeling inspired by the people at home, I started to create a video of what outskirts of Nome looked like. Since the snow has melted in July, it is filled with so much green. When coming back, there were no visitors in our office, so we did a quick walk through video of our visitor center. This allowed people to see an inside view of what it would look like before they come!

Some of the other days, the NPS team and I set out to go plan for a guided hike. It was 50 degrees Fahrenheit, wet and misty, with thick fog surrounding the hills. It was a really awesome way to get out of the office, and see the process of what setting up a guided hike with visitor’s would look like.

At the end of one work day, I also was able to complete a photo shoot for a new post on the Bering Land Bridge socials. This had to do with #NationalDogPhotographyDay. Nome is home to the end of the Iditarod race, and some of the most important athletes are the dogs that make it possible. I was really looking forward to this photoshoot, and a really awesome local man by the name of Reese Madden allowed us to photograph his dogs for this post. He has 21 dogs that he cares for all by himself, including 5 new puppies!! Dogs of the tundra are something I found so interesting. Most of them roam free around the open area of Alaska; it’s like their big backyard.

Despite the internet issues, you have to remember the time when internet wasn’t a large part of life like it is now. I brought out the DVD’s, my paint project for LHIP, and sat watching season 3 of House while I was home. The disconnect was a way to connect with yourself. Although, I have some important work to finish, so off to Anchorage I go!

See you next time!