Happy double sunset day! In Fairbanks, Alaska, and other communities just south of the Arctic Circle, there is one day each year when the sun sets twice in one day. Here the 1st sunset was at 12:01 am this morning followed by a sunrise at 3:53 am. A 2nd sunset will take place tonight at 11:58 pm.

Summer 1972. Aniak, Alaska. It was a real eye-opening adventure for 14yo me. I worked at cinnabar mine, fueled and cleaned airplanes, unloaded Wien Airlines cargo, made weather observations, and observed an eclipse from Aniak Lake. Soaked in a lakeside hot spring 100 miles remote. Clear 30’ waters.

It’s fairly uncommon to see such a vast swath of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago under clear skies. Today weather satellite METEOR-M N2-4 delivered the goods during a pass at 2012Z.

They are as big as a horse! Here’s one next to my Toyota FJ Cruiser for scale.

We had visitors last night. They got into some cables around the shack, too, and pulled down one of my ham radio antennas. About once a year I have to repair moose damage. 🤬

Good evening from Two Rivers, Alaska. We’re living large. The last time I had boiled peanuts was driving through Luverne, Alabama, decades ago. Thank you to the donor.

SITREP

Current situation on 6m in BP64. I watched Les KL7J work Norway this morning and received GM4WJA once at 2214z. The band is intermittent here and there, but anything is better that nothing. South Dakota in the bag. I’m at 43 WAS confirmed on six. Several years since I heard EU.

I’m pretty tickled with some VHF results this afternoon. Six meters kinda sorta opened at lunchtime. Stations in WA, CA, CO, NE, and BC in the log. On RS-44 I managed several FT4 contacts. One surprise was New York. Another was K2L in South Carolina! That’s a special event station for 13 Colonies.

I’ve been monitoring. Thanks to @leahwrenn.bsky.social for hipping me to the Watch Duty app.

Six meters was interesting last night around 0400z, when it opened to the Midwest US. No W6/7 stations at all, only W9/0. South Dakota heard but not worked. Signals were in and out for an hour or so. Some peaked above +00.

Good evening from Two Rivers, Alaska. This is my dog Sita, a retired sled dog.

I can see Russia from my house. 😁METEOR-M N2-4 pass at 1500z over the Bering Strait.

Happy Canada Day, neighbors! Here Yukon and Northwest Territories are highlighted by Russian weather satellite METEOR-M N2-3 at 1917z. Received with RSPduo, Wraase KX137 turnstile antenna, and Satdump 2.0.0 processed as natural color.

Point your 6m antennas north! The magic band is alive.

And this, folks, packs a lot of authentic flavors from Germany. OMG. The cabbage (rotkohl) has a Granny Smith apple and white onion along with a dash of red wine vinegar. The potato dumplings (Kartoffelklöße) are light and good for the gravy. Tang, sweet, sour on one plate.

Today is the day! The beef roast is ready for the oven. Taste test in about 3 hours. Such wonderful aromas are wafting through the house now. Meanwhile, the riced potatoes are cooling and will be turned into dumplings later.

One of these is not like the other. During the winter, the OLED display on my Microham Micro Keyer III failed. The OEM said I can send it to DX Engineering and then DXE would send it to them for repair. Timeline TBD. Alternatively, I could just repair it myself with parts from Digikey. Plan B it is!

Good evening from Two Rivers, Alaska. King crab legs and colossal shrimp sautéed in butter/olive oil and served atop a crunchy salad. Grilled corn on the cob.

Radio frequency interference to ham radio comes in various forms. The most common offenders are crappy wall warts, solar chargers, and lighting fixtures. A couple of days ago I spotted a radar emission in the 2m band. I have experience with radar, so it was obvious to me it’s an air surveillance 1/

Good afternoon from Two Rivers, Alaska. What’s on my mind? Why sauerbraten, of course. I’ve been thinking about making it for weeks. It starts with a marinade. My gosh the house smells amazing! thefullrecipes.com/authentic-ge...

A little lightning this afternoon and evening at amateur radio station KL2R. Nevertheless, rain is welcome. We have had some good soaking today. Wildfires are still possible. Be watchful if you’re in Interior Alaska. The main antennas are disconnected even though I have robust protection on them.

Farah’s (16 yo) latest has been to move the dog bowls around the living room to scrape lickin’s. She’s totally blind from cataracts. Recently she dragged the bowls over to the top of the stairs and backed right over the edge. She tumbled down steps in dramatic fashion but was uninjured. ❤️ #poodles

As much as I support your cause, and as much as I am happy to donate, the subscription requires me to agree to save my payment information and agree to auto-renewal. I’m not down with that. Sorry. I’m out.

When I’m not on my ham radio, cooking, or watching old Westerns…

Hey, ham radio ops! Listen for me operating W1AW/KL7 CW on 17m 18-20z and 20m 22-00z.

A young squirrel has found its voice.

Good evening from Two Rivers, Alaska. As delicious as they look. Applewood smoked pork chops stuffed with cheese finished on the grill. OMG Mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini on the side.

Pretty busy day up in Fairbanks with nice weather for everyone flying, including wildfire support and USAF Red Flag.

I used to be someone. 😁 I had a wonderful career at NOAA, and I managed to collect two bronze medals and a DoC silver in 20 years. I must have been doing something right. The best part of the experience was the many friends and brilliant colleagues with whom the impossible became possible.