Fairbanks and Denali (1990s)

Rodney with salmon (see below) My first project at JPL was the Alaska SAR Facility, a receiving station for radar data from Earth-orbiting satellites at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

JPL sent me to Fairbanks nine times in the 1990s. Because of my teaching schedule, almost all the trips were in the summer. What a deal!

On my first trip in 1993, I went a day early to do some sight-seeing. At a scenic overlook, a small dog came scampering up to me and wanted to jump in my rental car. No one else was there. The dog had tags with a phone number, and when I called, they had just realized the dog was missing. As a reward for returning the dog, they gave me a salmon they had caught the day before. I brought it to the B&B where I was staying, and we enjoyed it that night.

Alaska Range (Denali N.P.)
Fox with Arctic ground squirrel lunch (Denali N.P.) I extended my second trip in 1994 to spend two days in Denali National Park, where I saw bears and moose and Dall sheep and caribou (from a distance), marmots, foxes, and lots of mosquitoes.

I always enjoyed the Alaska Salmon Bake, with all-you-can-eat salmon and halibut. (It seems they've swapped out the halibut in favor of cod.)

Cincinnati (Spring 2012)

The Ohio River seen from the Overlook in Eden Park.

Link to more photos

I've graded Advanced Placement Computer Science exams for the Educational Testing Service for many years. I began in 1987, but was out for 1993-1997. It's 7 to 12 days of work (depending on my position) each year in late May / early June.

The APCS Reading has moved around during those years. First, Trenton State College (NJ), then Clemson University (SC), then back to Trenton (where the same school has a new name, The College of New Jersey), then to convention centers instead of college campuses, in Louisville (KY), and finally, the last few years, in Cincinnati (OH).

I haven't previously written these up as travel. For one thing, since work is 8 am to 5 pm every day including weekends, we don't get a lot of time to sightsee. Also, I only have a few photos from earlier years.

This year, since I'm still trying to lose weight, I did do a little hiking in central Cincinnati a few times after dinner, and, since it was my last APCS Reading, I did take a few photos. The link is above.