Gravel Ship

 The gravel ship approaching Palmer through the fog.  

Parked alongside the barge. The crane on the barge can move 4 bag of gravel at a time, about every five minutes. It's going to take at least three days to get all the gravel off the ship. There are 1800 bags. 

Bags placed on Gamage. While the excavator is working on making a flat area to build up the second crane. 

Ran out of space to put gravel out on the point so they are being stacked along the road side.

Everyday the bags are slowly getting piled higher and higher up the hill as the fill all the spaces closer to the pier. 

Almost to Terra Lab.

And maybe that's all of them?

Barge Parking

A Gentoo inspect the pier and deems it ready for replacement. 

We have finally gotten a bit a good weather, just in time for the barge to arrive. 

The tug (the Karen C.) pulled the barge (the Martin Ray) all the way from Seattle. It has all the pieces of the new pier, the piles, the planks, the heavy equipment to install it and two huge cranes. The huge cargo ship visible here on the horizon will pull into Palmer after the barge is secure and they are ready to sling gravel bags. 1800 gravel bags!

The crane readying the spuds to help secure the barge in place. 

The tug moving the barge into the inlet. 

Pulling along side the pier. 

Getting it just right. The weather was perfect for this, no wind at all. We got really lucky.

First spud lowered into place.

Readying the second spud. 

Sheathbills were quick to colonize the new vantage points. 

Look at all those milvans!! Now that the barge is here it's time for the pier builders to get to work!

Here a sheathbill is supervising the survey team.

There is a new webcam just for the pier construction: https://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/palwebcam.cfm
 

Calm before the Chaos

Before the barge parked we had one last day off and we got to boat a little bit. 

So I went to visit all the critters out on Amsler Island.

Poo puddle pillow. Gross. 

I love the color of ice. 

The pier builders were dropped off by the LMG four days before the barge showed up so we were able to take a few of them out in a boat to get to know the area.