Long Time, No Post

This last month and a half has been a complete whirlwind! There has been so many times I've thought about posting pictures, and then literally haven't had an extra minute to do it! I started traveling at the beginning of October and had 4 back to back trips with limited time in between. In the middle of the month Jason and I closed on a house!!!, so between my trips I spent my time unpacking and setting up our new home. It was a crazy month, but so exciting in many ways. In addition to all of the house excitement, my new baby niece was also born :) 

Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse of everything I've been up to!

This was the view from the Bed & Breakfast I stayed at in King Cove. On this trip I visited three villages (King Cove, Cold Bay, Sand Point) that are part of the eastern Aleutian Islands.  It was a week and a half long trip- my longest trip yet. It was hard at points being away, but all of the villages were gorgeous and I met wonderful people. 

 King Cove is a port for fishing and crabbing. The port was full of fishing boats and crabbing cages, as they were preparing for the beginning of crabbing season. 

Something interesting about King Cove is that it has a very high bear population. I was basically told that I should stay inside and not go for a walk because of the bears. Don't worry- I didn't! No bear sightings though, but I did hear several bear stories, including stories about bears ripping the door frame off the B&B I stayed at. Pretty crazy! When I go back in December the bears will be sleeping :)

Sand Point, AK

Sand Point was my favorite of the 3 villages. It was just so beautiful. I was given a car by the district so I was able to drive around and really explore the island.

After my trip to the Aleutians East region, I had a couple days off and then headed back to Southwest Region. One night when I was staying at the school in New Stuyahok, I walked out of the classroom and saw this...

Bingo in the cafeteria/entry area! The school hosts bingo multiple nights a week as a fundraiser. Many elders come out each night. Last year the school raised $90,000 from the bingo nights. 

After my Southwest trip I came back to Anchorage to a new home!

Excited homeowners!

After a weekend at home I headed out to Dutch Harbor and then to Atka. Atka is another island on the Aleutian chain. It is a Native Alaskan village of about 100 people. The school has 14 students. I slept in the school with my boss. We were both very grateful to have each other after hearing several "ghost" stories from students and teachers about the military ghost that haunts the school kitchen. We slept directly next to the kitchen :)

 Dutch Harbor, AK

Jason and I spent a weekend painting the rental side of our house (we bought a duplex) and doing a little bit of demo :)

I ended my traveling stretch with a trip back to Tanana. There was snow on the ground and the weather was -5 one day! The river was freezing over and looked beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

Last week Jason and I visited CT, and the trip was just what I needed....time to breath and spend time with family after an action packed month! It was wonderful. 

Winter arrived while we were in CT. We came back to AK to find 7 inches of snow on the ground.

Luckily, we have lots of cold weather gear and a beautiful park and trail system right in our neighborhood to explore...

plus, a working fireplace to come home to!!

Tomorrow I'm back to the Southwest district for a 5 day trip and then I'll be home for 10 days. I'm looking forward to spending more time working on our house--we have many projects planned!

Adak Island

My trip out to Adak Island was an amazing experience. Adak is Alaska's southernmost town. 

During World War 2 and the Cold War Adak was used as a military base. At one time the population on the island was 6,000 people. Now, the population is only 100 people, but all of the military buildings remain....Barracks, schools, bunkers, dining halls, rows of empty houses. The island was a ironic mix of beauty and eeriness: tons of old disintegrating remains on a breathtakingly beautiful island in the middle of the Bering Sea.

Flying into the island was gorgeous. 

My first day there the weather was perfect! Sunny and clear- unlike the usual windy rainy weather that Adak often has (2nd rainiest place in the U.S.). On my walk down to the beach I saw this caribou art in someone's front yard. When the Navy was on the island, they introduced caribou. The caribou population rapidly increased, since there were no predators, and now there are supposedly thousands on the island. 

 I saw mountains and inactive volcanoes in the distance and touched the Bering Sea for the first time! I also found tons of sea glass and a sand dollar. On another drive by the water I saw several sea otters and a seal sitting on a rock. The color of the water was unlike anything I'd seen before. It was a very deep rich blue color and at times even looked turquoise. 

Adak is a worldwide destination for "birders". The ravens were bigger than any I had seen before and I saw countless bald eagles. One day I was walking to the school alone and out of nowhere a bald eagle soared right above me. If I reached my arm up I could have touched it. I was amazed. They are so incredible. 

During World War 2 many of the soldiers stationed on the island missed trees--there are NO trees on the island. So they planted about 5 trees and built a sign calling it the "Adak National Forest"- pretty funny :).

I found the military buildings to be fascinating. They were creepy and mysterious, but it was so interesting to think about their purpose years ago.

 I even went into one of the underground bunkers. Everything was still intact, with shelves for masks and suits, chemical showers, instructions for nuclear attacks, and beds.

The community on the island was welcoming and kind. The teachers at the school were absolutely wonderful. I was surprised to find out that unlike most of the villages I visit, Adak is no longer a native village and consists primarily of Hispanic families who have moved to Adak for fishing. I even ate a Mexican restaurant on the island.

I go back to Adak again in January. My first experience was so interesting, so I'm looking forward to going back!

P.S. It is October and still fall in Anchorage! This has been a much longer fall season than last year which has been wonderful! The leaves are even prettier this year. Jason and I have been getting out and soaking up the beautiful weather!

More Southwest

I returned to the Southwest region last week for work. This time I visited three different villages: Koliganek, Manokotak, Aleknagik. I was overwhelmed by everyone's hospitality and kindness. I spent two nights in a teacher bunk house and then stayed with one of the teachers and her family for several nights. It was great experiencing three new places. 

I met some really interesting people over the course of the week. I did a lot of traveling between the villages, so I spent a lot of time waiting. The small bush planes are on "schedules" but really they are on "Alaska time". When the plane is supposed to land at 4:00 that means it will probably be there an hour or more later. So, as  a result I spent a lot of time waiting for planes with strangers. My escort in Koliganek was a recent high school graduate who was so proud to tell me that he had just brought home a bull moose and it was the largest in the village. He was given $3,000 for the antlers! Many of the women in the village had been cutting and preparing the meat for two days. The moose will provide meat for several families for the entire winter. I took a picture of the picture he showed me (not the best picture, but you get the idea :)

Cross country practice in Koliganek

I spent three full days in Manokotak. The family I stayed with was wonderful. This was their "garden", which I thought was a great idea! They will have fresh vegetables the whole year. Fresh anything is extremely rare out in the villages.

 Sunset over Manokotak

The most unique of the three villages was Aleknagik. The village is split on two sides of a lake. The school is accessed only by boat. Every morning, half of the kids in the school ride the boat across the lake. In the winter, they ride snow machines across the ice on the lake. 

The lake was breathtaking!

The school has a wrap around porch overlooking the water and the mountains.

 The sunset in the morning was incredible!

This afternoon I am off on another trip to Adak Island. It is my first trip out to the Aleutian Islands! Pictures to come when I get back!

Tanana

I went on a 3 day trip to Tanana at the beginning of the week. Tanana is a village of about 250 people that sits right on the Yukon River. It is also the location for the show Yukon Men on Discovery Channel. Have any of you guys seen it?! I just watched it for the first time yesterday and it was really cool to recognize the places and people on the show. 

I really enjoyed my visit. The fall colors were unbelievable!! I had never seen colors like that here in Alaska. 

I was lucky enough to stay with the principal/superintendent in her house (no gym floor this time :). You could see the river right out her front window. We went for long walks each night and it was beautiful. I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing my snowshoes when I'm there in the winter!

 Yukon River

Town church- outhouse on the right. Some of the houses and buildings in Tanana do not have any running water. 

The school was small, around 50 kids. The kids were hilarious and couldn't get over the fact that I had red hair and I'm tall. One of the little girls said to me, "you're the one everyone is talking about. They keep saying you're tall with red hair". Not a lot of redheads in Tanana :)

Just like the other villages I visited, the people in Tanana live a subsistence way of life. They survive off fishing, hunting and trapping.

My flight from Tanana to Fairbanks was my first slightly frightening flight. I have a feeling I might have several more of those in my future. Once we were in the air there was ZERO visibility and it was a rough ride. I was happy to land in Fairbanks!

Here is another picture from my first trip out, which I meant to post last week. It gives you an idea of how small the planes are and how packed with stuff they are! Each plane usually has several boxes of foods and supplies which are being shipped out to the village.

On Sunday I head back to the Southwest Region to go to three different villages.  More pictures to come!