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!