Packing

It's early Monday morning and I've completed my "office work" from my usual "three villages in a week" trip. On Saturday, I contacted Bob, who is "holding down the fort" in Honolulu. My readers will remember Bob as one of the Tight Wads Anonymous members who was with me in Mazatlan. Bob has spent the last 3 weeks in Honolulu at a condo that he, Phil(TWA#2), and I reserved for a three month period this year, between December 15th and March 15th. I'll be leaving for Oahu on Wednesday afternoon. I'll spend a few days with Bob, before he leaves, then have about a week before our friend Bill arrives. Shortly after Bill's arrival, his wife Bev will come. The last to arrive will be Angel, about two weeks from now. I am really looking forward to this trip as I have, in the past, always enjoyed Oahu, but have not taken too many photos. This trip I'm packing to shoot, so I'm hoping to make some nice "catches". We are also renting a car for several days, so we will not be limited on where we go on the island. Honolulu has a "five-star" public transit system. "The Bus" will take you wherever you want to go for $2. There is really no reason to rent a car for your entire stay, but it will give you added flexibility if you are staying in Waikiki and want to head to the North Shore. I will blog more on transportation once I'm in Oahu. For now, this is just a "heads up" to let you know I'm packing to go again. I may have some difficulty posting during this trip, as wireless access may be challenging. Please check the blog toward the end of the week. I should have managed to find WiFi by Friday. The photos ... The basket is from Hooper Bay and is woven from native grasses. The Ulu is a traditional Native knife used to gut fish and slice them into strips for drying or smoking. The furry little feline is my buddy "Zeus", our spoiled rotten four year old who was live trapped by us when he was a kitten. His mother and four siblings went to a shelter for adoption. Zeus is good company for Angel when I am gone. Now that it is above zero, he's beginning to enjoy going outside again. This week he's been on "moose watch", but he's also been hunting for early arriving birds and careless mice. The final photo is an abstract rendition of a strange exposure I got while shooting the moon.

Home....for now

I made it to Tuluksak yesterday morning around 10:30. It was a busy workday ending with a 30 minute plane ride to Bethel. After arriving in Bethel, I checked my bags and headed over to Brother's Pizza located between JP Air and the Alaska Air terminal. I was joined by Joe, a first year teacher in Tuluksak, and Carol, a teacher mentor, and long-time veteran of Bush work and travel. Soon after we ordered, another lady arrived and greeted our group. From what I could gather, she appeared to be another teacher mentor, and curiously, she looked familiar. The gal remarked to me that she thought she knew me from somewhere. When Carol introduced me to Betty, I immediately remembered where our lives had crossed in the past. She wasn't quite as quick after the intro, so I had a little fun telling her pretty specific information about herself until she figured it out. It turns out that Betty and I had worked together more than 25 years ago on Kodiak Island. After Angel and I left for "mainland" Alaska, Betty went on to eventually become the superintendent of schools. She was now working for the Alaska Department of Education as a teacher mentor, in places like Hooper Bay and Scammon Bay. It was fun catching up with another "old timer", while waiting for the "freedom bird". Brother's has decent food if you are ever in Bethel. Like the burger at the hotel in Wainwright, the Brother's burger with steak fries is on my top five list for Bush grub.
It's good to be home. Angel and I "slept in" this morning till about 6:45. I made coffee and read the paper, while she made our usual Saturday breakfast of two poached eggs, home fries, and a couple of "little piggy's". While I was gone this week, a cow and calf moose have been frequenting our place. I managed to grab a few photos of them this morning. They are always welcome visitors until we put in the garden in the Spring! The other photos are of my "Bush Senior Tour" friends, Betty, Carol, and Joe; a shot of Bethel,Alaska from the air when arriving from Tuluksak, 30 minutes "upriver"; the "parking lot" in Akiak; and "my bed" on the floor in a classroom in Akiak.
Stay tuned to the blog, as the setting and scenery, once again, will change. You won't be disappointed!

Stuck in Akiak

It's 7:45 on Thursday evening. I'm sitting on the floor in an empty classroom at the school in Akiak, Alaska. I'm stuck. A ground blizzard in Bethel has prevented my charter flight from picking me up so I can move on to the next village. When doing the village travel thing, I hop on small planes like New Yorkers take cabs. So do the rest of the crazies who live out here. Tonight,I get an offer for a snowmachine ride to my next village, Tuluksak. It's about 45 minutes at 60mph on the frozen Kuskokwim River...in the dark...and cold...with some crazy kid who'd probably add 30mph to the normal 60mph, making the trip much quicker, and deadlier...therefore, hardly worth it. I've been in this situation many times, and have many times accepted the offer. I've been lucky and survived those trips with only minor scrapes, bruises, and frostbite. But, those days are over. I'm getting cautious...and I hope, smarter.

This trip was to be a short one...three villages in four days. I usually measure the time out in the villages in "cups of trail mix and bags of Mountain House" dinners. The plan was for this trip to take "two cups of trail mix and three bags of Mountain House". Good thing I packed some jerky, a couple of Snickers, and some instant oatmeal. Might need it. I just had a funny feeling...

Things didn't really start off that well...I arrived in Bethel Tuesday morning at 8:30 am. I was already four and a half hours into my day at that point. After grabbing my bags, I walked the 200 yards or so to JP Air. It was -25. Walking through the door at JP, I was greeted by the two resident pooches and Amy, the dispatcher/office manager. I was told we would be on the ground for awhile as the pilots were having trouble getting the two Cessna 207's started. I told Amy that I was scheduled to fly the 172, a smaller plane. She had a brief, strained look on her face, then told me that Carl, my usual pilot in the 172, had wrecked the plane on Monday, so I'd be flying in one of the 207's this go 'round. Yeah, we do crash planes up here once in awhile...and people do get hurt or killed. But more folks get whacked in car wrecks, and heart attacks or cancer get the rest of us, so I guess it just depends on how the Good Lord decides to take you. Never-the-less, my Faith and Carl's little misstep didn't make me feel better about hopping on a plane at -25. Eventually, one of the 207's was started and I got a lift to Akiachak, my first stop. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Akiachak, then moved to Akiak last evening via 207. I was to leave Akiak for Tuluksak today at 4:30, but strong winds and blizzard conditions in Bethel have flights shut down.

I'll try for Tuluksak tomorrow morning about 9:00. With any luck I'll get over there, complete my work, and catch a flight to Bethel at 4:00. Once in Bethel, I'll catch the Alaska Air jet to Anchorage at 8:30. For now, I'm hunkered down on the floor on a few dirty cushions I found in the library. I'm listening to music on the computer and writing. After posting, I'll have a cup of hot chocolate, finish a report for work, read a little from "Light, Science, and Magic" (a photographic lighting book), and call it a night. I gave Angel a call to let her know that tomorrow "could be interesting". For now, it is what it is.

The photos are from Palmer, Akiak, and Tuluksak...obviously not from this mid-winter trip. The picture of Annie Oakley is one of my favorites. They teach 'em to shoot young out here!

Pro Bowl Sunday

It's good to be home for a few days! Angel picked me up in Anchorage on Friday night about 11:30 pm. We were home by 1:30 am after dropping off our physical therapist friend, Heather. Heather works with me on the Slope. She flew out of Barrow on the same flight as me. Heather was on her way home to Vermont for a few days. She'll soon be back for another two or three week stay in the Bush. Such is the life of an itinerant.

I haven't been very productive today. Procrastinating for the most part. It was -10 this morning under a clear sky with a full moon. Angel cooked us eggs, reindeer sausage, and toast for breakfast. I read the Anchorage Daily News, messed around with camera gear, watched the Pro Bowl and took a nap. Angel did laundry and exercised. It has been a quiet and relaxing Sunday. Tomorrow, Angel is off to work, and I'll "reload" for the road.

Last night, Angel and I watched a National Geographic special called "The Whale Hunters". It was a documentary showing the hunting of the Bowhead Whale by the Barrow whaling crews last Spring. Arnold Brower, an 86 year old Inupiat elder was featured in the film. When I was in Barrow last October, Brower was riding alone on his snowmachine about 60 miles from Barrow, when he fell through the ice. He managed to pull himself out of the water, but froze to death shortly after. His sons found him a day later. This land forgives no one.

I recommend "The Whale Hunters". Even if the thought of killing a whale makes your stomach turn, the film is informative and will help you to better understand the culture of the Inupiat Eskimo. I'm posting a few of my photos taken during the Fall whale hunt of 2006 at Point Barrow. The whale being butchered was one of four taken during that hunt.

Finally, today's Anchorage Daily News had a tribute to long-time Denali Park Mountain Rescue Ranger, Daryl Miller. Miller came to Alaska about the same time as Angel and I. He grew up in Washington state, but spent a good amount of time in and around Havre, Montana, where I grew up. He became the most decorated Rescue Ranger in Denali during his tenure with the Park Service. He was forced into retirement by Parkinson's disease. Miller now lives in Anchorage with his wife. Why do I mention him? Because some of you reading this blog know Daryl from "way back", and the story is worth reading. Check it out on ADN.com.

Leaving the Slope

This stay on the Slope is nearly over. Since posting the last time, I traveled to Pt. Lay for a not so quick, and lucky to not get stuck, day trip. Work has kept me busy and I have lost my tan and wonderful sense of humor. Not really ... I still have a better tan than the rest of the white guys in these parts! The day temperatures in Barrow have been "reasonable" for this time of year...-15 to -30 most of the month. The sun is rising much higher in the sky now ... and it's gloriously light for about four hours between 10:00 and 2:00. Strangely enough, the increase in sunlight generally results in lower temperatures. I am leaving before the "real" cold of February sets in. Summer will not arrive until the end of May. The temperatures then will "warm up" to the high 30's and low 40's during the day. At night,temps will drop below freezing into late June and early July. Not much of a summer. I'm posting a photo of "Joseph and the Bear". The grizzly was taken by a native hunter in Pt. Lay this past fall. The photos of the polar bears chasing a couple of "quick Inupiats", are not mine, but were shot last year, and posted to the web. I'm not sure where the pics were taken, but I'm guessing in Kaktovik or Barrow. My friend, Kristen, had them sent to her, so she may know the origin. Anyway, cool photos, and the credit goes to the one who shot them. Finally, the top photo is what I dream about when I'm up here and it's -30...the pool at Emerald Bay...special effects are free. I'm heading home on Friday night. I'll get three days with Angel before I'm off to Bethel and Akiachak on Tuesday. More on those locations later. Take care. Stay healthy and warm.