Things that are Round:

New Blog

2009-09-25T11:06:00.001-07:00

NEW BLOG!! Check out my new blog, since blogger.com is no longer working...

roundthings.wordpress.com

There you are! A new blog that will (hopefully) be updated more frequently, now that I have a working one. :) See on the other side!

A Yurt, and Other Adventures

2009-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here it is, folks, the moment you've all been waiting for. Just where am I moving all my stuff to??? This cute, rugged, little, brown yurt is my new home. And I love talking about it. No really, I am still wigging out about the whole thing. Really?? I live in a YURT???

Life seems to always be an adventure when you move to a small[er] village, into a yurt. One distinguishing feature about my new dwelling (besides it's roundness, one room-ness, and lack of solid walls-ness) is the fact that it has no running water. This means that, yes, I have to haul water (if I want any). Well, first things first, I had to move all my stuff in. Started out just an empty little spot, kind of brown, full of boxes, a wee drab...

And then it all exploded.

Pretty soon it will look less like a college dorm room, I promise. If you can believe it, I still have more boxes coming. So much for simplifying my life... Where did all this stuff come from??

Anyway, so my first chore, before I even unpacked everything, was to get water. Erika very kindly went with me. It was quite the adventure slash learning experience. We started off pretty okay. Corinne let me use her Honda to make the trek. We bungy tied some buckets onto the back...

Went about 2 inches, and...

Plan B: Erika holds on to them for dear life. Except that we still lost some pieces on the way...

I had to run back this far to get the bucket lid. It's also a nice view of the area around the road. :)

We finally got to our little creek where I will be getting water for the next 9 months...

And began the process:

The way back to town was much smoother. No buckets spilled or fell off the Honda. Yay!

Since most of the staff is in Unalakleet this week for new and returning teacher inservices, administration meetings, SFA training, radda radda ra, Erika and I began our week of fun by taking a walk out to the river for a bit of fishing. Her and Kyle just got a new pole, which she doesn't actually know how to use. Well, now she does (sort of). Before we could even leave we had to get the fishing line onto the rotary thingy (I'm sure there's a name for it), which neither of us really knew how to do. Thank goodness for helpful people! So we got that going... and going... and oh, we have yet ANOTHER tangle... it was a process...

You can't see, really, but there is a lot of line there that just kept not working...

...wrapped all around the pole... how does this thing work again?

Alright, so we finally got it put together right. My general answer included scissors, which Erika didn't think always worked, but whatever, we just went fishing.

And what a beautiful day for it! Erika learned how to fish, which I think is funny. A year in the bush and just NOW you're learning? Good thing Kyle likes it. :)

Unfortunately it was not a day of catching fish, just casting and reeling. But we had a good time anyway! We filled little tupperwares with some blackberries. I don't really like them to eat alone, so I think I'll try putting them in cinnamon rolls or something.

Star was a very happy dog today. She is very happy to be out of the city and free to run around and do as she likes. No more fences, and only leashes in town. This also means that she won't always be sleeping in the house, smelly pup. But it was fun to see her so happy and at home again. She is getting back to her normal self after lots and lots of traveling, lots of new and strange things, places, and people. We are both settling in just fine.

So there's a little peek into life here so far. Never a dull moment, that's for sure! Hope all are well!!! Write often. :)

I'm in a Yurt!

2009-08-10T11:22:00.001-07:00

It finally happened: I moved into the Yurt. Yeah! My life in the round, as they say, has officially begun. My first evening there was spent unpacking and, oddly enough, decorating, making it look (and feel) more like my own home - pictures, maps, Tibetan prayer flags, etc. I won’t lie, it looks pretty great in there. There were dead flies everywhere when I first got in, and I have a feeling that until fall is over I will be sweeping them up regularly. Jenna left me lots of goodies, mostly appliances, and although not all of my things have made it here yet, I am settling in just as well as anyone would in a new place. The biggest challenge so far has not been using the honey bucket (which has a box over it with a seat, making me cross my fingers every time I go that the bucket is aimed appropriately underneath me). No, I am having more trouble finding a place for everything. I feel like my tubs will play an important role in this. I’ve also realized that I perhaps have more blankets than I need. I might not think so in January. But I do want to get a heated blanket for those chilly nights.

From this picture I can give you a little tour... To my left (your right) is my "bedroom." Directly behind me is my "bathroom," and next to that you can see my "kitchen." To my right is my pantry. And in front of me is my "office" and "living room." But considering the entire thing is just one big 20-foot room, I like to consider the whole thing my living room. I guess since Star is living with me I could call it a "family room." Ha. :)

We’ll see how I feel in a few months, but I think life is better this way. It’s less slothful, less lazy, less dull. There is always something to do, and it has to be done. It’s a matter of survival (almost – we’ll just pretend as though it is). It reminds me of camping. Be organized, be prepared, be aware, and be healthy. Okay, that last one was a stretch, and I’m not sure it’s actually quoted on the list of Expedition Behavior, but I think it fits. Take care of yourself, be safe, and that’s the best you can give to anyone else. In my case, it’s the best I can give to my dog and my yurt. I feel pretty good right now about how things are going. I am taking it slow, learning things every day. Alright, it’s only been two days, but I’ve already hauled water and learned that it will take more than one trip to get enough water for a week, to fill up that big bin of Jenna’s (now mine). I made bread in the little toaster oven last night, and it turned out pretty well. I’ve certainly used the honey bucket a few times. Pretty soon I’ll master the propane stove – I have to use it first. I’m getting to know my space. And I have a few more boxes yet to come in, so we’ll see how it all goes down. I’m sure I’ll have some bad days, some sad days, some days when I wonder what the heck I was thinking, but this is my choice. And it was a good one. I really am in my own little space, the rural part of rural Koyuk, Alaska.

Anyway, I will be spending this week settling in, fishing, hiking out, picking berries, and of course, beginning the process of setting up my classroom. Next week work starts, and the week following kids will come. Oh my goodness!! Hopefully my brain will wake up from summer slumber by then.

The Rest of Fairbanks + The Tattoo Process

2009-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

I blogged about the Denali Highway bike trip - which I think is pretty exciting - but I failed to mention the rest of the 2 weeks that I spent north of Anchorage. Most of the time I was in Fairbanks living in my tent in Carrie and Leif's backyard.

It was a nice spot with a beautiful view of the hills. They live in a cute little cabin in the woods, "little" being the key word, and the main reason I lived in a tent instead of in the house. Truthfully, I didn't mind at all. It gave everyone their own space. :) Anyway, every morning I was given a wake-up call, even if I didn't necessarily want one, by their cool dog, Munnin. He was, as Leif put it, enamored with me, and would tenaciously hope for me to wake up to play with him and his super cool red ball, laying patiently next to my tent. And he was always excited to see me. I honestly almost took him home with me.

The first weekend that I was in Fairbanks, however, was spent at Kim's new cabin. She built it last summer and invited people out to see it this year. Frankly, it's gorgeous. And the view is spectacular. It's actually kind of hard to take your eyes off of the mountains over the trees.

Carrie, Leif, and I drove out there on Saturday morning and met Stacey, who was already there, and Kim. We were lucky, too, because we didn't just get to visit and hang out and eat good food. We also got to help Kim work on the cabin.

If you look at the posts on her deck carefully, you will notice that the one on your left is burled. This is kind of - okay, not kind of, it IS - the theme of the cabin. The ultimate goal is to have all the posts be burled trees. She is pretty much always burl hunting. Before we got there her and Stacey had scoped out a couple of pretty nice enormous trees. And by enormous I do actually mean enormous.

But we are a tough group, and one pithy tree would not keep us from doing what we set out to do. Maybe a giant burl, but not a tree. The first tree was actually so big that Kim was able to cut it into two significant pieces that will serve as two different posts. The first half was a nice size - I'm guessing maybe 350-400 pounds? The good news is that the burls are beautiful. The not as good news is that the truck could not drive in as far as the tree was, which meant we did actually have to figure a way to get the tree to the truck.

We started out just simply hauling it. I'm not sure if "simple" is an appropriate adjective... Anyway, the small jabs into our sides and the awkwardness of the size made it frustratingly difficult to continue in this method. Carrie's bright idea: flip it end over end. So we did. We picked up one end, and then pushed it over long ways, so it did somersaults all the way to as far as the truck could come. Don't think that this was easy, my friends. It was not. But it worked, and it worked better (in my opinion) than hauling the tree like you see above. In any case, it got there. We all felt very successful. :)

What about the second half? You may ask. But the burl on the other part was actually so big we decided unanimously that we would not be able to carry it from where it was to the truck. Partly this was due to the fact that we had just hauled the other half. Mostly, seriously, the burl itself weighed so much there was no way we would have gotten that thing out of there, at least without seriously injuring one or more of us. But fear not; Kim will get it.

She also wants smaller burl trees for posts on her railing for the loft in the cabin. So we continued to burl hunt. Personally, this was my favorite part, mostly because I got to learn how to use the chainsaw. :)

Yeah, eat it, tree. Because after we got a few trees like this with some lovely burls, we peeled them. And peeled and peeled and peeled. It's mostly a satisfying job, if your tree is actually wet. My biggest burl was pretty dry and sappy, so it took me a long while to get it finished. But it was pleased. I even initialed it, so in 50 years one might be able to distinguished the carved "KK" in one of the railing posts and say, "I wonder if her middle name starts with a 'K.'"

Back to Fairbanks, most of my time was spent resting. Resting is an all-encompassing term that includes doing all of those things more than I generally have time for, such as, but not limited to: sleeping, sitting and doing nothing, reading, biking, wandering aimlessly, and sleeping (did I say that already?). It sounds like I might have been bored, but truthfully, not one moment that I was sitting and doing nothing, well, other than thinking, did I actually feel "bored" or like I really wanted something to do. No, I was perfectly content to have nothing to do.

I did spend time with Carrie, of course, which was great. It occurred to us that we don't actually know when we will see each other again. This is strange. As accustomed as I am to goodbyes, I was somewhat used to seeing Carrie at least once a month or more. Living in the bush creates different sorts of friendships, I have learned, so I don't necessarily feel like I'm losing a friend - I know we'll still be friends - but, how to say it, living in the village together, she's not down the street anymore, and the holiday of the weekend will provide a different family of people to be with. Not bad, just different.

I realize that I wasn't entirely exhaustive with my time in Anchorage, either. I am back in Anchorage now, but before I left for Fairbanks I did spend a lot of time with my dog.

She is living in a kennel for the summer, but everyone loves her everywhere she goes, so I'm not too worried. I took her today to spend some time with her (she was very happy and cuddly to see me) and also to take her back to the vet to complete her vaccinations. She's a very happy and healthy dog!

I also hiked up Flat Top... lovely view.

Although I didn't go all the way to the top because I had the dog with me. At the end of the hike up there is literally rock climbing. Since Star can't be trusted off the leash, and since I can't very well climb up a mountain with just one hand, we stopped just a short ways from the top for a rest and a look around. Don't think I'm done with that mountain, however. I will go back, and I will get to the top. :)

Also, the tattoo process, I thought, was pretty interesting.

Step 1: Find an artist

(Except that we found mine by chance and not by phone book)

Step 2: Prepare mentally

(I was so ready.)

Step 3: Outline the pterodactyl

Step 4: Break the enamel on my skin in order to place a permanent mark of ink, causing bleeding from what felt like a cat scratching the same spot repeatedly, OR like ripping duct tape off of my skin really fast so it tears out the hairs over and over and over

Step 5: Suffer

("It's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth it. Whose idea WAS this?!?!?!?!?" There may have been some questioning as to what the HECK I was thinking, perhaps some cursing of particular individuals who encouraged the whole thing. I really just wanted a little one, a trinity, something simple. And it somehow evolved into a prehistoric creature which was obviously not the fittest, since it did not survive, evolution.)

Step 6: Enjoy the artwork

(In truth, I do love my tattoo, and since that day I have grown quite attached to it. Good thing, since it will be with me for a while.)

Step 7: Enjoy the company

(Katie.)

I think this pretty much covers all the interesting things up until now. Cheers!

That Denali Highway Bike Trip I've Been Talking About

2009-06-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! Carrie and I are now among the few and the proud people who have successfully biked all 135 miles of the Denali Highway. And we did it without a single fall. I know, right? Can you believe it?!? This isn't to say we didn't have setbacks, of course, but at least we weren't terribly bloody at the end of it.

Sunday June 7th marked the beginning of our adventure. We set out from Fairbanks on a 15 passenger van that shuttled us from Fairbanks to Cantwell. It was probably the longest 5 hours of my life... 8:45 we got on the bus, made a couple more stops in Fairbanks (including the airport to get a bag someone had left or lost and someone's house to pick up a buddy of the driver's to accompany him on the ride), then headed very slowly south on the highway, listening to your favorite music and mine, hard rock scream-o sounds. Carrie said the one positive thing about the horrible station on the radio was that at least she wouldn't know any of the songs so they wouldn't get stuck in her head. Funny, true, but I'm not sure it was worth the aural agony.

After a lunch break in tourist-city Denali, we finally reached the gas station at Cantwell where we loaded up the bikes and set out on our highway. How cool we are. :)

The first few miles of the road were paved, but not too long into our ride we hit the gravel road, which would be our pathway for the following 100 miles or so. There were some pleasant and not so pleasant places on the road. Some parts were gravelly...

Some parts were more packed down and smooth (save for a few bumps in the road)...

(That's me in the road up there.) And some parts were pretty aweful. I don't know what genius decided that fixing the road included putting pieces of inch to inch and half size rocks all over it, but s/he was definitely, definitely wrong. All it does is cause skidding, in case you were curious, particularly when going downhill, and all I could imagine in some places was me tumbling down the rocky slope in front of me. So although I was a pretty strong biker and going a fair speed, I am a total woos going down hills. I have no need-for-speed bones in my body, at least not that kind, so I pretty much rode my brakes the whole way as Carrie flew down ahead of me.

But our adventures were not bound to the biking part. Between the hills and the pedaling were hours of camping adventures. Carrie hauled the trailor with our camp gear (tent, her clothes and bag, basic camp needs) and I carried two back paniers with all the food and some smaller camp needs, and my clothes bag. We started our trip from Cantwell on Sunday afternoon around 1:45pm. From there we biked 31 miles to Brushkana campgrounds which sits near a small river. Not wanting to pay to camp, we biked about 3/4 of a mile ahead and camped at a nice spot off the side of the road.

After setting up camp we headed down to the river to take advantage of the view and, of course, to "ice" Carrie's knee. She figured some really creative ways to get just her knee into the very cold water. I was pretty impressed. And if you're wondering why people do yoga, think of moments just as this, and you might reconsider joining a local class. :)

I'm just glad she didn't fall in. It would have made for a chilly night... Anyway, we went back up to camp and started the dinner process. We picked a nice spot far away from our tent, picked our yummy packaged meal for the night - Beef and Hash - and set up the stove.

Unfortunately, as Carrie was showing me how to use it (since I've never used one before), she realized that it was actually leaking. Initial frustrations aside, we began gathering wood to build a small fire to heat our water instead. Surprisingly, it didn't take very much wood to make a big enough fire just for boiling water (although, by the end, we pretty much settled for "hot" water, not wanting to wait that long to eat). We considered going down to the campgrounds to see if anyone had a spare of the part that was broken on the stove, but then decided that we were pretty cool for going fuel-less and starting a fire, like we are real survivors, and we could go without the stove for the remainder of the trip. So we did. We built a fire every morning for breakfast and every night for dinner. (Okay, no fire on Wednesday morning - but having a granola bar instead of oatmeal, I could definitely tell a difference.)

So starting and maintaining a fire became a team effort, and although we are both capable of it, it was kind of fun to watch each other. I have to admit, Carrie is still better at the whole thing than I am, but she was impressed with my "direct blow" skills to get the fire going again when it got temporarily doused.

She took advantage of the moment to make fun of my funny lip face while recognizing it's effectiveness. Just saying. I don't remember who taught me these mad skills, but it sure worked. Plus, it was nice to have a fire for a little while to keep the bugs away. Though we still have our fair share of mosquito bites everywhere...

After solving that first big issue, things began settling into place. It was good for me to have this time of camping before NOLS, a practice and reminder that, when camping, there is pretty much always something to do (make and break down camp, set up for dinner because in the time it takes to make it you'll be hungry even if you aren't now, take off and hang wet clothes and put on dry ones, make sure nothing can get blown away, etc.) and always something to think about (do we have bear spray handy, how far away is our food, do I have everything in the tent that I want for the night, when was the last time I drank water, and so forth). But I don't mind it - keeping my mind busy, as it really hasn't been while on vacation - and besides, I'm pretty sure the idea of a room with a view can't be beat when camping out in Alaska wilderness. You don't fool around with AK, because it doesn't fool around with you, but it sure is lovely! I really noticed a difference in just the sounds of being out there, how quiet it was, between when it was just us on the road and when cars went by, between camping in our own spot at Clearwater and camping at an official campground at Tangle Lakes with other people around us.

Monday morning we woke up and prepared for our long day. By the end of the day we had to complete 50 miles to get to our next spot. It is amazing the perspective of what 10 miles is. Before the trip, that seemed like a really long way. Now, 10 miles is a fraction. We did 20 miles on Monday morning and stopped for lunch at this really nice spot by a river I can't remember the name of. Right as we were pulling in, my gears started acting funny, but we thought we'd deal with it after we ate. So we did, we ate and sat and rested for a little while. As we were finishing, we saw two men on a raft coming our way. They were actually getting out right where we were, so we chatted with them a little. Then the one helped us as we tried to fix the issue with my bike. Unfortunatly, I don't know what happened, but it's all messed up, so I had to deal with what I had for the following day and a half. It turned out not so bad, and everything was fine. After lunch we headed out for the next 30 miles. This was probably the hardest stretch, as it seemed like every turn produced a new daunting hill.

The views of the mountains that we saw the whole way, however, made every mile worth the effort. This mountain below, whatever it's called, was my favorite. This was a really pretty stretch, mostly flat, really pleasant packed down road, and it ended with an amazing downhill bridge that led us to our lunch stop. Nice. :)

Along the way we stopped randomly for pictures. Many of them are at the top of a significant hill. There was one hill that was about 6 miles long - seriously, completely uphill, no breaks, just up. It took us a while... At the base of it is a bridge, at which we stopped for pictures, water, and anything else we could think of to put off biking up that thing.

But an hour and a half later, we got to this.

Some other top-of-the-hill shots include:

and

Tuesday was a 33 mile ride, and we camped at a place called Clearwater. There are toilets and a river - that's it. This was a nice spot, I thought. We saw lots of moose droppings, but no moose.

Actually, we did see moose and other wildlife along the way. Carrie saw more than I did - we learned on this trip that I am not very observant... We would break, and she would ask me, "Did you see that lone caribou?" or "Did you see the mile marker?" or "Did you see that big enormous sign telling us where we are?" Pretty much every time I would have to admit that, uh, no, I did not see that. I did see a couple moose, an eagle, and a ptarmigan (at least I think that's what it was), and some squirrels, and lots of mosquitos. No bears (thank goodness). Carrie saw porcupine. I missed that one - made me kind of sad.

Tuesday night we camped at Tangle Lakes, which is about 21 miles out of Paxson, all on paved road. This is a more popular campground with official campground spots and more people. We weren't alone that night - there were lots of people camping in other spots around us. It was a pretty spot, however, and it would be fun to go back there at some point to play on the water, do some hiking, and so forth.

It's called Tangle Lakes because the lakes are basically tangles of water wrapped through the hills and patches of land. It's kind of cool to look at, and it'd be a fun place to really explore and boat around in. Andrea, a friend of Carrie's, met us there that evening and camped overnight with us. The next morning she met us in Paxson to drive us back to Fairbanks.

Wednesday morning we completed the last 21 miles of paved road, which felt very nice on our poor seats. There were still some good hills, and the first 7 miles we were basically going right into a nice (sarcastic) headwind, which meant even on the downhills we were working. We got to one hill in the wind and I was so tired I thought I was going to fall over and cry. But I gave myself a little pep talk and made it up just fine. It was interesting - there was a group there, some kind of tourist thing I guess, that was biking the highway as well. I just saw them, but one of them biked with Carrie for a few minutes up the hill (which, really, who talks to someone WHILE they're biking up a hill??). We were glad we did not run into the group later on in our ride.

We made it to Paxson a little before noon where we met Andrea, packed the car, and headed up to Fairbanks. We made a stop in Delta, though, for a yummy buffalo burger and a milkshake - and deserving we were of that. It was basically the best milkshake I've ever had.

All in all, it was a great, refreshing trip. Thanks, Carrie, for making it so awesome! I am planning on continuing to bike this week and next so that hopefully I can maintain what fitness I have gained from all this for my NOLS course which starts in just 2 weeks. I'm getting excited! From June 25 to July 25 I will be out in the wilderness somewhere kayaking, backpacking, camping, and completely out of touch with the world. I can't wait.

Here are a few more pictures from the trip:

The End of an Era

2009-05-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Alright, I know, it has been an era since I last blogged. I was told by a friend that she reads my blog "religiously" (which is really cool, except I wish she had a blog that I could also read "religiously"), and people are starting to wonder if I am still alive. So much has happened since the last time I updated. It has been unbelievably busy with the last days of school, packing, and all of the emotional baggage that I tend to internalize. So I'll give you a basic update as to my doings in the past month.

The snow finally started to melt in UNK, and we saw lots of things that we have not seen in a very long time. Things such as: the sun, the ground, my porch chair, out my window, and people wearing regular clothes outside as opposed to parkas and snow pants.

And then, of course, it was my birthday. Happy Earth Day! On April 22nd I turned 25 years old, which means that I can now rent a car without all the extra hassle. It really was a festival this year. Judie and Sissy made me a Kuspuk, which is lovely, and in the traditional Unalakleet style. Sissy threw me a slam bang party with all the fixings. (I still don't have the pictures from that...) And I had dinner with Adrianna and some other friends. It was a really great week!

Moving on... During the week of August 27 - May 1 I was lucky enough to travel with BSSD high school seniors who are UAF bound to visit the campus in Fairbanks. We left the warming temperatures of Unalakleet (somewhere in the 30's I think) to the sunny summer weather in Fairbanks - it pretty much hovered around 70 degrees and clear skies all week! Unfortunately I didn't plan very well, so most of my clothes were tailored to UNK spring, so it got really hot. BUT, it was totally worth it. I think it made it harder to be in the cold of home after that.

Vanessa was the leader of the group. I'm so glad she asked me to go! We had a great time getting to know each other better. So many laughs!!

We hung out with our BSSD students and some graduates who are now at UAF. I really like being with students in an outside-of-school setting. It's fun to get to know them as regular people and not just as students. :) Of course, I was always the responsible chaperone.

We visited the museum at UAF, and there were a few really cool things to look at, like Mammoth bones (I love Wooly Mammoths!) and sculptures. There were also some Saber-Toothed Tigers and other pre-historic remains. I think this is pretty cool - I pretty much love dinosaurs, although I haven't done much about that until recenetly (foreshadowing).

Moving on, that very weekend we returned was prom, which is a very big deal. I'm not much of a dresser-upper, so I had to borrow a dress from Sissy. And since prom was at the auditorium at the other end of town, Adrianna (my hot date) and I had to walk down, which meant we had to figure a way to protect our nice clothing from the mud.

I wore pants underneath with rubber boots, and when I got there I wore flip flops. Pretty classy, huh? Anyway, here's me with Adrianna and Janelle at Prom 2009. I was even wearing make-up, and A did my hair, and I wore earrings and stuff - I felt so prissy.

Thanks, Sis, for letting me wear your dress!! She made an appearance in the middle to watch the crowning and pick up cake decorations for her mom, Judie, who is the ultimate cake-maker ever anywhere.

Alright, so prom ended, and we had one week until graduation, and then one more week after that until school was out. Needless to say, it was pretty chaotic. Plus, I was trying to pack up my house to move it all to Koyuk, clean up my classroom for the next teacher (Adrianna!), and organize all that I wanted to take with me and leave behind - I threw a lot of stuff away. This is the one good thing about moving so much - it helps me keep my life simpler, with less stuff.

A few other events that I partook in during the last 3 weeks I was in town include...

The first picnic of the season! Sissy and Judie and Adrianna and I went out to the beach to build a fire and eat brats. Mmm!! God bless the Germans for inventing brats. It was a beautiful day, even if it was a little windy.

One minor anecdote... When we got there, we of course unpacked the car, and Adrianna and I had brought our backpacks so that we could hike back from the bonfire, practicing our packing and hiking skills, getting used to carrying the weight and using our packs. So we took them out of the trunk and put them on the ground right behind the Jeep so we could get to the rest of the stuff. Sissy realized she had forgotten some things, though, and decided to go back to get them. As she pulled out, she inadvertently backed over our packs (A's was brand spanking new), then pulled forward over them again! And it gets better. When I packed my bag, I put in things like, a tent, clothes, survival gear, stuff that I would put in there anyway. Adrianna weighed hers down with canned food. So when Sis ran over the packs, she was left with some surprises inside...

Like a completely flattened can of artichokes. Now her brand spanking new cool backpack has the sweet aroma of artichoke juice forever soaked into the fabric. But this did not keep us from having a good hike back home after dinner. :)

We did other fun outdoor things, like hike up Army Hill...

And the last day of school the school has a picnic for all the students, so the high school actually went back to Army Hill, only it was much clearer than the day we had hiked up.

You can kind of see town if you look closely, but that's all the ice on the ocean that's starting to go away. It was gone, but a lot more came in from farther out, but it's warming up. Break-up and melting is happening, and before I left we were able to walk on the beach again, which was so nice! It even smelled like beach, which the cold takes away during the winter, so it kind of smelled like fall again. :)

The week after school, I stayed in town for CASC, which is the committee that goes through our standards and curriculum and makes revisions and changes and updates based on the needs that teachers see. I was on the Reading CASC this year, which was great because I got to work with amazing people, some of my favorite people actually. We had some good laughs, good talks, and of course, got lots of work done.

One great thing that happened was the official signing of the Lease Agreement between me and Jenna, the "Yurtlord" as she calls herself in the contract. (We had plans to fill it with figurative language, but lost time.) She is the wonderful woman from whom I will be renting the yurt. It's getting all pimped out, and basically it will be a rockin' place to live next August.

I spent a lot of time with friends from around the district and in Unalakleet. I tried to get around to everyone so that I could say goodbye properly, make sure I see them before I no longer live there. Of course I will be back there to visit, hopefully often, it will still be very different. I think the worst is that I've made some friends recently, and now I'm leaving, so I feel like I am sort of just missing them. But all is well, and one fortunate thing about BSSD is that distance friendships are somehow maintainable because we are so spread out.

One person in particular... Katie! On more than one occasion we have been traveling through Anchorage around the same time, even though she lives on Little Diomede, which is quite a ways farther out. But anyway, she's a good friend, and so much fun to hang out with! She came through ANC on the 23rd, the same day I came in, so we spent the day together.

After I picked her up from the airport and we checked into the hotel, we did the only natural thing anyone would do as soon as they got into town after a long year in the village: we looked for a tattoo place.

Well, Katie didn't get a tattoo. But I did! I already wanted one, so it's not like it was totally on a whim. But what it is that I got is a little different than I had originally planned. This decision is due to some new friendships I have formed... not a bad thing, just totally unexpected. But I am happy with it! And I think it's a pretty awesome tattoo. (Am I allowed to blog about this?? I know my bosses are reading this...)

Yeah, I got a pterodactyl on the small of my back. So it's not like it's on my face and everyone has to see it all the time. And yes, it hurt, but it was totally fate. Katie and I searched and searched, and everywhere we went they were either closed or booked. We had kind of given up on getting it done that day, although Katie was much more positive than me. As we pulled into the parking lot to go to Bear Tooth for dinner she said, "When God closes a door, He always opens a window." And as we parked, she looked up, pointed in front of us, and said, "Tattoo!!" And so it was, a tattoo place had just opened right in that very spot just two weeks ago. We went inside and asked if they took walk-ins, to which the guy replied, "Yeah, he'll be done with her in about 5 minutes, and then we can take you." It was fate, even though I don't believe in fate, really, but if I did, this would have been a sign. (Lately, with everything working so well, even around all the things that aren't working, my non-belief in 'fate' is really being tested...) I showed him the pictures from the children's books I had picked up so he could see the design I had in mind, and this is what he came up with. Pretty sweet!

So why a pterodactyl, you may ask? The line of the century, something I will never forget, the advice given to me while being convinced that it was a good idea, "It's just a tattoo." Okay, NO one says that. But I like dinosaurs, and even though pterodactyls are not dinosaurs (they are flying reptiles, thank you Alex), they are prehistoric, and they are cool, and no one gets a pterodactyl on their back. I mean seriously. I was going to get the trinity, pretty simple, you know, Mind, Body, Spirit, pretty classy. I was told, though, "EVERYone gets the trinity. That's so normal!" So if I do get that, it will be later. For now, I have a prehistoric flying reptile stamped forever on my skin, and I am totally okay with that. I think it rocks.

(I hope I don't get in trouble for writing about this.)

Anyway, I'm hanging out in Anchorage for the week. It's really nice and warm and sunny here, which is great!! I even got sunburned yesterday. :) My first one of the year! My face has more color, and even though I've eaten pizza every day since I've been here, I think I look healthier. I love the sun!

I'm off for a bike ride. I'm sure I'll get plenty of comments (right??). Take care! I'll try to update more frequently... :) I love summer vacation!

When an Unexpected Opportunity Comes Along that Totally Alters Your Current Course

2009-04-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

KOYUK (Koy – yook):

1. A small Inupiaq village on the northeast corner of the Norton Sound. The population is approximately 300 people, the majority being Native Alaskans.

2. This coastal village is part of the three bush locations that some refer to as the “garden” villages. It is not only on the coast of the Sound and within more than reasonable distance to a river, it is also at the bottom of a beautiful hill covered in trees, the presence of which many people envy. Perhaps living without trees makes one appreciate them even more. (Fortunately, Unalakleet is also quite beautiful, so I have not experienced a complete lack of plant life.) It is also a favorite location for caribou hunting, a staple in many Alaskan people’s diets.

3. Koyuk is home to Koyuk Malamute School (a K-12 public education facility in the Bering Strait School District with total enrollment of a little over half of Unalakleet School’s, which is 187 students), some of the nicest people on Earth, and, after this summer, me.

I suppose I should give a bit of an explanation, as this may shock many of you. As my Dad put it, “Wait wait wait – you want to move to a smaller village?” I know, it’s crazy. And maybe I’m crazy. But truly, this is a good move for me.

I had every intention of returning to Unalakleet. I did not want to leave BSSD, and I would have been perfectly content staying here for however much longer I would be here. It is a good place, and this was a pretty unexpected turn of events. I have to admit that I did put in a transfer request just in case a scenario just as this one came up, not because I expected it, but because if I were to move anywhere outside of Unalakleet, I wanted it to be Koyuk. In any case, however, I was truly planning on staying in UNK – until last Monday.

I don’t need to go through every detail, but the idea was presented to me on Monday of last week, I affirmed my interest, and for 72 hours the personnel office was silent. Okay, so they were traveling, and I totally understand that. But I definitely experienced some anxiety. “What are they thinking? Are they going to offer it to me? They have to – I mean, who else would they give it to? But what if they don’t? I have to be prepared for them to say no. Maybe they found someone else. That’s okay – that’s okay. But what if they ask me? What are they thinking?” And so on and so forth. This was my cycle of thought. That and the constant checking of my email probably put me near coronary occlusion… It was painful. Erika and Kyle asked if I wanted to come up to Koyuk for the weekend to visit, and having had kind of a crazy week in several aspects of my life, I agreed, knowing full well that this was not a work related visit, but simply a trip to see friends. In fact, I was under orders not to say anything.

Thursday afternoon brought me sweet liberation from my stress – they offered me the teaching position in KKA (Koyuk), and I happily agreed. I would be leaving on Friday afternoon to visit my soon-to-be home, though I was still not allowed to tell anyone. Although, when I arrived at the school in KKA I learned that everyone knew. And so it became a beautiful and crazy and weird and good and everything weekend, talking about next year, taking care of business, getting to know my new colleagues and friends. It was a little overwhelming, since all of it had happened so quickly, and even now I am still processing it. Since everyone knew in KKA I knew that the wave of the rumor mill would soon reach UNK, and I knew I wanted people to hear the news of my departure from me. So I told my fellow teachers on Monday, or all those that I saw when I got back that afternoon, and I told my kids on Tuesday. That has been an experience in and of itself.

Now I have to pack. One box at a time, deep breaths, and to-do list by to-do list, every day brings me closer to this new thing. And yeah, it isn’t just a new school, a new village, and a new professional experience. I don’t really know how to tell you this.

Remember my last blog about my visit to Koyuk, and I talked about the yurt, and I put up a picture of what one looks like? I even said in the paragraph above the picture of the yurt, and I quote, “I’ve decided that one day I would like to live in a yurt. It’s very cool.” Little did I know that less than three months later I would be given the opportunity to do that very thing. So when I get to Koyuk this coming August I will not be moving into an apartment; I will be moving into a yurt.

Before you object, let me say a few things.

A. Yes, I do understand what it takes to live in a yurt. I understand the work and the responsibility and all of that. Yes, I get it. I am aware. And…

B. Although this yurt is equipped with a wood stove for heating, it also is wired with electricity, so I will be buying an electric space heater for warmth. This is for a couple of reasons, one of which is, yes, I am kind of lazy. It’s also because I do, in fact, enjoy chopping wood – I just want to keep enjoying it. If it’s a chore, I might not. And I think, too, it’s a good idea for me to ease myself into this yurt living thing, what with having teaching responsibilities on top of basic survival… like water.

Yes, I will have to haul water because, no, there is no indoor plumbing. “WHAT?? No running WATER?? How do you flush the toilet???” I will be using a honey bucket. If you do not know what that is, you should look it up. And I will have to haul water in a giant bin, I don’t know yet how often. That’s probably up to me and how much water I use in a week. But fortunately…

I bought a snow machine!!! (To all the lower-48ers out there, that is a snow mobile, the main form of transportation during the long winter months.) So although I’ll need to figure out what to do in the non-snowing months still, in the winter I will have a sweet ride for hauling water, trips up to the hot springs, drives down to Unalakleet, and wherever else I want to go!

So what about internet? Well yeah, unless I want to hook it up at my beautiful new place of residence, which I’m not sure yet if I will or not, I won’t have internet at home. I am told, though, that cell phones work there, as GCI has extended their network to some village locations, so I will be getting a cell phone this summer so that I can stay in touch with people and not be completely disconnected from the world – unless I turn off my phone. :) I will be located more at the edge of town, but like I said, it’s kind of a small town, so I won’t be completely isolated unless I want to be.

Despite the work required for living in a yurt, there are also a lot of benefits. One, I do not have to have a roommate – I can have my own house, albeit a relatively small, one-room yurt. This is something that I was really hoping for. I did not want a roommate, and it was looking like I would have gotten one had I not chosen the yurt. Also, I will be saving a lot on rent, which is cool. The yurt forces one to be less lazy, as basic chores are vital to one’s very existence, as well as forcing me further into developing my disastrously poor organizational skills. My hope is to try and simplify my life, and living with too many modern conveniences gives me the leeway to allow too many things, as in actual items that I do not need into my space. It’s time, with the help of the yurt, to take on the 100 Item Challenge. And so, with that, I feel as though the yurt has taken on a life of its own, and perhaps it deserves now to be given a capital Y – the Yurt – and, in time, maybe even a name. Adrianna wisely suggests “Burt the Yurt.”

And in answer to the ever ominous and inevitable question, “Why?” I simply respond, “Because I want to.” :)

Thoughts?

2009-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Twice now I've received a box of Girl Scout cookies as a gift. On both occasions, the box was emptied within 24 hours. Although I have been biking diligently and (albeit slowly) gaining both strength and stamina, my choices in eating habits have steadily declined in concordance with my lack of house-cleaning habits, which have really never existed. I have no more clean dishes to cook with, therefore I don't cook, and therefore I eat like crap, unless I eat with Judie and Sissy (God bless their souls), which is really not fair. I've turned into a bona fide mooch, and they have let me... I should really make them something. I should really, then, clean my house so that I can do such a thing. The only time I ever cleaned regularly was when I had one or more roommates. I was particularly good when we had a chore wheel - loved the chore wheel, especially when my name fell next to "kitchen" as it was also a house expectation that we basically cleaned our own messes. "Kitchen" was almost as good as a chore-free week, so I could basically be "normal." But anyway, I feel as though my healthy choice of biking so much is allowing me to give myself the freedom to pig out. I tell myself, "Oh, I'm biking - I can eat extra tater tots." But a "healthy choice" is not so much choosing to buy one bag of Funyons instead of two, but perhaps zero bags of Funyons and a few apples, which are more expensive to the bank, less expensive to my hips. Maybe a good house cleaning would burn some of those extra calories.

Well, that was about a week ago. This past week we started to get icky wet snow, so I haven't been as faithful in my intentions to work out. Perhaps next year I will invest in a trainer for my house... But I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about the right now, which I am still learning to appreciate as much as I look forward to the future and am thankful for the past.

Some call it the "great white expanse," or well, I think I read that somewhere. I am spending the weekend up in Koyuk. My good friends Kyle and Erika invited me up to visit, which is funny, because Kyle doesn't even live here yet. But he might as well. So, given that this has been a pretty crazy week for many reasons, I agreed. And it's my last weekend to visit here before the school year is out. It was a good decision. I got in on Friday afternoon, and I will leave here on Monday afternoon. (Thanks again for the personal day!) As I was walking back from Jenna's last night I looked out over the sea, and although Koyuk is known for its trees, I don't remember ever seeing anything so vastly blank and white in Unalakleet. At least in our ocean we can see the southern mountains and St. Michael and Besboro Island. Here, there is nothing. And it really is a "great white expanse." It feels very small - very, very small, and kind of like I really am in the middle of nowhere. In fact, I had to look to the other side of me where there are houses and people and dogs just to remind me that really, this is not the middle of nowhere. It just happens to be very far from somewhere else.

I wish I had pictures for you. Maybe when I post again about my visit, I will include some. But it has been a while since I've said anything, so I decided to just say something.

So here are some sweet photos of my cute dog, whom I like very much.

And, it's time for a blast from the past. I don't really know what we're trying to do with our faces in this picture, but whenever Michelle tried to sexy, sad, or mischievous for a photo, this is pretty much what she looked like. So who knows? Maybe her mouth is just full.

Iditarod and Other News

2009-03-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Posted Monday March 24, 2009

Last week my friend Shon, the Special Ed. teacher from Stebbins came up to visit me here in Unalakleet. Partly he was doing work, partly he was just here to hang out. So for about 8 days Shon and I were roommates. Pretty much we just watched a lot of movies and ate a lot of food. He's a pretty cool kid. This is Shon holding the Gold Coast Award which is awarded to the first musher who reaches Unalakleet, along with $2500 in gold pieces. Lance Mackey was the winner this year.

This week is spring break, and since the Iditarod started on March 7, the most likely time for the front runner to get here was the Sunday that Shon was scheduled to leave. Since Stacey is awesome, she let me borrow her machine. I had hoped to have a trip up to Old Woman, but I missed my window. Instead, Shon and I drove up river to meet Lance Mackey as he passed by on his way to our checkpoint.

It was awesome. We saw him several times, as we ran into Adrianna and Ryan on the way back, stopped again to watch him go by (again)...

...then passed him (again) on our way back to town where we watched him come in (again). That's this video.

Of course we stuck around to watch the Idita-thing at the UNK checkpoint. This is Lance Mackey himself, the 2009 Iditarod champion. It's his 3rd win in a row, just so you know. That's history, folks.

It was also cool because when he came in his dogs still looked mighty healthy. Don't know how he does it, but he has a good team going on.

Damon decided that he wanted to get some footage of Mackey driving his dogs up this particular hill north of town, so that night him and drove about 4 miles north of town, I saw a few shooting stars, we watched the satellite and Venus and an airplane and it was pretty dang cool. And then we watched Lance Mackey (again), and then we went home. :)

But there are some cool pictures to go along with the sweet Iditarod season.

This past week was our much-awaited Spring Break - the whole week. Although not as eventful as last year, it's been kind of a different pace to just sit around and really do nothing for a while. Adrianna, Ryan, and I went out for a ride up river. The weather has been unbeatable for playing outside - skiing, snow machining, walking, even biking. Yes, I got out my bike.

I probably wouldn't have gotten out my bike if I was still able to ski, but alas, I am not able to ski. I've had to put my poles away, go on hiatus (sort of) from extra-extrenuous use of my shoulder due to (yet another) stupid move by me. And here's how it went...

I was on my way to return Stacey's machine to her house on Wednesday morning. I cut across the lake/swamp (that is of course frozen) where I would meet the road. But there was a little steep hill that goes up to the road, and because so many people had peeled out at the top, there were ruts and juts and edges to be caught. While headed toward it I had a glimmering thought of, "I don't know, that looks pretty stupid... maybe I should-" but I cut myself off with, "Nah, you'll be fine." This, I've noticed, is my general answer for EVERYthing. "Nah, I'm fine. It'll be fine. Everything's fine." And usually I'm right. (Just saying.) So but well, as I approached it, I felt a little more committed, and decided that the best way to handle the situation was to just go faster. So pushed the throttle and up I went, and sideways I went, and down I went, full force onto my right shoulder, landing inches away from a telephone pole. I quickly stood up and, being cautious and mindful of my surroundings, looked around to make sure that NO one saw what had just happened. Feeling safe and alone, I turned the machine back upright, pulled it to face the road, turned it back on, thanked the Heavens that it started again, and drove immediately to Stacey's. When I got there, I presented her with the oil I had bought, then told her of the accident. It wasn't until then that I began to realize what actually happened and how badly my shoulder hurt. The adrenaline faded, and my body began to go into minor shock. I was consciously aware of my inability to form coherent sentences easily, so I tried very hard to concentrate. I don't think I was too obvious. Stacey agreed that I should go to the clinic. Because they were closed for lunch I didn't end up getting in until a couple of hours after the accident. I hadn't taken any medicine because I wanted to feel exactly where it hurt for a more accurate diagnosis. They told me I had separated my A-C in my shoulder, a fairly common injury. I was told to ice it regularly, take 800mg of ibuprofen 3x/day until I run out (and given a bottle), and to wear a sling. Well, I don't wear a sling. But I did rest for a couple of days. And then my muscles hurt and I was going crazy just taking random walks. I decided it was time to ride my bike. I've been going about 8 miles the past 3 days up the road and back and around town. It's good because I'm getting a decent work out, and it's not too hard on my shoulder. I should exercise it a little anyway so it doesn't get stiff. But I'm going to schedule an appointment for a follow-up to make sure that the injury isn't more than a grade 1 or 2. I don't think it is. At worst it will be a grade 3. But it's probably not. If it's a grade 4 or 5 then we'll have to discuss treatment options, but I don't think that will be an issue. I'm good. Everything's fine. :)

For those of you who are visual learners, here is an x-ray of what my injury looks like, basically. This isn't MY x-ray, so it's not actually MY injury, but this will give you an idea. The left shoulder (your right) is healthy. The right shoulder (your left), which is the one I also separated, is the injured one. You can see where the clavical bone, or the collar bone has been separated from the arm bone, giving way for whatever bone that other one that looks like a finger to push through. That is why I have a lump on my shoulder, and why it is constantly swollen, and why it hurts to move it sometimes. But it'll be fine, really. With time and exercise and other medical stuff, this will heal.

In other news... I got some new things! Since I am in preparation mode for the summer (i.e. why I'm starting to bike like crazy), I bought a tent. Woot! The first thing I did was set it up in my living room. Yes, I did sleep in it that night in my sleeping bag. :)

Also, to match my beaver hat, I bought a pair of beaver mittens from one of my students. Aren't they so cute???

My next Eskimo buy, for myself anyway, will be a pair of mukluks. But I think I will need to save up for those... for a nice pair, I'm imagining that they will be quite expensive.

So that about covers from then to now. I'm sure I'll have yet another adventure to report on in the next week or two. They never cease to pop up out of nowhere! Like happiness, there's just no accounting for excitement. For example, Mt. Redoubt, Alaska's long-threatening volcano, has finally erupted... six times!! Whew.

Snowwwwwww

2009-02-28T17:47:00.000-08:00

It has been a year of history in the making. Our country elected its first Black president, the economy is the worst it has been since the Great Depression, and Unalakleet experienced it's first snow day. At least those who have been in the district for a significant amount of time (rather than my pithy 18 months) say that they have never seen school close for a real snow day. Well, it happened.

For those that know me well, they understand that I am not a morning person. It is because of this that I do wake up and go to school so early, because I need an average of about two hours before I should be safely interacting with other people. Besides, having that pillow of extra time in the morning makes me feel good. Anyway, I always go to school around 7:00am, so I had already begun setting up shop in my classroom when our principal announced over the intercom that school would be closed that day due to high winds, low visibility, and of course snow and drifts that made it hard to get around. (Our plow has been doing lots of work for us this season.)

I'll describe the walk to and from school for you. It was blowing about 30mph, which lately is pretty average, or so it seems. Because it had snowed so much, it was blowing the snow and tiny ice pellets into my face because I didn't think to wear goggles on my less-than-5-minute walk to work. As I made my way down the road, I frequently found myself knee deep in a snow drift that, because of what they call "snow blindness," I had not seen, especially in white out conditions in the dark. From my house, I could not see my neighbor's house about 100 feet away. My porch had become a snow bank of sorts, completely blown over with snow, making it difficult to shut my door all the way and frankly an adventure to get up and down my stairs. I've taken to sliding on my way down and praying on my way up. That afternoon when I walked to the D.O. (about the same distance as the school from my house) I wore my goggles, and the drifts were significantly deeper. It was still white-out conditions at noon, though by 3:30 it had cleared up a little. That's when I took the video.

This year we've had at least four consecutive blizzards, though we've had more windstorms than that. This is one aspect of living in the bush that sets us apart from other places in the country. Although there may be similar weather conditions, the entire town doesn't necessarily shut down because of it. By "shut down" I mean no the only two stores close early (i.e. the gas station), planes do not fly (no mail, no travel, no shipments - don't get hurt), and getting from place to place becomes an adventure of climbing through snow drifts, digging out vehicles, and making the best of any chance to play in waist deep powder. It also means listening to the wind howl all night long.

In between the storms we have had a few sunny days on which most everyone has taken advantage of. The skiing is great after storms like this. We have so much snow, machiners and skiers race to be the first to make their tracks in the perfect landscapes the winds have created for us. Walking is another story, however, and without warning I have either fallen completely on my face because I just could not see the snow bank in front of me, or have unintentionally stepped down into snow as deep as my thigh. Snow pants are great this time of year. :)

The only concern I have at this point with having this much snow is the melting time. It's a blast now, having this much snow, even if it is a pain, and even if we cannot see across the road because of the wind and snow for a few days. But when it does finally warm up, we are going to have slush that will turn the roads into swamps, and the snow may very well be here until May. For now, though, I'll just keep on skiing... skiing... skiing... :)

Oh yeah, and I cut my hair. About 10 inches came off, and will soon be mailed off to Locks of Love. Sweet. :)

3 Events, 1 Blog

2009-02-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

So much to blog about in just 1 week. I guess there's only one place to start: the beginning...

Let's start at the very beginning.
When you learn to read you say
A - B - C
When you learn to sing you say
Do Re Mi
Do Re Mi

Okay, just kidding. :)

I. Happy Birthday Janelle! Oh yeah, and the Superbowl.

Since Janelle's birthday always falls around the time of the Superbowl, we (i.e. Jake) have to celebrate, to Janelle's inevitable disappointment, both at the same time. So on Sunday the 1st we all headed down to the Snyders' for food, fun, football, and to wish our good friend a happy birthday. The actual date of her birthday is February 2nd - also known as Groundhog's Day.

There was lots of food...

Including muktuk (whale skin and blubber - mmmmmm!!!), which was very, very good!!

There was football, of course...

And, your favorite game and mine, Scrabble!!! I bought a travel Scrabble board while in Indy.

Janelle, Kira, and I enjoyed a rousing game of spelling, in between football plays, conversations, and baby feeding. Daniel was also there to play with the letters. He enjoyed trying to get everyone's attention...

...and taking pictures of things that he saw... like Mom, and a shelf,

and Mom. :)

Happy Birthday, Janelle!!! Hope it was a good one. :)

II. Saturday Excursion

Last Saturday Mark, Stacey, Carrie, Adrianna, and I took out the snowmachines for a jaunt up river and through the woods. It was an excellent day to do so!

We stopped to rest up the river, after tons of deep snow driving, for some hot drinks, photos, and conversation.

It was pretty cold out, as always, but it was above zero, which made for some pretty fantastic driving weather.

Adrianna's new machine is great! We had an awesome time riding around, getting out of town, enjoying the outdoors. :)

After our break, Mark continued driving his fancy new machine while the ladies headed towards our destination ski spot. Boy was it a lovely day! So much good snow for skiing. :)

It was snowy and beautiful and warm - just perfect. Adrianna and I dubbed this spot as our favorite on this trail. It is basically a tunnel of trees, and it is gorgeous.

We had an excellent time! (Sorry the top of your head is kind of cut off, C...)

III. Old Woman

I have been looking forward to going to Old Woman all year long. I only went once last year in March, and it was basically awesome. Old Woman is a big hill, and at the base of it lies a public use cabin, maintained by the state, which is right on the Iditarod trail. People are allowed to go out to the cabin, as long as they follow basic rules of respect: leave wood for the next traveler, leave it as clean as you found it, leave fuel in the stove, don't trash the place, don't stay too long, that sort of thing. Many people have stopped there on their way from village to village, while traveling the Iron Dog or Iditarod, or just to get out of town for a couple of days. Carrie, Stacey, and I were part of the latter group.

On Sunday, a little after 12 noon, the three of us headed out for the 35 mile trek by snowmachine. Adrianna, being my #1 stunner, was nice enough to let me use her machine, as she would not be joining us. And my principal granted me my personal day on Monday so that I could stay the night. I could hardly sleep on Saturday night, even after making all of my preparations and getting to bed late. I kept waking up in anticipation that it was time to get ready to go. Maybe I was afraid I would miss it or something. Anyway, we made it out there in about 2 hours, which is pretty average, although we had to break trail for about 5 or 6 miles at the end of it because no one had been out there since the beginning of January, according to the log. It was some fun driving.

The cabin was ready for us. :) After rejoicing our own arrival, we unloaded the bit of wood on the sled to begin the fire and warm the cabin.

After taking a break and warming up, I decided it was time to go get some more wood. I unloaded our gear, strapped on the snowshoes that Damon so kindly loaned to me, and headed back into the woods behind the cabin with the saw. After a few minutes of searching, I found a couple of dead trees, sawed them down, and dragged them back to the cabin. Stacey copied me. For the record, we brought back equal amounts of wood. Okay, she might have brought back a little bit more. Anyway, we proceeded to saw, split, and pile our wood for the night.

This was actually one of my favorite things we did. I really enjoy doing physical work that produces something necessary. I even learned how to split wood properly. So cool!

Although we could have skied, we ended up sitting around and chatting for the evening, cozy-ing up in our warm little cabin, heating up some dinner, and snacking on granola. We tried to get the lantern going, but for whatever reason, it would not light, so we were forced to use our headlamps for the evening as our only source. This was fine, although a lantern would have been nice. I'll put this on my list of things to take up next time... And as far as this picture goes... it's not a normal headlamp, but isn't it snazzy? So fashionable. :)

We slept well, keeping the fire going, and waking up refreshed. At least I did. :) After breakfast we dressed for more wood gathering. We snowshoed out the three of us, saws in hand, smiles on our faces, ready to haul trees. :)

And we did haul plenty of trees. And we are seriously tough.

Unfortunately, a little bit of tree got into Stacey's eye. What a trooper, letting me try to get it out for her...

But it was the Saline solution that worked best. For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon we sat in the cabin warming our feet...

...talking, reading, relaxing, contemplating a nap, watching Stacey give herself a steam facial...

and finally gearing up for a ski.

I went out for a little bit, but was far too cold. Realizing my limit, I headed back to the cabin to thaw. One of the many things I've learned is that you don't mess with the cold. If you are cold, say so. Anyway, all my digits on both limbs are still perfectly in tact, so don't worry about a thing. I want them to stay healthy more than you do. :) After I had retreated back to warmth, however, Carrie and Stacey continued on to find the sun and fresh moose tracks, and, back in the trees, a moose! I was sorry I missed that... oh well.

After the ski, and after we were sufficiently warm, we dressed, again, in dry clothes for the trip home. It was sunny, which made for some gorgeous views of the mountains and landscape. However, it was also really cold. Hm, let me explain the difference between lower-48 cold and Alaska cold. These days, if it's above zero, we consider it a pretty freaking nice day. Fifteen degrees is warm. Cold is around -10. Really cold? I'm guessing it was -20 or lower resting temp on Monday for our drive back.

I wore a pair of polyester workout pants, fleece pants, then my thick snow pants; two pairs of socks, both smart wool (the skin layer reaching up to my knees), and my big ski boots; a thermal long-sleeve shirt, a fleece/polyester pullover, another fleece shirt, and my parka; a polyester face mask, a thick fleece necky, my ski hat, my beaver hat, and goggles; finally, my ski gloves, knit gloves, then wind-guard mittens. Once we hit the trail and were out on the tundra, we found that it was quite windy, which of course drops the temperature even lower, especially when you are moving between 20-35 mph on a snowmachine. Cold.

We made a pit stop in the woods, out of the wind, to pee, and also to partake in a treat that we had all saved for ourselves: fireballs. :) Keeps the mouth warm and busy, a tasty treat for a long ride. All in all, it took about 1hr 45min to get back to UNK. I was driving the front machine, Carrie was on back making sure I was going the right way, which was great because now I am even more confident with the trail. Stacey followed us, pulling the sled with all of our gear. I averaged about 5mph faster on the way back, partly because I gained confidence as a driver, and partly because either I had to pee and wanted to get to my decided pee spot, and partly because I was so cold and I just wanted to get back home.

It was definitely a fantastic weekend! Thanks, ladies, for making it a great trip. :) Good friends, good food, good location. I can't wait to go back!

A Weekend in Koyuk

2009-01-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

I should apologize to anyone who saw me on Thursday. I was pretty mega bugged about being weathered in. It's the Unalakleet winds, I tell ya - they'll get you every time. I think since I've been home from Christmas break, we've had at least four days of no planes - which means on those days we have no mail, no food coming in, no shipments, no passenger flights, nothing. Except for Doug. God bless Doug. He flies in anything, and although it was the smallest plane I've ever been in, I felt completely and totally safe.

Thursday morning we had our usual 40 mph winds, 56 mph gusts. All planes were grounded - none coming in, none going out. Even Doug wasn't flying. If Doug doesn't fly, nobody flies. After calling and waiting and teaching my morning and afternoon classes, finally the hangar called and asked if I could be ready by 2:20. YAY! We flew out of UNK, finally, at 2:30, and I saw the last 10 minutes of the day with Jenna.

Side note: Jenna is a legend among BSSD teachers as being the Writing Guru, the best of the best for teaching writing. She is the reason I went to Koyuk, so I could observe her classes and learn as much as I could in two days - well, one day, since I missed a day. (Boo. Still bugged about that.) She is also a really great person to be around, and I enjoyed every minute of my Jenna time. :) It was really refreshing, and I could pretty much listen to her talk all day long.

The other person I got to spend a lot of time with and get to know better is Erika. She is a new teacher in KKA, and since she has two bedrooms in her apartment, she welcomed me to stay with her for the weekend. Pretty much, it rocked. We hadn't spent a lot of time together before, but it was really fun getting to know her better these past few days. She is really cool, fun to be with, and a great cook. :) She also has a cute cat, who I took lots of pictures of. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Toes, named appropriately because she loves to attack, particularly toes. :)

So this is what I did:

Thursday afternoon I flew with Doug from Unalakleet to Koyuk. It's about a 45 minute flight, not bad at all. It was pretty windy coming out of UNK, which isn't really that strange, of course. Those who have been here know... It was kind of an interesting flight. As I was looking out the window at the breathtaking view, I realized that the direction the plane was pointing was not really the direction the plane was going. It must have had something to do with the wind, but I'm pretty sure that the aircraft was flying at a slant. Go Doug.

I arrived at the KKA school about 10 minutes before the day was over. I saw a few minutes of Jenna's last class, perused around, eavesdropped some learning conversations, and got a feel for how she works. It is a very, very pretty school, very clean, and filled with student worked. I loved it immediately. After school, Erika came in and invited me to ski with the team, so I gathered my things, moved to her apartment, changed, and headed out with the group. I wasn't as fast as most of them because I was on back country skis and most of them were skating, but it was still cool to interact with them and hang out with them in a different setting. Good kids. :) Lots of fun, including the fall that has left me with a sweet and colorful bruise on my left leg.

Thursday evening was one of my highlights. We had dinner at Jenna's, which is not only cool because it's with Jenna, but also because she lives in a yurt. It's basically a round, one-room structure with a wood stove in the middle for heating. She just recently got electricity, but still uses a honey bucket as a toilet. I've decided that one day I would like to live in a yurt. It's very cool. Anyway, dinner was fantastic with Erika, Jeni, Jenna, and I. We had good food, good conversation, and good laughs. :)

This is not Jenna's yurt (note the lack of snow), but this is what a yurt looks like.

Friday I woke up in my usual routine - early enough to have my wake-up hours so I'm not a total grouch when I actually have to interact with other people. This was my day of observation. I talked with students, I noted teaching strategies, I listened to instruction, I read student work, and I asked lots and lots of questions. In my time with Jenna in her classroom, I had almost five pages of notes for references, strategies, questions and answers, and daily routines. It was awesome. After school Jenna and I chatted about teaching, about books and literature, about life, and so on and so forth. It was amazing. And it only makes me want more!

The evening was a generally mellow one. It was pretty busy with a community tournament going on. Actually, a couple of other teachers from Elim snowmachined over for it, so it was cool to see them, also. But Erika and I stayed in for the night. She made pizza, we talked about random things, watched a movie (Saved!), and went to bed fairly early for a Friday night.

I slept a LOT.

Saturday was super fun. After Erika prepared a crock-pot stew for that evening's dinner, we headed out for our skiing adventure. On the way out of town we stopped by Jenna's to affirm her invitation for the night, and then we were on our way. Erika is primarily a back country skier, but only has skate skis to use at the moment. The answer? We traded skis. :) This was cool because I really enjoy skate skiing, and it's been a while since I've done it. We were skiing for about an hour and a half. I definitely fell a lot, and almost ran into Erika a few times. (Of course I fell a lot.) But KKA is built on a hill, so even though there was a lot of uphill climbing, there was also a lot of downhill fast skiing. :) By the end I pretty much had a handle on it, and then I stopped, and then I fell again. :) But it was a great workout!

That afternoon we had a surprise arrival: Erika's new roommate, a long-term sub for one of the teachers. Erika didn't know when she would be coming, and I had been sleeping in the spare room, so we rushed around to get things put more in order. Mostly I shoved all of my stuff onto one of the couches. And then we prepared for dinner. Jenna came prepared with chocolate chip cookie dough, which baked during dinner, and were promptly all eaten by Sunday afternoon. :) It was a great evening of conversation, yet again, with lots of really great people. I've decided that I love KKA. :)

I should note, however, that as much as I appreciated and loved my weekend in this little village, and although I could live there for sure if need be, it also helped me remember how much I appreciate UNK. I don't love it here more because of the opportunities like easier travel to ANC and more stores (because KKA actually has a couple of stores that are pretty good, so I've heard). I love it here because of my people. :)

On Sunday afternoon I traveled back to home sweet Unalakleet via Doug. It was a beautiful flight back, and this time I remembered to take a few photos. It's a 4-seater plane, pretty small, but really swell. I love it.

This is Unalakleet from the front window of the plane as we approached to land.

Overall it was a very good weekend. I definitely enjoyed myself, and I am thankful to all the people that helped make it so wonderful. Cheers!

What I Learned Today

2009-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

The internet lied. Yes, yes it did. Shocking, I know.

This is what happened: I had to make brownies to sell to help fund-raise for my seniors, for graduation. I was going to make my sweet, kick-butt peppermint patty brownies. I realized too late, i.e. tonight (when I had to bake them) that I have no eggs. What to do??!!?? Google, of course! What might I substitute for eggs? The answer: NOTHING. It doesn't work. The result? Well, that's what the video is for.

Winter Vaca

2009-01-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

Merry belated Christmas!

I've been reminded that it has been a while since I've blogged, though not as long as some... So anyway, I'm starting the trend. We should all blog about our winter vacations. :)

Yes, yes, I know, it's the life of a teacher. It is our destiny to live forever on a semester schedule. We get two whole weeks off for Christmas. (I won't mention the 80-hour weeks during the regular school week.) My first week I went all the way to Indianapolis to visit with my family for the big holiday. I was fortunate that I flew through Phoenix, since Seattle was completely shut down, and very many BSSD folk were delayed in Anchorage for quite a while before they could head out.

Before leaving Anchorage for the first time, however, a fellow teacher in the district had a music show in town. Several teachers showed up at Snowgoose downtown to show our support for his sweet sound. It was definitely lots of fun!

Willis Fireball is my new favorite artist. I've been enjoying listening to these tunes, and I'm anxious for his next album!

There were also, of course, the series of photographs with me and my BSSD buddies!

Lots of bonding time, and absolutely, definitely worth all of it!

On to Indy... for Christmas!

Every year they make a giant Christmas tree out of the circle monument in downtown Indianapolis. It's sort of tradition to go down and see it, particularly on the way to Christmas at the Zoo with my dear friend Sara, whom I've known now for (gosh!) 20 years!!! Talk about family. :)

Sara. I wish we could have spent more time together. I guess you'll just have to come to Alaska this summer. :)

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree... O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree. :)

(Not the cardboard box with ribbon on it - that's about my extent of wrapping. Just so you know, it was a pretty sweet gift, that one. It was for my brother, and probably the best gift I gave this year, other than the enormously expensive plane ticket just to get there...)

This is my mom's dog Jasper. She's cute.

My brother was able to come for the holiday, as well, which was awesome! As you can see, we look absolutely nothing alike.

After some travel madness, I spent an entire week in Anchorage. During this time I slept, read, met some cool new people, hung out at my new favorite cafe, and just walked around downtown. This picture of my coffee the first day I was there pretty much captures my anonymous, relaxing week in town (even though I am now totally broke). :)

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Happy New Year!!!

Now Isn't This Fun?

2008-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, shhhhhhhh.
2. The first Noel, the angel did say, peace to you, no matter what those silly elitists say.
3. You ride those 4-wheelers, Over the hills and everywhere.
4. It came upon the midnight clear, cold cold cold cold and Northern Lights.
5. It's Friday, Let your heart be light.
6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing, so don't stop the music.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with good friends, tomorrow my plans include Anchorage amazing-ness, and Sunday, I want to not miss any flights!

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com
(Thanks to Tiff for the sweet idea!)

Okay. It's Friday. I am ready to be DONE with the semester, as is pretty much everyone else. Anyway, I leave tomorrow for Anchorage - sweet!! Should be a pretty fantastic weekend. I'm looking forward to some good times with good people. Late Sunday night I will be flying to Indianapolis to visit the fam and good ole friends from my other life. :)

Happy holidays to all! I hope everyone has a fantastic break, and a safe New Year's. This is me loving the snow - snow, I will miss you for one whole week!! What will I do in all that warm Midwest weather???

One Great Night

2008-12-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

The day was a generally grumpy one. We all agreed. I was even obviously snippy over skype. This means two things: 1) I must have been extra snippy if she could tell over skype, and 2) she was grumpy, too, which meant whatever I said was doubly harsh because of dual bad attitudes. Don't worry, words of affirmation is not our love language, so we are still friends. :) Anyway, this is the order of events after school.

1. I had a good talk with Janelle - I am SO glad she's back at work with us! I know it's hard for her having Jonah and everything, but I'm so glad she's back. :) After talking with her, I prepared to leave school while shouting out Scattergories answers with two of many students who are absolutely addicted to that game, and I am the keeper of the box, therefore my room is cool.

2. I went home. I think that is a wonderful event in and of itself.

3. I tried my hand at baking (scary...) a new kind of pumpkin bread (even scarier...) using an online recipe that I didn't have all the ingredients for (yipes stripes!). No cloves, no orange peel. Being able to substitute or feel safe in leaving things out is something bush folk have to learn pretty quickly. I enjoy cooking in general, though, and even though baking is a totally different culinary field, I had fun creating. Instead of the orange peel in the cream cheese filling, I just added a little bit of Kaluha. Mmm. :) (Really, it turned out quite good!) The recipe makes 2 loaves. Lucky me!

4. Scrabble date!! Sissy and Judie and I have been having pretty regular game and craft nights. It's been ages, though, so it was about freakin' time! I took one loaf of the sweet bread over with me, and we enjoyed eating it while playing Scrabble and getting un-grumpy. They even gave me my Christmas present!! It's awesome. I got a sweet bag that has a dancing Santa on it. Then I got a Longaberger basket that holds napkins, AND the napkins to go with it. AND I got a sweet ulu pocket knife! Merry Christmas to me!

5. We had been trying to convince Adrianna to come and play with us. She said she'd call later, mentioning something about a full moon. She called, and we (somehow) convinced Sissy to go to First Hill with us, hike up, just to sled down. It took some begging and prodding, but she loves us, so Sissy, Ryan, Adrianna, and I drove out to the base of the hill, then hiked up the powdery snowy hill with our sled. Sweet! This part of the night will be discussed in sub-categories.

A. Adrianna and I were the first two candidates to sled down. I got to be in front. This was awesome because pretty much I got snow in my face the whole way. We went wicked fast, at least compared to last time we went sledding up there, and hit every brush possible on the way down. It was amazing. We laugh-screamed the whole way. :)

B. After hiking back up, we decided to have some good conversation. We started with Truth-or-Dare - a classic. Most of us are really bad at dares, but Ryan came up with a good one - ride the sled down the hill standing up. So that's exactly what we took turns doing. We didn't get terribly far, though Sis won that competition. (Dang - she won every single freakin' game we played tonight...) Anyway, we had lots of fun trying! This is a video of Ryan going, then falling. Turn your head to the left, and watch closely. It's a little dark, but you can a bit with the flashing of the cameras, particularly the falling part.

This is a sweet picture of Adrianna giving it a go.

C. We decided it was time for the Truth part of the game, so we asked some questions that everyone had to answer. We started with a good one. Feel free to reflect on it yourself - and even answer in the comments if you feel so inclined. :)

"If you were to write a book, what would it be about, and why?"

We had some pretty sweet conversation. We also talked about living on other planets and traveling in space and ultimately, how cool Earth is. We gave examples, talked about some of the amazing things on our planet, and so forth. Here's another question for you to ponder:

"What is a picture of a place that you have in your mind, a photograph of something you will never forget?"

D. After all of this, we had to get back down the hill. We started with the four of us on the little sled. Too much weight with all of us, so we basically scooted a few yards, then stopped. Ryan and Adrianna got up and pushed Sissy and I down the hill. We did okay until we veered sideways and fell off. It was pretty much hilarious. Ryan and A took over, and made a pretty sweet dash down much of the way. They stopped, then gave us back the sled. We made another amazing run down, sideways, through a bunch of brush, then finally, and I'm not kidding you, crashed STRAIGHT into a bush. By the time we stopped I was laughing so hard I could not breathe or move.

Everything was right in the world, all the stars were aligned, and even though it was cloudy, I am pretty sure it was a beautiful night. Thanks, yous! :)

This, That, and Theirs

2008-12-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving.
The original day was declared for just that - giving thanks. I am thankful for lots of things, particularly alliteration and words that begin with "th." I am also grateful for synonyms and pictures that document the world around me. I think I'll copy Adrianna on this one and show you exactly the things for which I gave thanks last Thursday.

Babies, those things which remind all of us of the sustainability of life and the uncanny ability for humans to withstand trials of all kinds and still survive. I'm also thankful when they sleep, because that means they aren't crying.

Daniel turned three - Happy Birthday, Daniel! I am thankful that I have this opportunity to watch him grow.

This is the official Auntie Adrianna picture, at least in my baby book. And by that I mean, the baby book that I don't have. I am thankful that Janelle trusts us to hold her child.

At our Thanksgiving celebration, Jake and Janelle broke out the Wii and their brand new games. I am thankful for video games that require movement as well as competition. This was super, super much fun!

This is Adrianna cracked out on Thanksgiving dinner. I am thankful for turkey, stuffing, yams, salad, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, artichoke dip, and pie, among other things. :)

My dog's house has been drifted in by snow. I am thankful that I do not live in this house.

Anyway, she now lives inside with me. I am thankful that she is house trained.

It has been too windy to ski lately, but I am thankful that I have the means to ski when it is not so windy. Okay, not just a little breeze, but around 30mph. It's been some adventurous walks between school, home, the post office, and the Snyders'. :)

I am thankful for big boats.

I am thankful for good friends, and well, I am just thankful. :) I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving! After today, just two more weeks until Christmas break, at least for those of us still living on a semester schedule via school... I am anxious to see those of you whom I have not seen in far too long!!

Peace to you, and Happy Holidays!

Friends Who Monopolize My Time

2008-11-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Instead of simply doing an update on what I've been doing, it might be more interesting to just tell you who I've been doing things with. Whether it's interesting or not, these are the people that have monopolized my time away from work for the past few weeks. Don't worry, it's all good. :)

It was Adrianna's 23rd birthday on November 19th, so the weekend before it we had a black and white celebration with all cool people. This is Kira (who has been gone a lot lately, traveling, doing counseling things - but when she's here we hang out), Adrianna (birthday girl), and David. David was Janelle's long-term sub. He has definitely made his mark on us, and we have had good times, good conversations, good laughs while he has been here. On Tuesday, however, he must leave us to go back to the obviously-more-exciting Wisconsin.

While they are here, Stacey and Carrie have been great to hang out with. And I already got the sweetest Christmas present from Carrie - her old crock pot that she never uses. :) Thanks, C!! I'll make you something yummy. Side note: Isn't crock pot a really funny phrase? Every time I use it I have to remind myself that I'm talking about a wonderful kitchen appliance and not a person.

This is Sissy. She is here at home working and living in between college and graduate school. She has become a staple in my social life as of late, and I am happy to have made such a cool new friend. And in case you were wondering, these are her real glasses (made of peanut butter cups), and Professor Sissy will be giving her lecture on the Pythagorean Theorem this Thursday at 7:00pm in Clancy Hall.

The latest addition to our family is Jonah Dathan, shown here looking cute with me. I pretty much love this picture - the official Auntie Karis picture. :) I told Jake and Janelle (the proud parents) to make sure this photo goes into his baby book. We'll see... :) Well anyway, through Jonah I get my baby fill. It's still nice to be able to give him back when he gets fussy, though. :)

This was taken at the wrestling tournament a couple of weekends ago, which always dominates our time as teachers, since the kids don't care about anything else. It's a very difficult teaching week here... This past weekend was a volleyball tournament, which was unfortunately the only home games for our students. I watched a lot of volleyball, did some books, supported our team. But I enjoy that sort of thing. :)

Welp, it's getting colder and colder here. The temperature has been between -10 and -25 this past week. I need to get my winter groove on so I can start going outside and doing exercise things again, try to stay away from those holiday pounds. ;)

Cheers for now, folks. Don't forget to comment!! :)

Halloween O Eight, and Other Fun Activities

2008-11-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Fortunately, Halloween was on Friday this year. Thursday night was one busy evening. I not only had 3 dozen maple bars to make, but also a pan of brownies, a mess of hair, and a pirate.

My kitchen while I cooked:

Some cookies Adrianna made at my place:

My kitchen after I cooked:

And what we did in between:

Part of the process of becoming a pirate involved making my hair as gross as possible. This meant putting lots and lots of shaving cream in my hair to give it that knotted, dreaded look. Adrianna, of course, was there to help. That's why she's my number one stunner. :)

There were several bakers that evening. Damon and Heidi came over to share their goodies, and of course sample mine. We got a nice surprise during the evening. My first Full Circle Farm order came in. It's an organic farm in Washington that has just recently begun shipping to Unalakleet, which rocks for us. We get a sweet deal on fresh, organic produce. I've already been eating better! Here we are marveling at one of our pieces of green gold: a mango!

This year I dressed up as a pirate. (Special thanks to Sissy who got sweet costume materials in town - especially my sword!) Frankly, I was an amazing pirate. I won't lie. There were also a lot of other sweet costumes, including a paper sack, a plastic bag, and a stick. Who do you think was the coolest?

Here is my awesome tattoo:

The real Captain Jack Sparrow version, drawn with permanent market by one of my students.

Thanks, dude. :) It's still there.

Also, I just thought this was a cool shot of one of my kids during the Halloween parade of costumes.

With the carnival and the costumes and the baking and the candy, we had a very full Halloween. :) Thanks to everyone who made it rock!

Other fun things I've been up to: Skiing!! Our first excursion to the out of doors in the snow on our skis took place a couple of weekends ago. David, Ryan, Adrianna, Me, and a visiting friend Robert took a ride up to the North River bridge for some good, snowy fun.

This is David, Adrianna, and I:

And of course Adrianna - this is the first time she used her brand new skis!

It was beautiful weather, and loads of fun. I'm looking forward to a good season! I also went out once with Carrie up river. It was a beautiful evening. We both decided it's high time we got back into shape... sigh. I'll ski 100 times this year, I will!! (2 down, 98 to go...)

Here's me loving my skis:

Carrie was home for a whole 10 days! As always, it was good to spend some quality time together.

And the lovely sunset:

So that's pretty much it for now. Things are pretty busy here, but all is well. I've been enjoying my time with friends, new and old. Take care, and don't forget to comment. I've been averaging a whopping zero comments lately... hint hint! :)

Scenery Photos: Not For Sale

2008-10-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we took 14 seniors on a career trip around Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, and Palmer. Basically, it was lots of driving, lots of touring, lots of listening, and lots of fun! Here are some snapshots from our drive. These are all taken on the road. Our destinations went like this: Anchorage to Soldotna; Soldotna to Seward; Seward to Anchorage. I couldn't tell you where each of these photos was taken. It was all lovely. I have to give props, though. All photos were taken by students. Since I was driving, I thought it would be safer that way. :)

Hope you've enjoyed the scenery!

Last week was our annual October Teacher Inservice. It's pretty much my favorite week. We get to learn and collaborate and get work done. And of course our social network multiplies about a hundred times over, which is cool.

Anyway, back to teaching this week! Peas out.

2008-10-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning Adventure

2008-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, some of us got together and enjoyed a "Progressive Dinner" in which we all contributed some part of the dinner (mine was quite a small contribution... a bit last minute) and moved from new place to new place to see all the cool things people have done to their new homes. It was very nice, a good mix of people. That night we were all introduced to Jeremy, the new PA at the clinic (his wife and daughter are unfortunately out of town, so we haven't met them yet). He has snow shoes, Kira has snow shoes, I just like to snow shoe, so the three of us made plans for a Sunday Morning Adventure (hence, the title). He brought an extra pair for me, since I don't have any (yet).

Kira woke me up a little past 10am in the morning. I was reluctant, but I agreed to go forward with the plans to hang out. I am so glad she made me do it. :) Jeremy picked us up in his sweet Jeep and drove us out to the very very end of the 14 mile road. The snow was quite icicly, so we x-ed the snow shoeing idea and just decided to hike it. We hiked for quite a ways - it was so beautiful outside!

Along the way we found lots of tracks - moose, bunnies, fox, even bear! Jeremy and I studied them closely - he knows tons about this sort of thing, so it was cool to learn more.

This is our first group picture. Guess who's in the middle?? :)

This was the farthest we hiked to. The stacks of stones there have a Yupik name - I think it starts with an N - but I don't remember what it is. It's supposed to represent a person, I think, and also act as a marker, a known location in the middle of the tundra.

That's the coolest thing about here - when you are out, you are really OUT there. It's not even like hiking in a national park. There aren't rangers here. We're pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. It's great. :) (Don't worry, we stayed on a trail. Snow, especially when it's not windy, makes it easy to stay on track.) Once we started to go into bush areas, however, there was definitely more noise on our end. Jeremy was ahead of me, and I called out, "Maybe you should start singing now." "Yeah," he replied, "I'm calling for bears right now."

After our hike out, we decided to start a fire for lunch. Fortunately, I was prepared for this very sort of thing. :)

That's right, I had my handy dandy survival kit (thank you, Kim Hanisch), and I was able to start a fire using flint, steel, and a cotton ball coated in Vaseline. With some finagling, after only a few tries we had a blazing fire. We sat and ate and chatted for a while, munching on granola bars, apples and cheese, and hot chocolate.

It was a fantastic way to start any day! We were out for a good 5 hours or so, driving included. On the way back we did a bit of off-roading in the Jeep, up a big hill over the gravel pit. So lovely! The three of us had a great time!

There are some back pictures that I haven't quite uploaded yet, all from my trip to Anchorage. That will come later... sorry it's taking so long! This week will be good, also. It's Inservice week, so about 400 teachers from all over the district will be gathered here in Unalakleet for professional development classes and, of course, great social time. :) I'll have a full house myself, but I'm looking forward to good times with good people, and learning new things. This is my favorite week out of the whole year.

It Happens This Way Sometimes

2008-09-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

No need to go into the terrible that has gloomed us for the past week (and longer). It's time to start moving forward, to find those things in life worth smiling about. Nothing ever stays miserable. What does that song say? "Life is a wheel in constant motion."

Anyway, to tell you the truth, the past few weeks that I haven't written have been fairly uneventful. I've been working, feeding the dogs, working, reading, working, being with friends, and, of course, working. But it's all worth it - my students are really what make this job so great. Sometimes I think they are the only reason I get out of bed and come to work in the morning. But that may just be my morning-ness.

I'll give a few pictures of things that I like. It is not an entirely all-encompassing story of what has dominated my thoughts, but it is something, hopefully, visually appealing.

The moose that Jake caught.

The moose that Jake caught.

Carrie's cat, Rijah.

One in a series of photographs of the Rijah.

My dog, Star. So happy together.

A good evening with friends - Adrianna: my #1 stunner, and the Lois to my Clark.

Janelle - last photo I have of her pregnant - and Daniel (DJ, Deej, booger, etc.). Janelle is in Anchorage getting ready to give birth to Jonah... October 2!!!! :)

I picture I sketched on Heidi and Damon's couch. Cool, huh? This is my new medium. Look out, big brother.

New Blog (Just for the Fun of It), Et Cetera

2008-09-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Because a particular friend will be spending so much time away from us, I decided to start making her videos (so she doesn't forget us) and sending them to her. The first one was quite funny, and Adrianna and I still watch it now and then. But I digress. Anyway... Unfortunately, these videos were clogging her inbox from receiving any other more important emails, so I had to find another venue by which to share the laughs that we have made just for her (well, and our, and now your) enjoyment. I hope that she and all of you enjoy watching them as much as we enjoy making them. Any home movies that I make and feel the need to share with my blog world can be found at my new Home Movie blog site:

homemoviesbykaris.blogspot.com

More to come on that front.

For now, I am just working, working working. What the heck else would I be doing? This week I will be in Anchorage for a couple of days. College Board is giving a free workshop for senior counselors, and since I have friends who are kind enough to let me stay with them for two whole nights, the district decided to give me the travel to get there. It will be a busy time, but I am glad I have the opportunity to go. I am hoping to get a lot out of the workshop, particularly scholarship opportunities and better ways to use the website as a resource for my seniors. But that's not really interesting to you. :)

I hope you all have been following the election. I watched some of the Republican National Convention speeches, and I watched some of the Democratic National Convention speeches, and I'm teaching the kids how to read media bias in newspapers and in magazines and on TV, and I am absolutely stoked for the debates. If you are curious about what the candidates' stances are on particular issues, here is a pretty sweet resource:

www.cnn.com/ELECTIONS/2008/issues/

I am doing my best to remain neutral for the purposes of teaching, and I try to play devil's advocate for both sides, but I know that students can hear my disdain about particular issues. My goal is to teach open-mindedness, perspective, and the ability to choose for themselves. Hopefully they are getting something out of it, anyway.

Just to point out some bias here, there has been unbelievable coverage of Sarah Palin, and hardly any on Joe Biden. Just throwing that out there.

John McCain and Sarah Palin - Presidential Candidates 2008 for the Republican Party

Barack Obama and Joe Biden - Presidential Candidates 2008 for the Democratic Party

Let's not forget the independents... The only ones you can vote for in Alaska are Baldwin, Barr, and Nader. I respect and admire their courage and determination.

Okay, end of the day, I'm headed out.

Cheers!

First Two Weeks!

2008-08-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

School is in full swing now. And so far it's been great. Probably the best part about this year is that it's not my FIRST year anymore. It's so nice to be returning, to have experience, to have a clue! :) It's pretty awesome to be able to see my own growth.

So Unalakleet is good. I'm enjoying myself. The first week of school, for the high school, was planning our annual Leadership Retreat. We had a bit of a curveball thrown our way - Bible Camp was not available for our use, so we had to make some adjustments. It turned out pretty cool, though, and I think we all had a good time. :)

The kids were great - they all worked together, and we saw some awesome examples of leadership. They're fun, these kids. It's nice to be able to do something outside of the classroom with them, so we really get to know them better.

One of the activities this year was a survival challenge. Each group had to make a shelter (this is the senior class shelter, one of two) - this one I actually laid in. I would totally bring up my gear and go camping in this spot! :)

The other part of survival was building a raft. It was live wood, so it didn't float very well, but the seniors made it work, and we won the challenge! It was pretty hilarious to see one of my kids floating down the river on a homemade raft.

Speaking of floating down the river... One of the new people in the village is Susette, who works at the District Office. She's pretty much awesome, and has already told Adrianna and I that she's adopting us, which is totally fine by us. Not only is she super fun to hang out with, but she has a kayak and a raft. Last Saturday was an awesome day outside. So the three of us took a float trip down the slough and into the ocean.

This is Adrianna and I being Lewis & Clarky, rowing towards a sandbar... We pretty much rocked the rowing thing...

We also rocked the laying-back-and-doing-nothing-but-float thing. I'm pretty sure the best part was when her dog Ojo jumped into the water to experience her first (and second) swim!! We're not really sure what she was thinking...

This is Susette and A hanging out on the sandbar in the middle of the ocean (at low tide). It was a pretty cool view. We've already decided that we need to row down farther sometime and make dinner over the fire, and maybe even go camping. Sounds good to me!!

This week has been really good in the classroom. I'm feeling much more confident, although I hope I can maintain what I've got! I won't have a summer before every week to plan. ;) Anyway, I just got my new computer, and it comes with a camera, which is pretty cool. So this is me at Carrie's place with her cat. While she travels around for her sweet new job, I hang out at her place (where no one can find me), feed her dogs and cat, water her plants, and sometimes get a few things done (mostly reading and petting the cat).

One of the coolest things about this computer camera is the effects it can do. So this is a picture of me taken with my computer.

Anyway, things are going well. I'm taking a couple classes this semester, too, so that's keeping me busy. I think it's good, though - it will help keep me focused. And the new place? It rocks. Here's a view out my window.

Can't beat the Alaskan sky. :) Take care of yous. Cheers for now!

road bike, tundra hike

2008-08-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I drew a picture of a man in my couch. This is what he looked like.

Today I went on a bike/hike with Carrie. We biked about 6 miles over to Powers Creek where we left our bikes and headed up the hill. It was very, very beautiful. :) From the top of the hill we could see the tundra hills and the Norton Sound - very cool.

Until it started to rain - well, it was still beautiful, but less so after we were basically drenched. Not kidding. It lightninged, and then a huge shocker thunder gave us both a fright. It was funny, at the moment, but then I started imagining a lightning strike on one of the trees we were walking around... Anyway, literally pouring rain (okay, not quite monsoon season), we walked through the tundra, still a ways from our bikes.

We ended up hiking for about 4 hours. It was quite an adventure - as always... We missed the trail on the way back down, somehow, but fortunately we are never, ever lost. So we went the Iditarod trail, and eventually we got to the beach. We walked up towards the Powers Creek station, and I never found even one piece of sea glass. Anyway. We found the mouth of the creek, and knew the road was close, so we looked over to see what we saw in the little river. It was basically plugged with logs... Carrie said we didn't have to put all our adventures into one day. But I thought, what the heck? Let's give it a go, cross the river, just for kicks, because we can, and so she agreed.

It was a little slippery, and it required lots of balance and concentration, and even a bit of teamwork and communication. But we made it to solid ground, hiked through waist high grass (that had already been smashed down by something...), and walked through (more) tundra. Then we found the road, which was a nice walking experience. If you've never been on the tundra, it's basically like walking on a sponge, and in some places you sink well past your knees. After a long, fun (as we concluded) day, I went home and had a long, hot shower. Thanks for the fun day before school, C!

Tomorrow... school starts!!! I can hardly believe it...

Technically Working

2008-08-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Obviously it's been a while. Lots of things have happened, and things are beginning to change. I'm officially back at work. I volunteered (okay, I also got paid...) for the Welcome Wagon. BSSD set up an opportunity for new teachers to meet veterans in Anchorage for some shopping and transition to Alaska. It was a good learning experience for me, very hectic, but definitely fun. I wish I'd had someone to meet me in Anchorage! I'm glad I was able to help offer that to new teachers this year. Plus I met a bunch of new people.

One thing that I did do while in Anchorage was give away my puppy. It was a very sad day, but I know that she is very happy in her new home. Debbie and her daughter Meghan are very sweet and very excited. And who wouldn't be??? She's the cutest puppy in the world! They have since renamed her Kiara, which is perfect.

Since coming back to Unalakleet, Star has been happy to go back to normal, though she seems more and more attached to me. I think she is mellowing even more (she's had puppies before), and definitely relaxing as far as food goes. Instead of inhaling, she is starting to save and bury food, which is very odd for her. But I'm glad. She's a happy dog.

I've also been able to spend some time with our two new teachers, which is awesome. Ming is the new middle school Math and Science teacher. I met her in Anchorage, and we came in together. It's been good getting to know her better! Her dog is beginning to settle in, also, and hopefully her and Star will be able to become better friends since we are neighbors. :)

Ryan is the new high school Math teacher. We've been hanging out, berry picking, fishing, etc.

Jake and Janelle have also been awesome at taking us up river. It's been really good to be back home with such great people again!

Janelle is looking very pregnant, but carrying the lovely pregnant woman glow (or whatever it's called). She's due in October, and we are all very anxious to meet Jonah!

Besides working at the inservice this week, Adrianna and I have been moving into our new apartments, along with everyone else in the 14-Plex. She's moved into the 5-Plex with some sweet windows. Some of us are a little envious... She was able to paint her place a nice restful green and get some new couches. It's been cool that her brother came up for a couple weeks just to help her do all that! I've also been in the process of moving. My new place is quite big, much bigger than I really need. But it's a nice spot with an ocean-facing view, new furniture, more counter space, a pantry, 1.5 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and my own washer/dryer unit. Pretty crazy, huh?? I don't even know what to do with myself in there!

I even have a mud room, so no more shoes in the house. Now... what to do with the dog? Since this picture, I've done a little more rearranging, with the help of Sandy, a new teacher in Brevig that is staying with me while she is in town for trainings and such.

The weather has been pretty beautiful for the most part, with a few foggy days here and there. We are enjoying the sun as much as possible while we can! Cheers for now. :)

A Dog Post for Debbie...

2008-07-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

Debbie is a fan of Nemo, and wanted more pictures of her and her mother. This is the only way I could do it. So all my readers get a better look of the puppy crew!

This is Nemo at just a few days old. Her eyes weren't even opened yet! And at this point, she wasn't named. She got her name from a student who took care of Star and the puppy over the summer while I was away. They named her Nemo because she was the only puppy Star had.

Here she is, finding something else to chew on, something to play with, looking cute...

Although full of energy, Nemo does love her naps... preferably in my lap or snuggled close.

A close up, just before a nap.

Out on a walk, Nemo is always alert to fun smells and, of course, wherever Star is. She wants to be just like her mom!

Out on an afternoon walk in the tundra... Nemo is galloping towards Star, while mom waits patiently.

However, she is still just a pup, and she gets tired on our walks. After a while, if I stop for even a second, she takes the chance to have a break - resting right on my feet. It's one of her trademark spots. :)

This is mom, to get a better idea of her size. (Do you see the chair right behind her?)

Star is naturally lovely - nice face, very mild tempered. She is also very energetic, and you definitely know when she is excited (particularly when she sees me coming home - she's pretty attached to me), but she has an easy going nature. Nemo has her face and eyes, and I'm certain she has her temperament, as well.

Star is a happy dog with lots of love. She's been great for me! Can't help but love her. :)

So that's the dogs! They're gooduns... :)

Home Sweet Village

2008-07-21T21:01:00.001-07:00

To tell you the truth, the weather has been aweful until today. But it's been nice to have some solitary time for a couple of days, in my house, not doing anything, in my own space, alone. It's much needed, methinks.

Anyway, I mentioned in the last post (which got a whopping ZERO comments, thank you very much) that I had sewn my own bag, reversible, which I love. Well, here is a photo. Sweet, huh? I pretty much love it.

Two reversible handbags made with the help of Sarah (Christine's little sister). Thanks, Sarah!

Getting back to Unalakleet proved quite challenging. When I checked online for my flight times, it said on the timetable that it left at 1:30pm. I got to the airport around noon, but my flight had already left... Ugh. But, they weren't going to put my bike on the plane anyway because it wasn't in a box. I was very anxious to get home, so I went to Frontier to see if I could catch their next flight. Fortunately, there was room. Unfortunately, it cost me a little more than I was hoping to spend this week. But they did put my bike on the plane, which I was grateful for. However, putting the passengers on the plane took ages.

Long story short, we didn't leave Anchorage until 5:20pm or so. I had to fly to St. Michael first, and then wait for a charter over to Unalakleet, which was really only a 30 minute flight. Redemption came in a little 702.

My sweet ride from St. Mike's to UNK

I guess you can't really say you've lived in the bush until you ride next to the pilot in one of these. :) It was the sweetest plane ride ever! The view was so cool, because you don't fly as high in these guys, of course. Oh, but on the way, we were flying right on the coast the whole way, and as I looked at the window, face up against the glass, I noticed some people in a raft waving an orange flag. I told the pilot, and to my surprise, without even flinching or questioning, he turned the plane around and flew back. We spotted them again and the pilot called someone to come and get them while circling over them for a few minutes, signaling that we had seen them. Whew.

I didn't get back to the village until around 8 or 8:30. It was still perfectly daylight, though. And that was one of the nicer days. Apparently it was one of the few nice days they've seen all summer, like, one of three or something. I went directly to see my dog at April's house. Well, dogs. Star's puppy is SO bloody cute!!

Nemo at 9 weeks old - doesn't she look exactly like Star?? Only shorter hair? Fortunately she didn't inherit her father's looks... Anyway, I feel like she looks like the poster-puppy, just like in a magazine, this is what a puppy should look like. I could be bias.

The girls called her Nemo because she was the only one Star had. So I guess that's her name. She responds to it. For now, she's still mine. There is a possibility, but I'm feeling very responsible for her. I try to take Star out on walks to let her run, to come with me whenever I can let her, so I like my dog to get lots of exercise. And I try to give her lots of attention. I've also recently begun considering seriously what I'm feeding her. Dog food is very questionable.

http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/best-dog-food.html

I don't necessarily buy into everything I hear or read, but the truth is, dog food goes under similar, if not grosser processing than much of the human food we eat. I want to eat well; I should also provide good food for my dog. I don't think I'll have the time to cook for her... haha... but there are certainly other options.

Anyway, today was lovely. I went for a walk on the beach and a bike ride up to first hill. Nemo is very cute, and thus all of the kids in the village want to play in my front yard. The trip up to first hill was both for exercise and sanity. I needed some outside quiet time, without having to worry about other people handling my puppy. Maybe I am getting attached to her.

Hope all is going well with you all. Miss you already!

Long Week :: Long Blog

2008-07-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, July 11, I was finally reunited with my long time (okay… 2 years?) dear, dear friend, former roommate, Christine. She drove from Pittsburgh to pick up me and Emily, another friend from college, to drive us north to New Hampshire. We took this roadtrip for a very important reason. Amanda, a close friend of all of ours, finally got married to her boyfriend of a million years (give or take), Andrew. It was quite the event, one not to be missed. In fact, I was so dead set on going, I set my entire summer to schedule around her wedding. Fortunately, I was able to do everything I wanted to do in addition to the wedding. But this was definitely a very important happening!

We drove through ridiculous traffic, hoping to make it to town in time for the rehearsal dinner, to which we were all invited (sweet, huh?). Kamorin, yet another close friend and former roommate of mine, was getting a little anxious. She was a bridesmaid, but the only person she knew there was the bride. I got a text from her that said something like, “Hurry up and get here. I’m uncomfortable.”

Well, we did get there, eventually. We checked into our castle, I mean our hotel first. Seriously, though, it looks like a castle! Emily made all the booking for us, so we got a pretty sweet deal for a hotel room. If it were me, we would have been staying in some hostel downtown, or some cheap motel… I bet the girls were glad I didn’t do the booking. :)

Anyway, we ate dinner in Andrew’s backyard, had an awesome reunion with old friends, had some laughs, etc. It was fantastic to be with them again. :) I hope it isn’t two years until our next meeting!

That evening the three of us decided, on Emily’s suggestion, to do a little exploring of the hotel. This included looking for the pool…

Scaling rock walls in the parking lot…

Climbing trees…

And the general roaming of hallways.

Finally we went to bed, which frankly, the beds were unbelievable – so comfy! The first thing we did, in fact, when we got into our room, was jump on the beds. I believe it was simultaneous for the three of us to notice their basic amazing-ness.

The next morning we prepared ourselves for the wedding! We all know how dressed up I get for events like these. Ha. I had my khaki skort, which looks like a skirt (sweet), and a white shirt. Everyone else had bought dresses and looked lovely. I felt a little out of place in my Tevas… Oh well. I don’t think I own a skirt, and I couldn’t be bothered buying a one-time-only dress. At least the complimentary breakfast was fantastic.

Well, we were a little caught up in traffic (again) on the way to the wedding. But I can say, we never got lost. Christine used part of her Economic Stimulus check to buy a GPS unit. It’s original name was Jill, because of the voice, but I thought she was rude and obnoxious, so I muted her. Then we decided to rename it Sven (sp?). He got us through the hard times. Anyway, back to the wedding, it was a sweet as building, so retro, all brick, really lovely. And the wedding was just gorgeous! I think the most unforgettable moment was when the guy marrying them slipped and called them “Amandrew.” That’s basically their full name now – Amandrew J. Beyea. Pretty sweet that they now have the same initials – both of their middle names start with J. :) Anywho, there were tears of joy, smiles, relief, and everything was just perfect.

After the ceremony we were able to have our mini Houghton reunion. Chris, Rob, Breanna, Emily, Christine, Kamorin, and Amanda were all there. It was good. :)

We at our yummy lunch, danced for a bit, etc. There was wine at the wedding, and it is amazing what a little wine does to older folk… the dancing was hilarious! So we got a little crazy, but it was loads of fun. We hung out with some of Andrew’s college friends, since they were the only other people there our age.

After a bit, we all went out to “decorate” Amdandrew’s car. There was window paint, there were plastic cups tied to the back, there were balloons, and it was wonderful.

The reception ended and Amandrew headed off to Boston for the night. The following day they headed off to Paris, Switzerland, and some other place in Europe that I don’t remember. Andrew went to all these places for architecture study. Amanda has never left the country (until now). This time Andrew is going to show her all the fun places, they will do the sight seeing, and of course have all sorts of fun. ;)

Anyway, after the reception, we thought it would be fun to hang out with the other guys for a bit. They came back to the hotel with us and we hung out in the lounge area for a few hours, just talking, but it was cool. Made the time pass.

The next morning we gathered our things and Kamorin, Emily, Christine and I began the road trip down to Philly. Emily was originally going to go back to NYC, but she decided to come down to Philly with us to see Kam’s place. It was a long car ride, but it was fun with all of us together. By this time in my travels, though, I began to get more ancy, more restless, more tired, and of course, more moody. I wasn’t quite myself, mostly, I think, because I was just ready to be in my own space. But whatever. It was sooo good to see Kam’s place and meet her boyfriend Evan and roommate Shannon and see her life. She seems very happy, which is good. Hopefully I can get down there sometime when I am more travel anxious and have more time. Maybe Hawaii? ;)

We had dinner and ice cream, hung out at the house, and then of course watched a movie. We watched The Labyrinth, which frankly, was a horrible movie. I think Christine and I were alone in this one. But I don’t care so much that it’s a classic. I could totally see it in Mystery Science Theater 3000. But it was fun anyhow.

The next morning we said our goodbyes. Christine and I took Emily to the bus station, and then we began our final road trek to her house in Pittsburgh. We met up with her boyfriend Jason and went to eat and rent a movie, after we went to REI. I had to introduce Christine to the coolest store ever. I needed to exchange my backpack for one that fit and was a little more practical for me. Success. That night we watched The Other Boleyn Girl, which was fantastic, and went to bed around 2am. Poor Christine…

The next day was a sewing day. Christine had to go to work, but her sister Sarah helped me with the sewing machine. Without a pattern, we designed a reversible purse, which is what I wanted, and I made two: one for Christine, and one for me. I got kind of into it, so I got some fabric for some other projects at Jo-Anne's. :)

The next morning I was supposed to be on a flight at 7am. Boo. So we were going to get up and leave by 5am or thereabouts. Unfortunately, we both turned off our alarms, so her mom woke us up at 5:36am. Not good. But everything worked out and I got on the next available flight, and since I had two stopovers before Anchorage (NYC and Chicago...), somehow it was all okay and I made all my flights. They lost my luggage, but they said they'd send it directly to Unalakleet, so I'm okay with that. I was going to mail it myself anyway.

So here I am, in Anchorage... I actually like it better than most cities, and I'm familiar with it, so I'm definitely glad to be back in Alaska. Thursday morning meant the dentist for me again. Super. So I went, and the cleaning wasn’t as bad as the last time. And then I got two cavities filled. It didn’t take very long, but somehow it’s always a very traumatic experience. But it’s done, and I am so glad I have dental insurance! For some reason, it makes me feel more secure. I also went ahead and bought myself a bike, which I was planning on doing anyway, so that’s done. It’s a pretty nice bike, actually, and even though I got the cheapest one, it’s the nicest one I’ve ever owned. I guess since I’ve only owned 3 that I can remember (this one and two others), I hope this one lasts for ages. It’s going back home with me. :)

I did a little grocery shopping, and there are still some things I'd like to get, but I'll be back soon. I'm good for now. I'm very excited to be getting back to Unalakleet. So cheers to you all. And I hope all is well with you! Write soon! :)

And once more, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Amandrew - I'm so happy for you both!! I love you, and I can't wait to see you again soon!

An Average of 2 Comments: NYC & WB

2008-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Alright, this will be short and sweet, since new things have come up since then...

As you know, I spend some time in NYC with my big brother, Karl. On Monday, I was still hearing the, "What do you want to do??" as if there is ALWAYS something to do in the city. :) Of course there is. You just have to spend money. Anyway, I saw an advertisement for a Horse Exhibition at the Museum of Natural History. That's a pretty cool place, and that sounded like a pretty cool thing, so we went.

Well, we weren't allowed to take photographs. Boo. I grabbed one anyway. I hope I don't get arrested for posting it on the internet. This is a life size horse figure made completely of driftwood. Cool, huh? The rest of the show was interesting. Lots of history, etc. The horse is the most influential animal in human history. Unfortunately, there was very little explanation of what the horse does right now, so what little attention and respect is given Equestrian at this point remains the same. There were little blips, but not enough to make it relevant for those who are unaware. I thought that was kind of a bummer. It seemed like a very small room for the price we paid. Oh well.

Monday night I took a bus to see Michelle!! Since Karl worked Tuesday and Wednesday very long days, I decided to take a trip to Wilkes-Barre to visit a good friend. This is an old picture, but I didn't take very many pictures while I was there, so this will have to do as a visual for who I'm talking about. It was a fantastic 2 days, by the way. Lots of catching up, good conversation, and of course lots of laughs. :) Time with Michella is always refreshing.

This is Dante, Michella's young superstar from Germany. He doesn't really hold still... I worked in the barn, both to help and because it was cool to do some physical labor again, and because, honestly, I kind of enjoy it (to a point). I'm glad, though, that I don't have to do 15 stalls a day... Two would be fine. Anyway, Dante likes to create games, and his newest one makes me laugh every time. He's very oral, likes to smell, bite, lick, etc. He also, not even kidding, likes it when you grab his tongue. He will seriously stick it out for you. So you grab it and sort of play with it, move it around a bit, and he will often bite it with his teeth and hold it back. But then after you let go he'll stick it out for you again. Not animal cruelty. He's everybody's best friend. Moving on, Tuesday we went on a trail ride, and on Wednesday Michelle gave me a real riding lesson. :) She says I actually looked better position wise, which is cool, since I haven't seriously ridden in over a year. (Side Note: I didn't ride Dante... I rode Benny, the cute little paint she has that I love.) It was a good time. Hard to leave, but that time always comes, doesn't it?

I got back to NYC on Wednesday night late. On Thursday my brother and I went to JFK airport to pick up our Dad!! The three of us took a taxi over to our hotel where we actually all spent the night. After, we took a walk in Manhattan. On our way we saw some breakdancers. I've always thought it was cool, and I have a lot of respect for people who can do it. I made them stop so we could watch for a couple minutes. This guy is doing a back flip!!

We strolled down to a place my brother made reservations - a steakhouse, but I forget the name of it. We both treated Dad, since he probably never buys steak for himself. Also, he's the best Dad in the world. It was good to spend time with him and the brother all together.

These are the two coolest guys I know, absolutely. The dinner was amazing, also. We had a good time.

More walking after dinner in Manhattan towards Central Park. I don't think I'd ever want to live in the city. But if I did, I'd have to spend a lot of time at the park. This is a cool horse, by the way, in case you were wondering what the picture was.

Among kickball and softball teams, we also saw this raccoon. It's been a while since I've seen one of these guys, alive anyway, so I thought I'd snap a photo, along with everyone else in Central Park.

Well... we returned to the hotel and enjoyed our time together. On Friday morning the two men bid farewell as they began their day. I stayed at the hotel to wait for Christine to come and pick me up to begin our fantastic weekend. But that's another post. :)

Exit NZ, Enter USA

2008-07-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the day had to come when Bec and I had to leave NZ. It all came very fast, as is always the way. On our last day in Kerikeri, Bec's uncle took us to to a Kauri forest - these trees are massive!! They were cut down quite a bit when people first began to populate the islands, and it's the tree that is used to make a waka (Mauri canoe) because of the size and how long the wood lasts. But it is illegal to cut them down anymore because there are so few left. It takes 500 years for them to mature, so we want to conserve what we have!

This is a younger tree, and is about half the size of the one they used to make the waka in the picture in my last post.

Wednesday afternoon we drove back down to Aukland to visit another friend of Bec's - Sarah. We stayed with her family who owns and runs homestays, which is kind of like a hostel, but is run more like a home. Everyone has chores, there are house parents, that sort of thing. Anyway, lots of drama trying to get Bec's passport back from the consolate. They mailed it, of course, but every time they delivered it to the address in Aukland (Sarah's place), it was turned away. We ended up having to walk to the Courier place to get it, which was an hour and a quarter's walk - a little longer than we had anticipated. Later on Bec and I took another walk (in the rain...) to the supermarket so I could pick up something a friend had requested - food you can only get down under. :) We watched lots of movies and enjoyed our last day in New Zealand. On Friday morning before leaving, Sarah straightened Bec's hair for easier handling while traveling. Cute, eh?

Then her friend drove us to the airport. He actually started driving off before we were in the car! But we all made it safely. Everything seems to go awry somehow when Bec and I are doing things together... Anyway, after airport fun, we finally were on our way. We had a stopover in Tahiti again, but unfortunately it was too short and too late in the evening to enjoy the island. We left NZ on Friday afternoon, and arrived in Los Angeles on Friday morning. :) After waiting an hour and a half at the LAX airport, we finally got our shuttle to the hostel where we spent most of the time sitting by the pool, trying to relieve our swollen feet and ankles. We did enjoy a walk around the neighborhood, but we were both quite exhausted. Even though it was the 4th of July, we went to bed around 9:00. We had to be up really early for our early flights Saturday morning. At around 5:30am, Bec and I said our farewells. (I miss her already...) She went on to Chicago, and I am in here NYC with my big brother, Karl.

Like the good big brother he is, he had already planned a dinner to make when we got home. He made a great chicken pasta, and he even bought a bottle of red wine for dinner. We sat on his porch, which actually has a pretty cool view. Out the back of his building there's an old garden that noone has done anything with, so there's a huge tree and bush and overgrown land, so although I knew I was in a huge crowded city, it felt nice to at least look at something other than skyscrapers. But then I saw a giant centipede, and since we were finished eating anyway, we went directly inside. I slept for about 11 hours that night...

Around noon or 12:30 we left Brooklyn for our day. We went first to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went there with him last time I was here, and I wanted to go again to see what I missed, and see some other things I really liked. Salvador Dali, Jackson Poloc, and my favorite room, the East Asian art. Last time I was there I didn't have a camera. This time I only had my cell phone, so I'll have to figure a way to get those photos onto my computer. So far out the sculptures. Anyway, afterwards we went back to Union Square for dinner at Chipotle's (the best burritos ever), a visit to Strand bookstore (bought a couple books, couldn't help myself), and a movie. We saw Wall-E, which, despite the poor previews, was actually really good. I'd recommend it.

Anyway, it's good to be hanging out with the brother. We'll do some other things tomorrow - the Museum of Natural History, I think we're going to go to the city farmer's market, and of course, the post office. Ha. :) Anyway, this is me talking about me. So write to me and tell me about you! Cheers!

The Beginning of the End (NZ Part 8)

2008-06-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

Bec and I have officially left Palmy for the infamous journey to America... That's right, Bec has to go through heaps of paperwork, etc. to be allowed into the States. Once again, we are making our own road trip. :) But first, more time with my beloved Kiwi family. On Friday, I spent the day with Bec at her school where there was a luncheon celebration for her graduation. Yummy food made by the cooking students. Her Mum came as well. That evening the four kids (Bec, Leighton, Chloe, and I) went to the movies to see "Prince Caspian." It was pretty good, worth the watch, we decided.

A real Kiwi hamburger, topped with all the fixings. Huge - definitely the best burger ever, and homemade. Bec's Mum began making these so the kids would stop asking for McDonald's burgers. Apparently, she also made KFC chicken and Fish 'n' Chips. I've been eating the best foods ever. More on food later...

The following pictures are from the movie theatre. From the left: Leighton, Bec, Me, Chloe

The weather has been very kind to us while I've been here. It was due time for a rain. So that's what it did... all day on Saturday. We were really looking forward to going on another ride, but it was so rainy! We spent most of the day inside, but we were desperate to be outside and play. During a break in the rain, we decided that we were going to go for our road ride after all. So while we were gathering the horses, it started to rain. All of us are pretty stubborn, however, so we kept it up, groomed (as best we could), got dirty (of course), tacked up quickly, and began the most memorable ride ever. That's according to Chloe. "At least we'll never forget it!" It was pouring. We rode out on the road (haha) for a ways, got really cold and wet, and finally decided to go home because it was so miserable. Changed and warm, we had tea (dinner), and remembered the glow worms. You can only see them at night, and this was our last chance. We drove out to the place where we knew we could see them... without a torch (flashlight). Real dumb, right? We get to the spot, and it ends up being a hike up a creek. Fortunately we were wearing gumboots (rubber rain boots). Bec and I used her Mum's cell phone as a light and hiked up the creek in the woods to where we could see the glow worms along the gorge walls. It was cool. :) They're basically little bugs that glow in the dark, little dots all over. But you can't take a picture because they die when the light is too bright.

Sunday afternoon, after church, Bec and I began our journey north. We drove from Palmy to Hamilton, where we stayed at Ness's parents' house (Ness wasn't with us, sadly). We had a bit of trouble finding it. We kept looking for Avalon Street. Eventually, while looking all over the place, we looked up at a road sign and simultaneously said, "Avalon!" We were ON Avalon... somehow... Anyway, we found their house and slept very well. The Curtis family was very welcoming, and Ness's Mum even had all the breakfast food set out for us in the morning. It was quite sweet. :)

The next morning we drove from Hamilton to Aukland. This is where the purpose of the road trip comes in. Bec has to go for a personal interview thing at the American Consolate, which is in Aukland, to get her visa approved. The latest she can go is 3 days before her flight, so we had to go up this week. On Monday morning we arrived in Aukland, but were a bit early for her meeting. We parked the car on the street, but we only paid for an hour, so we walked around for a little while, I closed my bank account, etc. Then we had to move the car so we wouldn't get (another) parking ticket. We were aiming for one of the 15 minute spots where I could just sit in the car and wait for her. It doesn't take long, just a pain. Anyway, so somehow Bec took a wrong turn and we ended up in what was obviously a private car park (parking lot). Well we couldn't have that, so we turned around, but the gate (there's a GATE???) started to close, and we were trapped!!! This was doubly bad, because Bec had to be at the Embassy AND we were trapped. I figured there had to be a way out for people, so I opened the Fire Exit door and we ran out towards the Embassy. She handed me the key and said I should stay with the car just in case our car got caught. I headed back to the car park, but I couldn't even walk into it. I saw a worker and asked him to help. As we walked over to the gate it began to open. I said, "Oh great! How do I know it will stay open?" He goes, "I have no idea. I'll just stand here." So I ran to the car, and had to rush my heart attack, since this is a manual car AND I'm driving on the left side of the road. This lady put her key card in to make sure the gate stayed open, since she was the one who had opened it, and I drove out onto a one way street where another worker told me I had to turn around. So I went back, drove around the block a few times, trying not to shake (relax, meditate, breathe) and found a 15 minute park across the street from the Embassy that was for buses only. Bec came out the door and I honked and she came running across the street, thankful that our car was back safely!! Actually, it's her Mum's car, who so kindly let us use it for our trip, since it's the better car of the ones in their driveway. Whew! What an adventure. Off to Kerikeri!

Kerikeri is the home of Bec's aunt and uncle who, along with 5 other kids, also house Bec's brother Joel. They own a motel, which is pretty cool. The weather here is lovely, it's very green and sunny, and it's a pleasure to be with such good people.

Today Bec and I went to Waitangi, which is the historical site of the treaty signing between the British and the Maori. It's quite cool.

This is a waka, a conoe used by the Mauri, mostly for war.

The Mauri love adorning with wood carvings, and are quite good at it. It's a tradition passed down, and each tribe has its own particular wood carving symbols.

This is the top of a mari, a house, which is basically a big room in which the Mauri people lived. This particular one we visited was made for all Mauri tribes included in the peace treaty signed at Waitangi.

This is one wood carving from a tribe. I'm not sure which one... Anyway, they had representatives from each tribe come in and do a wood carving for this mari. Because they knew that there would be tribes from all over there, and that lots of people would be seeing it, they did amazing work. The carvings are often decorated with inlain paua shell.

After visiting the historical sites at Waitangi, we decided to take the coastal walk, which, as it says, follows the coast line along the bay. It was lovely weather, so sunny, blue skies, almost no wind, and warm. We had a few adventures along the way. :)

I decided to climb down a ledge to the coast to get a better view. This is Bec pointing off somewhere in the distance.

This is the Bay of Islands, where we took our walk. Isn't it beautiful? Imagine this as your backyard... Not that my backyard is all that bad. :)

We stopped in a field of green green grass. It naturally made me want to do cartwheels. Bec and I decided to practice our cartwheels, handstands, headstands, etc. There are videos to accompany, but they take too long to upload. So this is Bec after a headstand.

Somewhere else along the way we climbed down to the rocks (we think they are volcanic rock, since NZ was made from volcanoes). I'm not sure what I was doing, but Bec thought it looked like a sillouette.

I told her to do the same thing for a sillouette of her. She decided a teapot would be best. This is why I love her. :)

Because of the erosion, trees are growing sideways out of a cliff that basically falls down to a pile of rocks next to the water. Of course, I thought they looked like fun. So we climbed them. Well, we had to climb over to them a bit through the bush, and then we could climb across them, sort of.

I think this picture is precious of Bec sitting in her little nook. We were about 4 meters, or maybe 15 or 20 feet above the rocks.

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here, but it's a cool tree, huh? :)

For lunch we sat on the rocks right by the water and had a little ocean biology lesson after we ate. We found some cool living things... not really sure what they are...

This little guy was inside one of those curly shells. We think he was a sea snail. Very cute.

This might be either a sea urchin or a banacle, but we really don't know. It was stuck to the rocks. The longer it was out, the smaller it got. We think we killed it. We also found mussels, one of which Bec successfully pried off the rocks. Strong tongues. It's still alive. As it dies, it will open up. We're thinking of steaming it so we can eat it.

Other Kiwi foods I have eaten:
- New Zealand Oysters
- Mince Pies: Kiwis like to make pies. Mostly mince (that's my favorite), sometimes it's just pastry crust, sometimes it's potato top. (Mince is ground chuck, but they always flavor it.)
- Possum Pie: Possums are an introduced animal to NZ, and they are devestating for the natural environment here. Typical Kiwi ingenuity, they kill as many as they can to save the land, and then they put them in a pie so they don't waste it.
- Pavlova (creamy goodness)
- Becker's Slice (Bec's own yummy desserts)
- Chocolate Self Sauce Pudding (kind of like a cake... only better)
- Apple Crumble
- Kumura (a vegetable kind of like a potato, only better)
- Pumpkin Soup
- Roast Pumpkin
- Sausages (like hot dogs, only bigger, and different)
- Kiwi burgers (shown above)
- Hokey Pokey Ice Cream (my new favorite)
- Cadbury Chocolate Bars: Crunchy, Picnic, Flake, Time Out, etc.
- Pineapple Lumps (When God was giving out stuff, New Zealand slept in. When they got there, they were a bit groggy and weren't fast enough for the gold. After realizing the dire nature of getting first dibs as God called out the item, and as soon as God spoke, "Pine-" NZ buzzed in. God finished with "-apple Lumps," and handed NZ the chocolate candy. It tastes pretty good - and it's as good as gold.)
- Wheat Bix (think Wheat Biscuits, only with more grains)
- Vegemite
- Fijoa (a fruit)
- Sweet Milo (kind of like hot chocolate)
- I WILL try Rice Pudding and Tamarillos (another fruit)

That's all for now, folks. :) Hope all is well! Take care.

Back to Real Kiwi Life (NZ Part 7)

2008-06-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

My South Island trip began (apparently) and ended with quite a fiasco. I'll tell you about both.

A week prior to this past Sunday, Bec drove me down to Wellington, as you may already know, where we stayed at a backpacker hostel for the night. Normally, Bec is very responsible and calls her Mum to check in. However, we were quite forgetful at this time to do simple things like, bring the phone in from the car. So around 11:30, while Bec and I were enjoying a movie and microwaved Pineapple Lumps, her Mum was having a panic attack because the hostel called her to inform her that Bec and I had not arrived at the hostel. Naturally, Mrs. McLeay called the police to send out a search party. Her and Mr. McLeay then decided to take a slow drive to Wellington to see if we had gone off the road anywhere. First they called back the hostel to see if we came in. The new person on the phone then assured her that we had checked in at 6:00 that evening. Mrs. McLeay got very little sleep that night, and in the morning we found her texts on Bec's phone, along with a parking ticket. Woops...

Ten days later I returned to Wellington by Ferry to take (yet another) bus up to Palmy. In Picton, before getting on the ferry, I met a guy from California, Nick, who was WWOOFing around NZ (Willing Workers On Organic Farms - works for room and board in different places). We hung out on the ferry, then went to the railway station to get a bus, though he wasn't going to be on a bus until the next morning. So he booked into the only hostel I knew about, which was across the street, the same backpackers we had stayed at before. I stuck around to wait for my bus, which was supposed to leave at 7:50 that evening. I didn't even see a bus until 8:30, at which point the driver told me that no more buses were leaving that night. He had barely gotten through the roads because of the weather. So I was stuck. I went over to the hostel and booked a night there, where I ran into Nick again. Stayed the night, radda radda ra, booked a bus in the morning, and headed back over to the station to wait. Oddly enough, Nick shows up to get on the same bus north. He was headed to Auckland, however, so we said our final (or who knows?) goodbyes (again) when I switched buses to get to Palmy. Whew. So I reach Palmy, a city I fortunately know my way around in, at least partly, and there are no coin operated pay phones. So I walk to the square and hope that there's one in the mall. No such luck. I decided to eat first, then decide what to do. After the most unhealthy meal I've eaten since Bec and I made dessert for dinner (Burger King... I am ashamed), I remembered that Mrs. McLeay works downtown. I walked to her office to find her gone at lunch with Bec. Another guy in the office rung her up and told me where to meet her and Bec. I left my gear and made my way up the street, greeted by Bec running down the sidewalk. It was an excellent homecoming. :)

Well, this is Bec's last day of school, and on Sunday we are headed north since Bec has to be in Auckland at the consolate on Monday to sort out her visa. Only 2 more days with my Kiwi family. :( Tonight we are all going to the movies together to see "Prince Caspian." Tomorrow I think we are going to see the glow worms. They know a little spot that most people don't know about, so we can just walk in. This is cool, because when I was on the South Island they were charging people to go see them. I thought, no way, I can go for free with Bec! Anywho, no pictures today, sad to say, but I may not be on for another week or more - who knows? We'll be doing a bit of traveling, so I may not be able to get online until Los Angeles, or even NYC, which is a week away.

Take care, all. And happy early birthday, Auntie Rie!! I hope you have a good one!! :)

Too Much to Remember (NZ Part 6)

2008-06-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

Make sure you read the previous blog - it's much more interesting than this next one. Mostly, I'm just trying to keep up with all the traveling I'm doing lately. There is so much information about what I've seen, I will never remember everything. Something about history and reasons and government... It may come back to me. Anyway, mostly it's been driving from place to place. Yesterday I was in Dunedin, which was actually quite a big city. Well, "big." I bought a book by a New Zealand author, Diane Brown, called Here Comes Another Vital Moment. It's nonfiction, about things she noticed, basically, as she travelled. It's quite good. I like it. Anyway, I was kind of hoping that I might run into her while I was in Dunedin, as she lives there, but alas, it's much too big. And very hilly. It's home to the world's steepest street, as well as the 3rd and 4th steepest streets in the world. The 2nd steepest street in the world is in San Francisco. Why we have streets that bloody steep, I don't know. Anyhow. I'm in Lake Takepo right now, which thankfully is a very small town. I spent the afternoon walking along the lake shore, enjoying the lovely weather and the heavenly view of the Southern Alps, as they call them.

This is Baldwin Street - the world's steepest street. Magic Bus riders enjoyed a nice stroll up to the top. It really is quite steep. The bus wouldn't have made it.

These are some really round boulders on the beach. I don't actually know why they are significant, something to do with the Maori. I didn't read the thing. They look cool though, eh? This is one of our stops along the way.

While in Dunedin, I did do one pretty cool thing, and that was go on the Elm Wildlife tour. I meant to do the kayaking, as well. But that would have required staying an extra night, and I just don't have time to do that. I'm quite bummed - I just can't get to a kayak on this trip. Every attempt has fallen through... Anyway, it was really fascinating anyway, and my childhood love for animals resurfaced.

First we went to see if we could see some Royal Albatross. It isn't quite the season for them to be around, however, so we had no luck. Albatross are huge birds, and Royals can have a wingspan of about 3 meters, which is over 10 feet. Crazy! They basically glide over the ocean, filling themselves up with (dead) fish until mating season (they mate for life) and breeding season. Female Albatross spend most of their time feeding their little ones, of course, and it can take quite a toll on their bodies. They have only one baby, and they can only do it every 2 years. Fortunately, the average life span of this bird is about 40 years, and the longest known Albatross in this area lived to at least 62. Unreal! We did see some smaller Albatross, but they were so far away I couldn't get a picture of them.

Our next stop was the Sealions, to which we were very close, walking right near them as they slept, although they were aware of us. They aren't afraid of people, which is good, but can also be dangerous. If this video loads, you can see some of the males in their little social group, two of them fighting (play and practice), and in the middle is the biggest one, guarding his little guy (female substitute). We didn't see any females. They get sick of the boys pretty quick. Even the boys get sick of the boys.

No video, unfortunately, but we were quite close to them, as you can see! Very cool, very huge animals. They can get up to 300 or 400 kgs, which is about 800-900 pounds!

We also got to see yellow eyed penguins, which are pretty rare, but have a safe haven at this private beach saved for the conservatory. They are afraid of humans, but since there is a group there every day and goes to the places and acts the same, they are used to people, and tolerate us. We did get really close to one. They are very small and very cute. No wonder Amanda loves these little guys!

Lastly we went to a fur seal colony. Unfortunately, although they are nocturnal animals, they weren't very active. There were some pups there, and these are mostly females, but they were too comfortable on the rocks to move yet. That's alright. They are allowed to be comfortable. :) Our guide was very nice and seemed to take an interest in my interest, which was cool. She asked me lots of questions, though, about sea mammals in Alaska. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot. I only know that seals have fur that's spotted because we wear them and eat them. She seemed a bit concerned that natives are still allowed to hunt sea mammals (Maori are no longer allowed to in NZ), but I assured her that it is still quite traditional in that the whole of the animal is used in most cases. Anyway, I guess I need to brush up on my Alaskan sea mammal knowledge.

I'm running out of time online, so I'm going to wrap up. Yesterday and today I have been spending more time with one lady who has been on the bus with me for a few days. I've been in my own world, as she has been, so we've been reluctant to become more friendly. She's very nice, from Finland, and is actually looking to move to Australia, but is holidaying in NZ. It's been cool chatting with her. She speaks broken English, but works with computer programming and statistics, which is all in English, so that is how she learned. She said she can do alright with that part of the language, but she has a hard time with everyday words. So she can talk about politics, but she can't bake bread. I thought that was funny. :) Anyway, I have one more minute. I hope all is well with you all. Take care.

That was so totally WICKED! (NZ Part 5)

2008-06-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Stay with me on this blog. It's going to be full of pictures of random sights I've seen on my South Island trip. But the best is saved for last - so just hang in there. :) And trust me, it's definitely wicked - this is turning out to be a pretty freakin' sweet trip!

The Magic Bus is pretty cool. We make lots of sightseeing stops on the long drive from town to town. On Monday I went from Picton to Nelson, of course. That was already covered. In each town we go to, travelers have the option of staying as many nights as they want, and then catching the next Magic Bus that comes. Since my time is limited, I've been staying only one night in each town, which is fine - I don't spend as much money, but I still get to do most things that I want to do. Anyway, I digress. From Nelson we went on to Greymouth. The only thing to do there was the brewery tour and BBQ combo, which was pretty cheap, considering what you get. I went ahead and spend the evening with other travelers, which was great fun.

Look closely, and you can see some seals laying in the sun. This is an official seal colony in New Zealand.

This is a Weka bird, one of the many breeds of flightless birds in NZ. Unlike the Kiwi bird, which is a rare sight, the Weka is quite bold. I saw a lot of them, and they seemed unafraid of humans, walking right near me. Pretty cool.

View from the top of a hill at one of our stops on the road.

From Greymouth we moved onto Franz Josef, which was beautiful. It is home to the Franz Josef Glacier. Pretty cool. I had originally planned on doing the glacier kayaking trip, which I was pretty stoked for, and quite keen on doing. Unfortunately, I was the only person interested, and I'm just not enough people. So that fell through. Instead I went for indoor ice climbing. I've done some rock climbing, and I love it. This is a bit different, of course. It was pretty sweet. I went up the first three walls pretty quickly. By the third wall my arms were getting a little weak at using muscles I don't normally use. I fell a little, but recovered quickly and easily. I rested for a bit after that. It was time for something a little more challenging. Unfortunately, my unused muscles were too tired for the overhang, and I just couldn't go on. Well, I didn't want to hurt myself, either. I lost one of the picks in the ice above me when I fell (don't worry, I was on a rope) - haha - so, with the help of the guy at the other end of the rope (boulay? boulet? belay? I don't know how to spell it) I climbed back up to grab it before heading back down the wall. Shockingly, I wasn't terribly sore the following days.

South Island west coast

These are called the Pancake Rocks because, although you can't see it very well because of the picture's size, the rocks look as though they are stacked like pancakes. There is a cafe across the street from this park that serves pancakes. Shocker.

This is the Franz Josef Glacier. There was an option to go hiking through the glacier, but I didn't budget for that. Maybe I'll do this sometime when I'm back home in Alaska.

I should also go ice climbing again - on real ice next time, though. It was pretty cool to learn how to do it. This is the "classic" pose, according to the instructor. I just went with it. :)

From Franz Josef we drove down to Queenstown. This was a very long drive, but we stopped quite a few places for some beautiful scenery. I think you will agree.

They call these the Mirror Lakes because they reflect so clearly. I was supposed to kayak on a similar lake, but I'm not bitter about that... Anyway, another stop along the way.

At the cafe we stopped at, where we were, it was quite crisp outside. It made for nice walking weather. Anyway, another woman and I walked the path first, then headed back to the cafe. She was looking forward to warmth. But when I walked in I found it uncomfortably hot. I chose to stand outside instead, and this is the view. Isn't it lovely? Unbelievable.

We stopped at a beautiful waterfall. I posed Carrie's question to a couple of people: "Why does everyone like waterfalls?" I got some interesting answers. They agreed, of course, that everyone loves waterfalls. One guy said it had to do with the fact that moving water is sterile, totally clean, untouched. He also talked about its power, how it can shape rocks, etc. Both people basically decided that it's unexplainable, so magnificent it cannot be described in words, and maybe that's what draws us. I don't know if there will ever be a final answer. But at least we know there is no wrong answer.

This is Charlene, a girl from Molta - her and I have been traveling on Magic together for the last few days. She will be staying in Queenstown without me, however. But it has been fun to get to know her!

We also stopped at a bungy bridge. Not just any bungy bridge - the first commercial bungy bridge in the world, founded by two crazy guys, one of which stayed up all night so that he could bungy off the Eiffel Tower without notice of the police. He did it in the morning, and was arrested not long after. I don't think he cared. Anyway, a few people from our bus did it. I had thought before that I would never bungy jump. But after watching a few people do it, it kind of looks like fun. I might just change my mind. :)

Queenstown is very pretty - it's surrounded by mountains. We didn't get here until the evening time (I'm still here), so I am two nights here. Today was my day for action. I am trying to mix up my adventures with busy and relaxing. But there are a few things that I have budgeted for and definitely wanted to do. The glacier kayaking fell through. And I was afraid this next one might also. It didn't, however, and today I fulfilled one of my longtime goals. Well, almost. It was tandem, and hopefully I'll be able to do it on my own someday. Anyway, I went Hang Gliding!!! That's right, I was hang gliding. Pretty sweet, huh?? Yep, totally wicked. I definitely have to do it again!

Basically, I strapped on a harness, my guy hooked me onto the glider, and then we ran off a bloody mountain. I believe those were his exact words. "You just ran off a bloody mountain." Yes, yes I did. And I definitely want to do it again! We were in the air for about 7-10 minutes, I reckon, though I wasn't keeping time. Literally flying - so cool. It's interesting to see the world from that point of view. It's unreal. The landing was my favorite, I think. Just sort of rolled onto the ground... What's funny, I wasn't even scared when we ran off the mountain. I was so stoked to get out there - I was more scared driving up the mountain than jumping off of it. Anyway, it was fantastic.

This is me at almost 4,000 feet on a mountain in the Remarkables (the mountain range in Queenstown) getting ready to jump off of it. Isn't it lovely?

Yep, I'm flying! Wee!

This is my guide, Dave. Basically, this was the sweetest experience ever. I'm totally getting one of those things... not that there are many mountains to jump off of in Unalakleet... But someday, I have to learn how to do this myself.

These last couple of days have felt very lazy to me. I am on holiday, so I suppose that's alright. Tomorrow I am hoping to kayak - ugh, I hope it goes through. We are driving to Dunedin, and the afternoon I am hoping will be spent taking a tour of the Elm Wildlife and then kayaking through it, as well.

Traveling alone is great - I highly recommend it. It's a good chance to get to know yourself better. I feel like this is selfish, but I reckon that's okay for now, even if it is selfish. I'm learning a lot about myself, and I reckon this whole adventure is making me a better, stronger, more confident person. I have never been more comfortable with being alone than I am now. In fact, at this point, I'd almost rather be alone. I'd rather spend my evening watching a movie on my own than hoofing around town with a group of people that I will probably never see again. I'd rather hike a trail by myself than have to make conversation with someone I've never met. I guess I'm just not here to meet people - I'm here to see New Zealand. And although this whole bus trip is rather touristy, I suppose it's a good way to introduce myself to the island anyway. And the rest of my trip is more Kiwi than this is anyhow - living with a family, learning about actual life in this country, understanding the economy and the people and the lifestyle. There's a lot that the tour guides don't tell us about life in NZ, and all we see are the places that are generally crowded with people from other countries looking for a thrill somewhere other than where they live. I've had the strangest feeling lately. I've actually missed home - home, as in Unalakleet. Generally, I dread the idea of leaving holiday and going back to the normal. But lately I've actually been looking forward to it. I don't want to leave NZ, that's for sure, and I want my holiday to last as long as possible here, as much for the experience as for the time with Bec. But I'm also looking forward to being back in my own space, in my own community, with my own friends, and of course, my own dog(s). Yeah, I have a puppy now, so technically I have 2 dogs. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the little one yet. I may just end up with 2 dogs. Not so bad, I suppose.

Well anyway, lots of droning on and on. Not really holiday sort of blogging, that last part. But then again, this is my blog. And if you haven't noticed my worldview ClusterMap, I've had a lot of hits. :) Make sure you leave me some comments!!

Moving Along (NZ Part 4)

2008-06-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

Welp, I'm sitting here in a hostel in Nelson. My South Island trip has officially started. But let me do a little update from my last few days in Palmy. (Don't worry, I'm going back there.) On Friday (I think - it must have been Friday), Bec and I went on the gorge walk. It reckons that the walk takes about 4 hours each way - so you start at one end, go to the other, and then walk back. Some people just get picked up at the other end, but we wanted to do the whole thing. That's 8 hours, right? Nah, we hoofed it in 6 hours. :) We were pretty wicked sore afterwards, of course. It was beautiful walking, really shady, and really hilly. Up and down, up and down. It basically was a big hill up, little hill down, little hill up, big hill down - one way - then back again. We do these things (3 hours riding on the beach, 4.5 hours biking, 6 hours hiking, etc.), and then we go home and watch TV, shows like "The Biggest Loser," and then we decided that we do these things so we don't ever have to be on "The Biggest Loser." Mostly, it's enjoyable.

The view from one of the lookouts at the top of the hill on the gorge walk - so beautiful! It was quite windy up there outside of the forest. But it was just gorgeous.

Bec takes a break after walking up the giant hill on our way back. We were in our 4th or 5th hour of hiking at this point, including a 20-minute lunch break, so our legs were feeling a little rubbery...

Enjoying the walk - the foliage is so green and lovely - perfect! This is winter?!?!?

Saturday was the steeplechase race, and we definitely wanted to go see that. We had decided earlier on to bike to it, but we were both so tired from the previous day's hike. Reluctantly at first, we hopped onto our bikes and began the 45-minute ride to the track. We were both pleasantly surprised at how easy it seemed to go up and down the hills and move so quickly, even in the wind. It was probably my fastest biking to town. We took the BMX detour, of course, for some first grade mountain biking. Then we made our way to the track to meet Ants and her friend for some steeplchase fun!

We were lucky - we were able to walk right in and watch for free, and then we got to stand right next to one of the jumps. If you don't know what steeplechase is, basically it's like a regular horse race, only the horses also jump over brush - in this case they had 19 jumps - as fast as they can. It's very fast, and very dangerous. I would guess there is at least one fall at every race. I would definitely love to try it some day. Maybe not race, but at least run the course. :) (If you've ever seen the movie "National Velvet," the race in that movie is steeplechase.)

It was fast, of course, but really cool to watch. There was one fall, which was interesting. When they were showing the horses at the beginning, Ants called the guy who would fall off, and I called the winner. We were both right. It was one of the last jumps, and the horse skimmed the brush and flipped over. Fortunately he was near the end of the group, so no one was trampled. I wasn't sure the horse was going to get up at first, but he did eventually, complete with bloody flanks and a bloody nose. I'm sure he was lame the next day. The jockey was okay, but injured. Of course we flocked over to take a look. :) Races are fun to go to, because the horses that lose races usually go for really cheap. There are tons of thoroughbreds in NZ, all bred for racing, but if they don't do well they are sold for cheap ($500) or put on the dog truck. Steeplechase horses are especially cool, I think, because they could probably make good eventers.

Anyway, enough about horses. Sorry - once I get going! Sunday was supposed to be a foursome trip to Wellington, but the girl who was going to drive backed out. It ended up just being Bec and I, which was okay, just more expensive. Anyway, we drove down together on Sunday afternoon for our own little road trip! We stopped at an ice cream place along the way, which is never a bad idea. You choose your ice cream, choose up to three fruits and they mix it all up into a soft serve and give you this sweet as ice cream cone. They were huge!

We had a great time at the hostel, watching movies and attempting to make our own dinner in the kitchen. It was a cheap meal that we fenagled from the supermarket, but the oven didn't work... Ah well. Anyway, the next morning I got on the ferry to the South Island. Let me tell you, big boats are not all they're cracked up to be. I was not comfortable. It was pretty, and it was alright, and I'm doing it again because I have to get back, and it's the cheapest way, but I tried to sleep as much as possible.

What I saw, though, was heavenly. I just wish we could have stayed still a little longer...

I pulled into Picton and made my way to the Magic Bus, my ride for the next 10 days. The driver is pretty cool. We came to Nelson and I checked into the hosel. A couple guys in my room and I decided to walk up to the geographical center of New Zealand. Pretty cool view, though the hike was crazy uphill. But we made it. My calves were a little sore from the gorge walk still, but we're all good.

So beautiful from on top of the hill! Imagine this as your backyard view. :) Anyway, we went to the supermarket, so now I'm fed for the next few days, including my new favorite candy: Pineapple Lumps.

My online time is running out - I only bought 1 hour for this evening. But I wanted to update now before things get really fast. I will be in Nelson this evening, then driving to Greymouth tomorrow. One night there, then Franz Josef the next day, hopefully for some glacier kayaking. More fun to come!! Peace to you all - take care!

Playing in Palmy (NZ Part 3)

2008-06-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

NEW PICTURES POSTED!!

I can't tell you how good it is to be back in the company of one of my dearest friends, Bec. She's pretty much fantastic. It's almost surreal being here, because of how long it's been since we've been together, but it's good to catch up and have fun like we always do!

I've been living at Bec's home in Palmerston North (a.k.a. Palmy) with her wonderful and gracious family. Her brother and sister (Leighton and Chloe) have been lots of fun to get to know and hang out with. And her parents (Megan and Grieg) are very welcoming and kind. At the McLeay household, water comes from the rain, so conserving and saving is a way of life. Showers are precious things, although it rains a lot here, so it's not so big a deal, and really, I don't take that many showers anyway. ;) It's winter here, but even though it's similar to spring weather at home (40s and 50s), it feels cold to everyone else. Nights are the coldest, and the fire is lit to keep us all warm. The heat, of course is all from a wood stove in a house that Grieg built for the family. It's complete with a dog, a cat, chickens, and horses. There was an orchard, but the horses ate all the fruit. There was a cow and a milker, but no longer. Now they get milk from down the road - all fresh, complete with cream. And eating out rarely happens. Everyone is responsible for cooking, cleaning, and eating. :) And since Bec is a chef (she's taking her last cooking class now, which is a baking class), she makes amazing food, and she brings home yummy treats, including macaroons, chocolate candies, ice cream, etc., all homemade! Also, Bec and I have enjoyed playing musical duets - her on the piano and me on the violin (she has a violin here, so I've been playing hers). It's pretty sweet!

Usually on week days I bike to town in the morning, which is probably about 4 or 5 miles (10K) away, including hills... Bec puts me on a computer at her college computer lab. We bike around town, or take walks on paths in the area, picnic, etc. If she's busy, I'm just biking or walking around Palmy getting to know the area. Evenings are spent at home with the family watching TV (I know, I know... but I'm on holiday, so I don't care if I'm rotting my brain!) or reading or playing music or chatting or looking at pictures from the day. The sun sets around 5, so we have to really take advantage of daylight. Okay, for here, it's short days. :) My most memorable bike trip was when I went to the supermarket and biked home with about 30 lbs. of food on my back... that was a good time. But I made it! (I had to take a break up that massive hill...)

Bec and I enjoying a hike in the woods. This one was about 2 hours-ish. I had no idea where we were... but it was beautiful!

Bec modeling on a bridge... :)

Power for Palmy comes from the HUGE windmill farm, so Bec and I drove up to see them on the windiest day here yet! It was so cool. :) On the way back down the mountain, we decided to stop and climb a random hill. It happened to be a sheep pasture, so we walked between sheep poo and up this steep grassy hill to the top where it was windy and narrow and awesome. For dinner we made chocolate pudding and apple crumble, served with my new favorite ice cream: hokey pokey. (I'm going to bring some amazing NZ sweets home for everyone to try - mostly for me, though.) :)

This is the view from on top of the hill where the windmills are. We drove up here on a perfectly windy day!

Enjoying the view!

It was so windy, Bec and I could lean all the way into the wind and stay standing up! We also tried fun tricks, such as seeing how far our spit could go, running into and with the wind, etc.

This is on top of the random sheep hill we climbed on the way down. That white spec there is our van, at the bottom of the hill we climbed.

Bec and I had to take a seat at the top of the sheep hill because it was so windy. If you look carefully behind her you can see the windmills.

A collection of windmills

Bec leans into the wind, hoping she doesn't fall!

Oh yes, Bec has horses, so we've been able to ride!!!!! YAAAYY!! It's been ages, but it was amazing all the same. And then... the best ride ever... we took the horses to the beach! Bec, Chloe, and I all put a horse in the truck, and their Mum drove us to the beach on the west side of the island. It was wicked. We let the horses totally run free, and all I had to do was stay on! It was sooo cool! I was on the biggest one (also the oldest...), a thoroughbred, and old racehorse that didn't quite make it on the track. But he loves to race anyhow, and didn't let anyone get ahead of him, so we absolutely FLEW. So sweet. :) Also, I rode in jeans and gumboots (rain boots), which was a bad idea, so now I have this huge sore on my leg. But no worries.

This is Tim, the horse I've been assigned. He's probably about 16 hands, or thereabouts, 18 years old, slow as (unless he's racing...), and super sweet.

Bec rides Pal, the other thoroughbred hack (though it looks like an Apaloosa).

This is Chloe on Ringy, one of the ponies, riding on the beach! He turned out to be quite a quick runner! He put up a good race against Tim - we were absolutely flying down the beach - so cool to watch him run, though I was a little distracted staying on my own galloping horse to take any pictures. :)

This is Bec, once again, showing us how NOT to ride. Fortunately, Pal is super tolerant of her antics, and mostly was just enjoying being on the beach. Coming out here gives all the horses (and riders) and extraordinary renewed energy. It was pretty much one of the best rides of my life. Unfortunately, Pal didn't care too much about going fast, although he did gallop a little. Most of the time he was hanging out in the back. At one point, Chloe and I were at a nice canter, trying to keep them held up so they didn't run all the way home, and Bec's horse just trotted the whole time - this amazing extended trot, but never broke into a canter. So Chloe and I are up there going, "Easy, easy, whoa," as our horses try desparately to move from a canter to a gallop, and Bec's right behind us going, "I'm still trotting!"

Bec took this photo from her horse. I'm there on the left, and Chloe is next to me. The horses loved walking in the salt water (super good for their legs and feet anyway), and Tim loves playing in the water.

Can you see my reflection in the sand?

Ants is another Kiwi (New Zealander) that worked at camp, and her and Bec are long time mates. She lives on the South Island these days, but was up in Palmy for knee surgery. Bad news for her, but we got to meet up, which was awesome! It was definitely good to see her again, and surely not the last time before I leave. :)

Movie night: we watched a NZ classic, "The Whale Rider." It's pretty good, about Mauri legend, I recommend it. Also pretty cool, speaking of Mauri, a friend of Bec's, a guy she used to work for, knew I was coming, so he prepared a gift for me. He's a Mauri, and wanted to give me something really exceptional, I guess, to take home, so he gave me a traditional Mauri necklace carved from bone (now it's from beef bone, but traditionally it's from whale bone - whale hunting is illegal now) - a huge one - and this one represents the Mauri legends and myths. He put it on me, and no one else is allowed to wear it. So don't even ask. :)

It's pretty big, nearly the length of my hand. So beautiful!

I'm also planning a trip to the South Island, a bus trip type thing, so it's about 10 days. Should be a good time. I'm hoping to enjoy some awesome opportunities, all within a budget I'm working out now... I don't want to tell you all of them because I don't want to spoil it. But they're really cool!!!!

New Zealand is pretty friggin amazing. It's so green, even in the winter! South Island will be colder, for sure. Oh, but I got a pair of pants for $3.50 and a cool polyester softshell jacket for $13.30... and that's in NZ dollars. So 80% of that price is the US$ amount. Pretty good sale, eh? :)

NEW FROM YESTERDAY

Yesterday afternoon, Bec wanted to take me on the Bridle Path, one of the many biking paths in Palmy. It basically runs a big circle around the city, which sounded pretty cool to me! It ended up taking about 3.5 hours, plus biking in and out of town, which takes about 30 minutes each way, so our total biking time was about 4.5 hours just yesterday afternoon. With all the stops to look at maps, biking through grass, up hills, and turning around a few times, we didn't make excellent time. However, we figured we biked about 40 kilometers, which is almost 25 miles. Our butts were a little sore, and we were pretty tired last night. But mostly it was fantastic.

Bec coming through one of the many gates that hindered our way. Some we could walk through, others we had to actually lift our bikes over the fence to get through. Hmm... maybe they were there for a reason? Ah well, no one was looking!

We thought this sign was funny: "Extreme Care: Sections of this walkway are unstable." It was the second one of these signs we saw, so I figured I had better document it.

We biked along the Wanganui River for much of the way. Pretty cool backyard. :)

We took a wrong turn and ended up on this mountain biker trail in the woods. Narrow path through ditches and over logs and along steep ledges. It was pretty wicked fun. :) It turns out we made a huge circle and ended up back on our trail where we had been about 30 minutes earlier. But we did eventually find our way, and we saw the race track where we will go on Saturday to watch the SteepleChase Race!!

This is Bec fighting her way up a steep grassy hill. She's so hardcore. Okay, so we had to walk up a few steeper ones, but next time I won't be beaten!

This photo was actually taken in the back of the horse truck where Bec and I had to ride on the way home from the beach. It was a little chilly, so we bundled up on the couch under random horse blankets and coolers we found in the back. Anyway, we've definitely been enjoying ourselves.

Remember to comment - and thanks to those who already have! I hope your summer is as amazing as mine is. Take care!!
Cheers!

Road Trip in New Zealand (NZ Part 2)

2008-06-03T19:07:00.001-07:00

Quick addition... On Monday we drove down from Tauranga to Palmerston North. Along the way we stopped at a few rivers that are kind of cool to look at. Random stops. :)

This first set is at Huka Falls in Taupo:

This second set is from another river that we don't actually remember the name of where we were. But it's kind of sweet, isn't it? It's eroded down the rocks so much, so we were looking down through these deep cavern-like rocks. Really cool.

This last one is actually a picture that I took - it's not technically professional, but it looks it, huh? :) We were driving out from where that last river lookout was, and we looked up to see this. Bec slammed on the brakes and I snapped this sweet photo.

Welcome to New Zealand (NZ Part 1)

2008-06-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

I made it! That's right - I am in the great country of New Zealand, currently in Palmerston North, in between Wanganui and Wellington on the North Island. It's pretty frickin' sweet!! This blog is covering a very busy weekend, so prepare yourself for a long one, filled with pictures and anecdotes!

It was quite an adventure getting here, let me tell you. So I was hanging out in the hostel, waiting for the time to go to the airport. Finally, after not getting the shuttle, we called for a taxi. Ugh - LAX (the international airport in LA) is SO inefficient. I had to check in first, right, and then check my bags separately - so annoying! Well by that time, the line was so long, I knew that I would be in it too long to make my flight. I asked a nice security guard to push me forward, and so he did, and off I went to security check-in, which was another hugely long line. I was about 3/4 of the way through, and my flight was boarding. AHH!! Freak out - I asked another security guard to help me out, and he pushed me forward again, radda radda ra, long story short, I go running to my gate and jump on the shuttle to my plane 10 minutes before my plane was scheduled to take off. I got on the plane just in time! Shout out to Mark Vink for being available to help me out in my time of stress! :)

Air Tahiti was so cool - they gave us flowers, there were flight movies, I got a blanket and a pillow to myself, and the food was mostly edible. :) Everything was in French, so there would be a 5 minute message in French, right, and then a 30 second message in English. I don't really know if I got all the information I was supposed to get. Oh well - I made it safe, right? Oh, and stopover in Tahiti, so beautiful! Hmm, trip ideas for next summer? :) Anyway, I made it safe and sound to Aukland, although my bag never actually left Los Angeles, so that was cool. I was mostly excited to see Bec!!!!!!

Her and her friend Vanessa (Ness) drove up to meet me at the airport and take me on a road trip adventure.

And so it began. As we drove, we saw lots of beautiful sights:

And we made the obligatory stop at the famous L&P bottle:

Pretty yummy drink! Hmm, the road says... PUKE road?!?!?!?

Well no, it's pronounched POOKY. I had lots of lessons on how to pronounce things correctly, particularly names of towns and roads. :) Fortunately, Bec has been able to translate most of the language barriers between me and the other Kiwis (New Zealanders). But I'm learning.

On the way, we stopped to look at the waterfall at Owharoa (I know, everyone loves waterfalls), and we ended up making it into an adventure! We saw the waterfall from the road...

But we decided we wanted a closer look, so we hiked through the woods on this small path, up a hill, not really knowing where we were going, not really dressed for the occasion, and we got right next to the falls, but we couldn't actually see them through the forest...

Oh well - fun times, ducking under limbs and climbing over trees. :)

We road-tripped it down to Tauranga where Ness and Bec have a good friend, Karleen. We stayed with her family for the weekend, which was sweet. Her mom makes the most amazing food!! Anyway, that evening I had my first mince pie, which frankly, was amazing. I'm totally hooked. Later on we went to a hot pool, basically a swimming pool sized hot tub, and we relaxed a bit. Then bed, finally! A real mattress. :)

The next day was sure to be busy. I took a shower (mm, so nice) and we prepared for our trip to Rotorua. Karleen had it all planned. Our first stop was the mud pools and hot springs. Boiling mud - so crazy!!

And it smelled like eggs... New Zealand was made, basically, by volcanoes, and there are still some active volcanoes in the area. Mostly there are just the hot springs.

It was a beautiful autumn day - although it's actually winter here now - you'd never know it! It is a bit cool and it rains more often, but I think it's still very nice out, I think. Anyway, we walked around, saw the Zorb (people inside a giant ball rolling down a hill) and someone bungee jump off a crane. We did not partake. We did walk around a carnival/market thing, which was cool. It was right by the water where we saw lots of black swans waiting for people to "accidentally" drop some food.

For lunch I had a New Zealand sausage (kind of like a hot dog, only better) and pumpkin soup - different from our pumpkin. Very good. And then... the luge!! We went to the Skyline where we road a gondola up a big hill...

With smiles on our faces...

Especially when we decided to have a little fun with the buckets going the other way, down the hill. We thought it would be fun to just stare at them a bit, you know, have some laughs. They weren't looking... so we waved obnoxiously at the oncoming one to make sure they would look at us. In response, they prepared themselves for us, and while we were staring at them as they passed, two of them MOONED us!!! Butts pressed firmly against the glass, we got a full view! We DIED laughing - it was hilarious! We couldn't believe it!! It was all over from there. :)

Although the view was quite pretty from the top. :) Anyway, we got up there, and it was time for the luge. The luge is basically, you get in a little cart, and you roll down a big, winding hill. We decided to start with the scenic route, since it's the easiest, and we'd never done it before.

Of course, I crashed - on the scenic route!! I took the turn too quickly, and off I came, scraping down the hilly, ending with scratches on my belly and a giant bruised lump on my hip. :( It was pretty hilarious, but I can't sleep on my left side for a while... haha. No worries, we made it down the rest of the way just fine. Of course, the intermediate and advanced tracks... I went down them, but I went very, very slowly. I don't think I like speed very much... I'm okay if we take this slowly. :) It was still fun! Whenever there was a picture to be taken down the luge or up the lift, we planned out our faces: bored, frightened, asleep, poised, absent minded, angry, etc. :) They were some good shots, although we didn't actually buy any.

On the way down the gondola we tried to do some funny things again, you know, dancing for the other people, etc. No ars sightings that time around, thankfully! But we still had a good time being 12 again. :)

That evening we were able to pick up my bag at the Tauranga airport. And who do you think we saw marching off that plane? It was Helen Clark herself, the New Zealand Prime Minister!!

She was head down all the way out to her car, so this is the only picture I got. People here don't much like her, so whatever, but it was kind of a big deal to see her, I suppose.

Anyway, it was another good meal that night - Mrs. Elphick made lamb chops with roasted veggies and potatoes, including my first kumara, the best vegetable ever, which we don't have in the states - and another good night's sleep. The next day was Sunday, so of course, we went to church. After lunch, we took on the Mount - Mount Maunganui.

We decided to walk up the hill instead of around because it's pretty. And so we did. And it was. We saw a few of the 30 million or so sheep that live in New Zealand. I thought it was cool at the time. But I've seen lots more sheep since then. They dot the hillside wherever you drive.

We made the hike up, though we got a little separated - they wanted to sit for a bit on the way up - I just wanted to get to the top, so I continued on my own. We met up at the top of the hill, and it was unbelievable. On one side you could see the town, and on the other side it was just islands and ocean. It was so beautiful.

I definitely had a good walk up!

We walked back down a different way, and we ended up going down a very steep path with lots of steps. We made the walk a bit more fun with song, but singing was not so easy once we got to the hard part. It was beautiful, and worth it, of course.

After we went out for ice cream - yum! We were pretty tired, so we went directly home to put on jammies and have another great meal of mince and rice. Mince is basically a meat gravy. It's pretty common here, though this is my first exposure. I'm totally getting the recipe...

We had a good sleep that night, after watching Sunday Theatre - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm anxious to see Prince Caspian - geeky, I know. But whatev. :)

That basically concludes the whole of the weekend. The next morning Bec, Ness, and I set out for Palmerston North. There are a few pictures from that trip, but they are on another camera. That's for another blog. This one is long enough!

Thanks, Karleen and family for a wonderful first weekend in New Zealand!! It was grand, and more than I could have expected! (It's very lucky to be able to travel in a place where I know people - staying in homes and with families rather than only in hostels and on my own... I'm liking it so far.)

Make sure you comment on this one - and there will be more to come! I've got a whole five weeks here in NZ. This was only the first weekend!

Let Summer Vacation Begin!

2008-05-28T15:50:00.001-07:00

Being a teacher is hard, hard work. I won't even pretend to imply that teachers don't earn every minute of every break they get. I have to say, though, when those breaks come, it's like a sweet breath of fresh air. I'm definitely on vacation now. I have an awkward looking sunburn and I'm living out of a suitcase/backpack. And I love it. :)

Last week was CASC week. I don’t remember what CASC stands for, but basically we got into groups based on content area and looked back over the standards and curriculum, making any necessary changes and updates. I was in the Writing CASC, and I had a great group. We had lots of fun. I learned a lot, and I feel like I contributed at least a little. It was kind of cool having that kind of influence. Decisions that I made actually affect the entire district… I like it. Well, I like it if they were good decisions. (It's weird to think that just last week I was at work in Unalakleet, and now I'm sitting in an international hostel in Venice, CA. Quite a change!)

There was one major event last week that has absolutely nothing to do with school. On Tuesday night my dog was howling, which rarely happens, so I went out and gave her some hay. The next morning as I left for school I found my dog not running out excited to see me, like she usually does. I looked in her box, as I had been doing for the whole week previous (just in case), and there she was, puppy and all.

Proud Mama Star taking care of her baby. She's a good mom. :)

She had a little girl, and so far it’s just the one. I checked every day after, but no change. This is good – the one puppy came right on time. The last litter came 2 weeks early because there were too many, which is why they didn’t make it. This time it was just the one, and she seems to be very healthy. She’s very vocal, and very cute. I haven’t picked a name for her yet, and I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep her or not. We’ll just see how things go. I am tempted, and I am currently on the hunt for a good name, preferably Yupiq. One of my students, Yosty, is watching over my dogs while I’m away.

Puppy hasn't quite opened her eyes yet, at least when I had left. But she looks a lot like her mother - black with white tips on her paws and a white stripe down her belly. I'm anxious to see how she changes.

Speaking of being away, I’m sitting in a hostel in Venice, CA, just outside of Los Angeles. School is over, and I probably couldn’t do much with it even if I wanted to, which I don’t. On Monday, Adrianna and I, and Jake and Janelle, flew out to Anchorage for the beginning of our journeys. It was all very exciting. We rented a car together and made our way to town. Town!! We tried to go to Pete’s Sushi, but alas, it was closed for Memorial Day. Ah well. We got a nice bagel sandwich, then headed over to REI where we picked up a few essentials. After a few more errands, the four of us met back at Humpey’s for dinner. I took Adrianna to the airport, then met up with Alec, a friend in Anchorage. We hung out, had some laughs, took a walk, etc. It was good. :)

My flight to Los Angeles left at 12:40AM that night, and I arrived at around 7:00AM. It was fantastic… psych. My plan was to store my luggage at the airport so I would only have to carry my backpack. Not so – LAX no longer stores luggage. Big bummer. I took a taxi to my hostel, which was a deadly ride. I thought I was going to die. And looking around, everything is made of cement, everything is commercialized, and whatever is or once was naturally beautiful has been overrun by the city. Oh well, I got to my hostel alive, where I guess I really didn’t have a reservation. But the lady was very, very nice, and she let me sleep in an empty bed for the morning and prepared a bed for me to have for the night. Anyway, my hostel overlooks the beach - not a bad little spot.

This is the window in the lounge of my hostel. It looks right out to the beach. Pretty sweet.

I rented a bike yesterday and rode up the trail along the beach. I found a nice spot where there weren’t very many people and just hung out, walked along the beach in the water, enjoyed the warmth, enjoyed the solitude. It’s one thing to go from the bush to Anchorage. It’s another to come straight into L.A. It’s not so big a deal, I mean, I’ve lived in the city before, I can handle it, I’m not worried about it. But it’s definitely a lot different. And I definitely appreciate where I live. I’m also extremely anxious to get to New Zealand, so that also contributes to my poor attitude towards L.A. Oh well. I don’t care. I just want to get to where I’m supposed to be. This is not it. It's not terrible, and I know I'm just being grumpy about it. There are a few redeeming qualities, like all the gardens and flowers everywhere, which makes it smell good in some neighborhoods. I still don't want to live here.

I biked up a ways out of town where there was a little solitude, less people, more open beach. This is the view from where I was. It's so big, so busy. I was glad to be out of that for a few minutes.

Today I packed my things up and checked out, but the hostel is letting me store my things and hang out here for the day since my flight leaves so late tonight. I rented a bike and rode around town for a couple of hours. I went over to Marina del Rey, saw some of the boats, biked on the bike trail up that way, etc.

Boats, boats, and more boats. Quite a different look from village fishing boats. :)

I went back over to Venice around where my hostel is and hung out in the grass by the beach, just reading. There's so little to do when you're on your own here, without spending a lot of money. There's just too many people for my taste, I don't really know what to do with myself. I'm almost forgetting how to interact with people normally because I am completely out of my element. This is good for me, of course. I am definitely ready to be in New Zealand with Bec, though! I'll be glad when I don't have to worry as much about getting around on my own, not really knowing where I'm going, etc. Plus, New Zealand is just a cooler place to be. I'll be glad to be in a less crowded place with one of the coolest people in the world!!

The End. Finis. Etc.

2008-05-19T23:56:00.001-07:00

I realize that it's been a while, although looking at the dates it's really only been 2 weeks since my last post. It doesn't sound like very long when I say it out loud, but it's felt like an eternity. So much has been going on, I feel like everything outside of myself has been nonstop, so really, I had no time for myself and such things like blogging.

The year is winding down. Students and teachers alike checked out last week - mentally, it is a very difficult time of year. The sun is out for about 21-22 hours a day, it's warm, we all want to be outside, and school is became less of a priority for everyone. Frankly, I'd rather be camping. Fortunately, tomorrow is the official last day of school. The rest of the week will be a work week for me. I'm looking forward to it, collaborating with other teachers, cleaning my classroom, kind of planning for next year, etc.

The past few weeks have been, mildly putting it, busy, as I mentioned before. On Saturday May 3 the Junior class hosted prom. I was a chaperone from 11-12. It was beautiful. :) They did a fantastic job of decorating, everyone looked great, and even I got a little dressed up for the occassion. Adrianna curled my hair, I put make-up on... no dress. It was quite an ordeal - dress or no dress? Whatever. I'm not a dress person. But it was a good time.

Adrianna and I dressed up for prom. This is the first prom I've ever been to, since I didn't go to either of my high school proms. I'm totally okay with that.

(In internet land, there is a picture of Carrie and I - she made me wait after my chaperone hour was done just to have it taken together. :) It was very cute, and I was happy to wait - especially since there was yummy Carrie-made cake involved - I don't really like the picture of me, so I'm not posting it.)

The following week was the acme of all that the senior class had been working for, going crazy for, waiting for, the big event of the year: graduation! Twelve seniors graduated from Frank A. Degnan High School this year. Getting the caps and gowns turned out to be a bit of drama, but we got what we needed, and the ceremony was beautiful. In the midst of planning and trying to figure out this position of senior class advisor, I didn't realize that I was required to give a small speech at graduation, in front of about 300 people. This is officially the biggest crowd I've ever spoken in front of, I'm pretty sure. I wrote a speech at the last minute, and I'm told it went pretty well. All I had to do was explain the financial aid that each student received. I think I was in a daze the entire time. Oddly, I was less nervous at the actual ceremony than I was during the dress rehearsal. Anyway, they are fantastic kids, and I am so happy for all of them! They did a great job planning and decorating, everything ran smoothly, and they looked awesome. I am lucky to have had this chance to work so closely with them this year, and I will miss them!

This is the senior graduating class - they are great, and they definitely earned it!

Side Note: There's a guy in the village, Gary, who got a bear a few weeks ago. I went over with Mark to see his collection. Bear, muscox, caribou - all kinds of stuff. Pretty cool. :)

Gary's Bear - pretty big animal. It's better to get them in the spring because there is more actual fur on the hide, whereas by the summer and fall they have itched and rubbed a lot of fur off. Here, hunting for bears is not considered poaching at all. I mentioned to a woman that someone had got a bear, and the first thing she said was, "Good; one less."

Muscox fur. Very hairy animals.

Since graduationg, things began to lull - just finishing up, which is still kind of a big deal, and busy in a totally different way. Also kind of depressing in some ways, despite the end-of-the-year anticipation... but then...

Friday morning was pretty freakin' sweet. Two people came in from Nome to do a Cold Water Survival class for the middle school kids, and they stayed to do a session with a group of high school students. Since I organized the list of students interested and eligible, I got to be the lucky chaperone. It was so much fun! I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed it. We did activities in the gym, learned some valuable lessons about surviving in emergency situations, and then put on some survival suits, the kind you wear in extremely cold water. Also, in case you were wondering, in the Seven Steps of Survival, water is not first. It goes:

1. Recognition: Recognize your situation and evaluate your danger. What's the problem, and how should we solve it?

Students practice tossing the rescue line and pulling in drowning victims.

2. Inventory: Know what you have, and put everything to use.

A compact life jacket that airs up when activated by water - pretty handy if you ever pass out in a sinking boat...

3. Signals: The magic number is three. Do what you need to do to get someone's attention if you can.

In a survival suit, in the chain position, ready to swim to shore together from the dangers of the gym floor.

4. Shelter: Protect yourself from the weather and natural conditions.

If ever someone is hypothermic, make them into a hypothermia burrito!

5. Water: You can only survive about a day without water.

We got to race for the fastest time of putting on a survival suit. In reality, you only have about 60 seconds or less to put one of these on if you need to in an emergency situation. The best time from our group: 27 seconds. That was not me.

6. Food: Supposedly, you can survive about 3 or 4 days without food.

7. Play: If you are in a long-term situation, you will need to find ways to entertain yourself for your emotional and mental well-being.

A student and I practice our chain position. Aren't we cute in our little gumby suits? :)

The students were great, as always, and we all had a good time. Heidi and Jason, the two people who facilitated the class, were really cool. Heidi does lots of classes like this through UAF, so hopefully this is a window for more opportunities in the future! I may not be the science teacher, but I don't mind learning sweet stuff in the field. :)

Saturday was productive, but relaxing, although at the end of the day I had a hard time remembering anything that I had really accomplished. I cleaned my kitchen, only to mess it up again with bread making. Adrianna is working on becoming a domestic goddess in the kitchen, so I am teaching her the ways of bread making. Well, really, we only made cinnamon bread, which happens to be the yummiest bread I had ever made. Although this time around, it didn't turn out as well as before. It was still pretty tasty, but not the best. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm pretty much almost completely done with most of my teaching duties for this year, which is kind of a sweet feeling, though I know there is much more that I have to do that I don't even realize. That's the nature of a first year. The whole, "Wait, I have to do that, too? What does that mean?" It happens regularly. I'm glad it's almost summer time.

A Festival, a Job, and a Summer Vacation

2008-05-02T21:39:00.001-07:00

I suppose I have a few updates to comment on. Mostly I will refer to that which affords me the most happiness right now. The first thing I think of: SUMMER!!! I am finalizing summer plans, and things are looking up. I do have my passport, and my tickets to New Zealand are booked and paid for. I'll be there for 34 days with my good friend Bec - I'll even get to see my other friend, Ants! We will be biking, siteseeing, cooking, and mostly just hanging out together, something we very rarely get to do! It will be nice to be with such a good friend for so long. She is fantastic, and I am so lucky to have her as a friend - and not just because it gives me an excuse to visit New Zealand, although that is certainly a perk!

I am flying into Auckland, but Bec lives down towards Wellington in Palmerston North. That will be my home for over a month! The plan: she'll pick me up on Friday morning from the airport, and we'll take a sweet 4-day road trip down to her place, since Monday is a holiday.

I did screw up my plane ticket plans, however - even though I made a sweet Excel chart of my flight times and expenses - and instead of being in L.A. for just one day, I'll be there for two days before flying out to Aukland. I was a little bummed at this discovery at first, feeling as though my plans had been foiled. But I'm sure I will make the best of it, regardless. I'm pretty independent, so I'm sure I'll have a good time regardless. I'm looking forward to biking the beach bike path and sea kayaking in the Pacific!

My post-NZ travel is not quite finalized, but I believe I will be in L.A. for a day with Bec, who is flying back to the states to visit camp (where we met and became friends). After, I will fly to NYC to visit my big brother and hoof it around the city for about a week (he won't need to entertain me the whole time, but it will definitely be good to spend some time with him). I can usually find my way around pretty well, although I have been known to find myself in downtown Manhattan instead of where I was supposed to be... wherever that was... haha. Woops. Anyway, I believe will see Father Dear for an overlap of Karl visits at this time, perhaps even Mother Dear. Then it's time for a road trip up to New Hampshire for Amanda and Andrew's wedding!! Christine will hopefully (HOPEfully) pick me up on the way and we will have a sweet college reunion at a sweet wedding, and my hope is to drive back down to Philly and Pittsburgh to visit with Kamorin and Christine. From Pittsburgh, I will then fly back to Anchorage and Unalakleet, where I will proceed to fish and pick berries and move into our new apartment and enjoy my Alaska life.

So basically, 2 weeks until school is over, and I am both terrified of not finishing what needs to be done, and stoked for it to just be OVER. And for summer to be started. It's pretty much all I think about. That and lesson planning. At least I should be thinking about lesson planning.

As for the right-now life in my world... Skiing is pretty much over, but we did have one last go around: Heidi, Adrianna, Nancy, and I all decided that it was too beautiful to NOT ski, so we went out together in the beautiful weather one Saturday afternoon. Nancy is basically a professional, and she became my personal ski coach for the day. I'm thinking of hiring her (for free...) next season to help me continue improving my new skate ski skills, which is pretty much the funnest new thing I've learned lately besides ski jouring. :)

My soon-to-be roommate - isn't she cute?

Nancy, professional ski coach :)

Heidi having a good time

Last week was very, very good. When it was Jake's birthday, he referred to it as "The Festival of Jake." Well, welcome to The Festival of Karis. On Tuesday April 22, 2008, I turned the ripe age of 24 years. I don't really know what to say about that. I think it's too big for me to think about. But I do love my birthday, although I've heard that this narcissistic tendency is supposed to end around age 11. Ach so. I love the 22nd of April, which is also Earth Day! So I hope you all loved your planet last Tuesday. :)

Anyway, Monday was good. I hung out a bit with Carrie, which always a positive ordeal. But Tuesday was quite a day - it was my day. I took my time in the morning, which I really enjoy doing. When I entered my classroom I was welcomed by happy balloons and a Happy Birthday message on my board for everyone to see. I wish I had walked in on Carrie as she sneakily taped balloons around my desk. She's pretty swell. :) Three of my classes sang to me, although my favorite was my class of 5 boys who pretty much yelled as loud as they could the Happy Birthday song. It was great. That evening Dan, Adrianna, and Carrie made me my birthday dinner, the meal of my choice, which was cheeseburgers, french fries, and a salad. It was basically amazing, and my belly was full for two days. Totally worth it. It was a grand birthday party eating and chatting and enjoying good company. Afterwards we all went back to the school for the talent show, which was really good. After only a year of music class, students have learned to read music, gone to contest, competed in solos, and our choir qualified for state. They are pretty impressive. Well done, Janelle. Seriously. :)

The weather has been beautiful. That Wednesday afternoon I hung out with Rita, who is awesome. We went on a long walk because it was gorgeous out. The sun was warm, the wind was light - it was heavenly. Friday was kind of a switch in that. It started out snowing. There was some sun there in the middle, so after school Carrie and I decided to go for a nice LONG walk, which was great. Up the hill, getting in shape for the summer type walk, it was nice. On the way back?? Blizzard. What the heck??? White out, wintery windy walk backwards to save the face from the cold weather blizzard. Crazy!

On Saturday afternoon I got a knock on my door from the Assistant Principal Conrad, who was selling King Crabs for his buddy in Shaktoolik. I decided to buy a couple - $10 each is pretty good. I open the door, and there he was, holding two giant aracnid-type shelled creatures. It scared the crap out of me. I put them in a box and stuffed that in the fridge to deal with later. I was planning for that evening - baking cinnamon bread to be exact. For the final Festival of Karis event, we had desserts and drinks at Dan and Adrianna's. It was kind of last minute planning, but we wanted to do it, so we did. And it was nice. :) Good people, good food, good times. After the crowds dispersed, A, D, and I all made our way over to Jamie's for another night of fun. It was a good evening of heart to hearts. I am learning so much, and finding a good family of friends here.

Rolling Sushi for my birthday - fun new skill taught by Adrianna, the master Sushi roller.

And this is our plate of amazing Asian food. We also had Wakame and Miso soup, and Chicken Lo Mein - pretty freakin' amazing dinner! I think we'll be making lots of this next year. :)

On Sunday, my kitchen smelled like Alaska. It smells like home. I had crab steaming on my stove, my first time cooking it ever. It was a little nerve racking at first, but I am okay with it. It tastes too good to not get over the grossness. Although the crab was freaking HUGE.

This is the 2nd and smaller of the 2 crabs that I made. It was also the better looking one when it was finished cooking. This is after I cut off the weird underbelly with all the juices inside. But it has a nice color, doesn't it?

My awesome plate of crab legs - yummy!! Dan, Adrianna, and I shared the joy.

After enjoying some crab legs, I took on the daunting task of taking out all of the meat, bagging it, and freezing it. My finger tips are officially vandalized - crabs are sharp. But I felt very Alaskan/domestic

.

This past week has been pretty lame. The kids are checking out, I'm checking out, and also it's about time for graduation. Graduation!!! Drama, drama, but it should all work out in the end. Anyway, I'm trying to stay focused on the school that I have left to do. Although I've been wicked tired this week. It'll all be good. :)

2weeks2weeks
summersummersummerfun!
summersummersummercome!!

Now and Again

2008-04-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, this will be another pictureless post. But I will do my best to inform you, faithful readers, of all the cool things that I have seen and done.

1. Skate Skiing. I've been wanting to learn, and also been wanting to learn to skijour (the one where the dogs pull you on skis). Carrie told me she would take me out, but I never had skate skis... Well, since the season is over for the students, the ski coach Nancy got all the school's skis back and let me take some home so that I could learn now instead of next year. Pretty sweet!! So now my list of things to get for next year has grown even longer... Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, being beautiful out, Carrie and I went out and I learned to skate ski. Granted, I'm not very good, and I certainly fell a lot, I did pretty alright. She even let me jour!! So I hooked up to the dogs and they tugged me along; I even skated a bit while they pulled, which was so cool! So I've been hoping for nice weather and snow so I can go out and practice - it's been wicked icy lately - and lucky, we got some more snow. :) Today is beautiful, so you better believe I'm going to be out there!!

2. Frets and worries, worries and frets, but no longer. Next year is going to be just fine. Because Dan is going to teach English in Japan next year, Adrianna and I have decided to live together. We'll save a little bit of money, and we won't be lonely. Some people seem to think that it won't work - me, I think we'll be fine. :) I'm looking forward to having a housemate again. Some changes still, but I am overall glad with how things have worked out. :)

3. It is brown spring... well, at least it's started. Things started to melt, they cleared the [dirt] roads of snow, so everything was brown and mushy and muddy and wet. But it's been colder lately, so everything has frozen over again, and we got more snow, BUT, obviously, it's warm enough to snow, so it's not too bad. But we'll have a few weeks of muck before we get to the pretty green spring, which I think, if it goes like this, I might miss. I'm glad to be coming back in July so I can see more of the pretty weather here, more fishing, more berry picking.

4. I'm going to New Zealand!!! Bec called me last night and we talked for a bit, which was sweet. And we worked out ticket times, which is even sweeter!! I've made my official travel chart, and at the moment I have a ticket booked and bought from Anchorage to LA, LA to Auckland, NZ, and then back to LA 34 days later with Bec (same flight). :) Ha, so I have some more tickets to buy, but I'll be alright. :) I'm so stoked!!! I got an amazing deal on tickets... :)

5. School is very close to being out. And I mean very close. Seniors graduate in 4 weeks (YIKES!!), and then only 1 week after that school is over. AAGGHH!!! So although I am very excited about school being over, I am also very worried about school being over. I have SO much to do!! I've got to just DO it. So I guess that's my plans for the weekend! :)

I hope all is well with you all. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLI yesterday!! :)

Iditarod 2008

2008-03-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

On March 1st of every year, dog mushers from around the world begin their journey from Anchorage to Nome. The Iditarod race is held annually in honor of the historical serum run which took place in 1925. That year, a series of dog mushers carried medicine across Alaska to help citizens in Nome during a diptheria epidemic for which the only cure was found in a serum which was quickly running out. Delivery by dogsled, it turned out, was the only option. Air traffic wasn't advanced enough; the ocean was frozen, so boats were out for the season; and there is no road system connecting Nome to any other major city in the state. The efforts were successful, and thanks to the mushers, many children's lives were saved. Dog mushing is a huge part of Alaska's history and culture; it is amazing to watch it happen live, to watch so many people run their dogs for so many miles in honor of this place.

The journey is 1150 miles. There are several checkpoints along the way, and Unalakleet is the one at which mushers meet the coast and turn north towards Nome. The first musher to reach Unalakleet receives $2500 in gold pieces - literally. It's kind of cool. This year, the first to reach UNK was Jeff King. There were cameras and people and interviews and radda radda ra. It's amazing the number of people that show up for this! Literally, people from around the world were in our little village just to watch the Iditarod pass through. We talked to people from Norway who just wanted to follow the race. It's nuts. The second to run through was Lance Mackey (the winner of Iditarod 2008, defending champion, and cool guy).

Carrie and I walked down together to see the arrival of the first two mushers come in, but as you can see, we were accompanied by pretty much the entire village and then some. In this photo is Lance Mackey, his amazing dogs, and over to the right Carrie and I have front row seats. :)

Enjoying a lovely evening at the checkpoint

The big event for the week, though, was the arrival of Rick Holt. I've only met him and his family once when we drove through Talkeetna during winter break on the way back from Fairbanks. He's the one who took me on my first dogsled adventure! He's a great guy, and I really enjoyed talking with him while we were out on that adventure. He used to work for BSSD, so a lot of people here know him and are good friends with him.

We had as much of a welcoming crew as we could muster. Four guys painted their chests with H-O-L-T to welcome him in. It was pretty sweet. We had signs, we cheered, and we even stretched our Eluciq Kennel (that's Rick) shirts that we bought to support his Iditarod run OVER our coats.

Rick tending to his dogs and the line.

Taking off the booties - their poor feet have been running for a loooong time! Such good dogs!! Good thing this is what they love and are bred for. :)

Taking a well-earned rest after a hard day's work.

Anyway, like I said, we all wore our shirts over our coats. We were all so excited to get them signed by THE Rick Holt, Iditarod Man!!

Carrie Kim

Me Janelle

Although it all happens very quickly, it's still an unbelievable thing to watch the real mushers go through. For 10-17 days (Rick made it to Nome in a little over 12) the mushers run a sled of 6-16 dogs (usually they start with 16, drop some off along the way if they get sick or injured, but they have to end in Nome with at least 6), sleep very little, and rest only every now and then. The care of the dogs is a huge task, feeding, checking lines, melting snow, making their own food, keeping everyone warm and healthy - Rick told stories of his halucinations from sheer exhaustion. He said at one point he was so tired he couldn't even remember falling asleep. One minute he was standing on the sled, the next he woke up laying down in the snow! It's quite a journey!

Rick making food for dogs, after laying bedding

Before the race, mushers mail their drop bags to each checkpoint, which are filled with food refills for their next leg.

Adrianna and I were both very excited to experience our first Iditarod. :) It was awesome!! I'm not sure I would want to do the Iditarod ever... mushing dogs isn't so much a passion. But I have so much respect for the people that do it! Anyway, that has been my Iditarod adventure. For more information, visit www.iditarod.com - the Official Site of the Iditarod. I have a feeling this race - the Last Great Race, as it were - is going to quickly become an obsession of mine every year... sweet.

Old Woman

2008-03-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

There is a cabin about 35-40 miles east of Unalakleet. It's a public shelter on the Iditarod trail; many a traveler or camper stops in for a stay for a night or two. It's a sweet little spot - I've heard a lot about it. This was my first time. And I loved it.

I returned from Anchorage on Friday morning, spent the day in preparation for the trip, and on Friday afternoon headed out with Kim on her one-person snowmachine. It was a sweet 2-hour ride. I actually thought a few times that I was going to die, but I did alright. I was really glad to see the cabin, though. Carrie had gone up that morning; she was waiting at the front door, camera in hand. (The hill to the left is Old Woman, to give you perspective in later pictures.)

We unloaded and went inside to the sweet smell of log cabin and wood stove. This is also known as the smell of happiness. It is quiet and peace and serendipity and inherent, intrinsic joy. Kim went out for an evening ski. It was beautiful - the sun was out, the sky was clear blue, and it wasn't too cold. I borrowed Kim's snow shoes, and Carrie and I hiked out to find some dead trees. Her snow shoes are longer, so she was able to float on top of the snow a bit easier. However, I sank quite a bit. It was way fun. There is a video somewhere in camera-land... We found a trail, we found a tree, we cut, we conquered. Well okay, we got one tree down, but we decided to go out for another. And another. So we ended up with three trees, two of which were wicked heavy. The third was way out, so we carried it on our shoulders for a ways. I fell once... We got to where we left the 2nd tree, and I decided that I could totally carry it on my shoulders the rest of the way back. It was shorter, so I swung it over and began my trek back to the cabin. Carrie took the big long one and dragged it behind me. I'm glad I didn't decide to swing that one over my shoulders - Lord knows I would have tried... Anyway, I found out that I really do fall a lot. This is probably why I think it's so funny to see other people fall. I fell a few times with the big log on my back, mostly when the snow was too deep. Also partly because I think my body was wondering why the heck I was carrying a giant log on my shoulders. But I made it back, and I was fine. We were all fine.

It began as a quiet evening. Mostly I just enjoyed listening and watching and thinking and relaxing. And then they came - three snow machines. They pulled up a little after 10, three guys hauling goods up to Nome for mushers in the Sweepstakes Race. Although we were looking forward to a free cabin for the night, they were very nice, and it was of course no big deal to share the space. We chatted for a while (well, mostly I listened - but it was still nice), and then we headed to bed, complete with a warning about snoring. Hmm. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper in most cases, and I can even fall asleep under most circumstances. I've been known to sleep through some pretty loud [bad] singing while on a roadtrip. But snoring is that one thing, that vice that can keep me up all night, no matter how tired I am. I was concerned, but hopeful that I would fall asleep before he did. Yeah, right.

This is the loft where we slept.

This is underneath the loft.

Kim likes to get photos of us at our best...

That night while laying in my bag, listening to the dreadful, choking, shocking snorts of one particular snowmachiner (who really is a very nice person), I felt a tender tap on my leg. Thinking it was only Kim jerking in the night, probably just as frustrated as I was, judging by her restlessness, I ignored it. A few moments later, she grabbed my leg. "Yeah?" I whispered. "Oh," she said, "I thought that was you." Speaking about the snoring, I replied with a laugh, "Oh, yeah-no." For a moment we both laid back down to try to ignore it once more. But after one of the big shocker snores, we both sat up. "There has to be something we can throw at him," I said. Kim began feeling around the loft. "How about a fur hat?" she said, holding up what I knew was my hat. "Okay," I said tentatively, taking it from her hands, as I was closest to the ladder. I leaned over the edge gently, tossed the hat down on top of the sleeping snorer, and promptly laid back down in my bag. We heard a rustling of snores, a heavy sigh, and then nothing. Silence! Kim shook her fist in the air in victory, and we both returned to our attempts at sleep. We were soon after disturbed again, though. The snorer was relentless. It was in and out, and I got very little sleep that night. I was exhausted in the morning. I could easily sleep through the talking and rustling and moving about. When I laid back down at one point, Carrie was still sleeping up by my head. When I woke up again, the loft was empty, her bag was packed, and everyone was chatting downstairs. I think I went back to sleep. Talking I can handle. Snoring I cannot.

Anyway, it was pretty cold in the morning, but when the sun came out it was beautiful. It warmed up pretty well, and we decided it was time to go for a ski.

Carrie and I - the hill in the background is Old Woman.

That's me skiing around a bend.

Carrie is very serious...

Old Woman again

Old Woman plus the mountains

Pretty much, I love living in cabins. Pretty much, I loved it there. Pretty much I really want to go back up before the season is over. Maybe I can borrow a snow machine so I don't have to be a bum on the back of someone else's machine... Although, Carrie let me drive most of the way back on Saturday. I rode back with her, and somewhere down the trail, she stopped the machine, got off, and said, "Your turn." So I drove the rest of the way. We'll just say, it went fine. :) My thumb was tired, though. The drive is really cool. It's the Iditarod trail, so fairly easy to follow. On the way up we passed the fishing lodge. There are a ton of really cool houses up there. It's a pretty sweet spot. Maybe I'll get to go there this summer! (Here's hoping!)

Anyway, I have Iditarod pictures now, so soon and very soon you'll be getting a fun update on that adventure! :)

Anchorage: Part Two

2008-03-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'll make this short, since there are much cooler things to talk about other than my day in Anchorage. This is what I did:

After a night of listening to the other woman in our hostel room snore all night (and apparently I had a phone conversation in my sleep), Carrie and I got up and began our day. We went to a bagel shop where we each got a [baker's] dozen to freeze and enjoy at home. We also got a yummy bagel sandwich breakfast. I drove her to the airport, and began my day-long quest to find the DMV. I got directions from the bagel shop, but I went to the airport in between, and so that didn't work. I even called a friend who lives in Pittsburgh, and she tried to Mapquest it for me, but we were still unsuccessful in the morning time. During that time, however, I found my dentist's office, which was nice, since I'd already been there once. So I made my way there, got my teeth cleaned, got 4 cavities filled - it wasn't fun, but it was good. They were very nice. I am now a religious brusher and flosser. I've been converted.

The next stop was to apply for a passport. I already had 2 photos for this purpose, but the guy said they wouldn't work because they didn't have a white background and my face ratio was off. Whatever. So I had to go upstairs and get two professional passport photos taken. It was pretty awesome because half my face was numb from the 4 shots I got to fill my cavities. I made my I-feel-like-junk, can't-move-my-face half-smile, got the sweet pictures of me, and finished the process. I will have a passport by May. The journey to New Zealand continues. :)

The next place was REI. I needed ski boots. Unfortunately, neither ski shop had back country ski boots in my size. I was way bumming, trying to figure out what I would do, and finally asked customer service if I could just have my old ill-fitting boots back, because I have to ski!! It took some skill and effort, but we were successful, and I got them back. I got a few more necessities from my favorite store (still at REI), and then had to return to the dentist for a polishing of the fillings. It was super fun. We're best friends over there.

The evening got slower and slower. I went for a long walk around town, I sat in a cafe, I went to the bookstore and got a couple things, I wandered around Barnes & Noble, then sat for a long time reading in their coffee shop. And then I went to bed. And it was good, because the snoring lady went to bed way after me, so I slept for most of the night. :)

And the next morning I came home. I returned a fully in-tact car, which was sweet. The end.