New Ride & Trip to the Pik

Check out our new ride! It's a Polaris Touring 340, fresh off the plane from Hartley Motors in Palmer. You will notice how it is all in one piece. Thankfully we did not have a repeat of the fourwheeler incident.


I know, I know...the snow is melting, so why are we just now buying a machine. Well, we wanted one for next year, and it turns out that now is the best time to buy. Luckily though, the snow is holding (did I really just say that?). I took an awesome trip with a teacher from St. Michael this weekend, and we are planning another trip with a group (girls included) for next weekend.

My friend Drew and I decided that we needed to break in my new snowmachine with an overnight trip to the Pikmiktalik River. This is the same river where I went fishing last fall.

Below: Here you can see that we are well prepared with Drew's sled to haul all of our gear. I pride myself is being an ultra-light packer, but when you have an entire sled to hold all of your gear it is easy to wander into the mindset of "hey, let's see how much this will hold." Neffy wanted to come, and we almost packed her too, but then I decided that Heidi might need her company while I was away.



Above & Below: About one-third of the way to the Pikmiktalik there is a canal which forms the boundary between St. Michael Island and the mainland. I don't know the whole story, but apparently there are two (possibly three) steam ships that ran aground and got permanently stuck. The remnants are still there. Locals have told me that the first ship ran aground while trying to weather a storm and then the second ran aground while trying to recover the first.


Below: It is possible that at one time there were three ships in this canal. We counted three of these boilers, but only two paddle wheels. Someone once told me that there was a third ship that had run aground which was recovered by leaving the boilers behind. I've only been able to hear bits and pieces from many different people, so I'll have to do more research to find the full story.



Above: We met one of Drew's friends at the river and rode around until bed time. It was nice to be near the mountains and see some real trees.
Below: We saw tracks for moose, lynx, and rabbits, but didn't see any. This morning after a light dusting of snow I spotted some otter tracks which lead to this den. We waited for about ten minutes and then these two otters stuck their heads out of the hole. They looked like sock puppets or muppet characters when their heads popped up. It was really quite comical to watch them move about. Otters are notoriously curious and playful; they really checked us out.

Heidi's Debut Post

I am entering the world of blogging, and feeling so techy.

I decided that my debut post would be about my guspuk. Throughout the long, cold winter I have been finding hobbies to keep myself busy (we don't have TV). I borrowed a guspuk from one of our cooks, drew a pattern off of it, bought fabric at our store, and started sewing. A guspuk is a light weight parka worn by both men and women. A woman's has a little skirt, a front pocket, and a hood.

Below: Here I am in the process of sewing. It took me about 2 weeks to finish.


Below: The final product.

I enjoyed sewing so much that I've started on a second guspuk. If you would like one, send me fabric and rik rak. It's still winter here, and I'm still looking for ways to keep busy.

Spring Break at the Beach Part II

Here are some more pictures to cover the highlights of Mike and Robbi's trip to Alaska.


Above: I had to put this picture up, just so everybody knows that it wasn't all just fun and games. While Mike and Robbi were here we had quite a storm. Snow is one thing, but adding wind can really complicate things and totally change a landscape. You can't tell, but this picture would normally show main street Stebbins. Luckily though, this storm only lasted a couple of days. We passed the time by playing pinochle, watching movies, and preparing/ consuming large meals.

Below: When the wind and snow died down we were actually able to enjoy being outside. We went on a long Honda ride/walk with Nick and Janna. I was able to test out my new snowshoes (notice them strapped to the front of the Honda).



Above: We went to Nome for the Iditarod and had a blast. We had a lot of fun exploring the town and eating at restaurants. We even went to a couple movies at the theater. Heidi and I were living it up in the big city, while Mike and Robbi were still getting used to how small it was.

Below: Our stay in Nome matched with the arrival of the bulk of the mushers. Every time a musher was approaching a siren sounded, and everyone would stop what they were doing and go out to meet them. Mushers came in day or night.


Above: After traveling over 1000 miles these dogs were tired, and they would literally fall asleep as soon as they crossed the finish line. It was funny to watch them try to stay awake. Their eyes would slowly close, their heads would nod, and then they would catch themselves (it reminded me of some of my students during first period).



Above: 23rd Annual Bering Sea Lions Club Eliot Staples Ice Golf Classic on the Bering Sea. Six holes, below freezing, on the frozen ocean; it was one of the highlights of the trip.