Spring Break Pt. 2: Unless you're the lead dog...

After the few days of a literacy conference and a late night trip out and back to Anchorage to pick up Mom from the airport, it was time to get the Spring Break activities underway!  We sure weren't going to waste any time.  There was a lot to do and we didn't want to miss any of it.  First on the list, a dog sled ride!

Chugach Express is a wonderful place to go through if you are in Girdwood.  Dario and his team not only provide a great experience, but his expertise and knowledge allow for good discussions about his life with his animals.  He answers questions, takes you on a great ride and brings you down to his kennel to show and explain to you what it's like to be a musher.  In addition to our ride and many others just like us, his big project right now is getting out into the schools to provide an opportunity to reach the youth and provide them with an experience to bond with animals, develop skills, and feel the sense of responsibility you get when someone depends on you.  *of course, this sits very well with Mom and I!

When we arrived at the pick up spot, all you see is a field of snow.  Tell-tale tracks in the snow show that there's probably been a sled through here at some point in time, you can't see them anywhere though.  So much snow has fallen that it's easily knee deep and very soft.  We waited a bit, looked around and wondered about how our ride would be.  Listening to the silence was peaceful and pretty soon you heard some calls and whistles.  Around the corner comes Dario with his team and the riders just before us.  Dogs pulling tight, they come along the tracks they've made previously in the day to where our trail meets theirs.  Of course this is our guy, he's got a sled made for riding, his riders have a camera, and he greets us right away.

The family before us tell us that we are going to have a great time, thank Dario and go about their way.  We get a run down of how the sled works and decide that it's a much better idea for me to sit in front where the seat is very low.  Mom will take the chair level seat.  Well, wasn't she lucky?  Not only does the scenery not change.....the smell doesn't either!  Those dogs fart when they start running!  I could not believe it!  Let me tell you, you think a dog toot is bad with just dog food, try getting the food they feed sled dogs!  The initial start was a big slow, not a big jerk like I was expecting.  The large amounts of snow that had fallen the past week really made the trail slow.  It didn't matter, the dogs loved it and I was having a blast too. 

The ride around the meadow was amazing.  We were told a few of the dog's names before we started.  Ryan was one of them.  We found that out real quick because he is a young dog and needs a lot of correcting.  (Sounds oddly familiar for some reason.)  As they pulled together as a team you could tell they were in it for the workout and they loved what they were doing.  The whistles and the calls of "Gee" and "Ha" were familiar as I had used them several times before with Ciqu.  I thought back to rollerblading with him and it was comforting, and then a little memory escaped out the side of my eye.

As we came up to the kennel, we slowed down, came to a stop and Dario had an anchor in the ground to keep the sled in place while the pups rested and we took a tour.  Looking back at the meadow with the sled in the picture, the sky was beginning to clear and the beauty of the day was just amazing.  Word got around that there were new people coming down and all the pups were interested, up looking around.  Dario explained how things worked and how they trained in different locations for different parts of races.  When explanations were done, word then got around the kennel that we were leaving for a run, and those that were not already on the sled were not going.   Howling from those not going started, those already on the sled howled in return!  Music to my ears.

We took our time getting back around the meadow, enjoying every minute of it I know that it might not be something I ever get to do again.  I love that Mom was able to come to Alaska and experience this with me, that we got a chance to be pulled by a team of dogs through feet of snow in the middle of some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen and that it's an experience that really could only happen because of this year in Alaska.  I've been so blessed because of this wonderful year, even with the heartaches of being gone, it's provided not only me, but now Mom with some wonderful opportunities too.

Sled ride in Girdwood, AK

Dorothy and Dario with the dogs

Mom and Dorothy with the sled and dogs

Spring Break Pt. 1

There is so much to tell about Spring Break this year.  A delightful adventure away from the village into Anchorage and then away to Girdwood.  Alyeska Ski Resort to be exact is where we stayed.  The district had a ploy.  Don't get me wrong, I lept at the chance.  They fly me out and back to a stunning resort and mountain in exchange for a few days of my spring break doing a literacy conference.  I'm game!

So, off I went.  Ski resort, ok.  Last time I was at one of these, it was as a chaperone at Bogus Basin.  The kids remember fondly how stupid I looked trying to learn how to snowboard.  I remember, not so fondly, how I felt after learning how to snowboard.  Several falls, cartwheels, somersaults, flips, and broken bindings left me fit for hot cocoa and pain killers.  This time, I was going to learn how to ski.  We'll get to that in a later posting.

For now, here's some pictures of the resort and the surroundings.  It snowed almost the entire time I was there.  Our bear friend here got several inches in the course of this morning.  He was right out the window as you start to look up the mountain.  There was so much fog and snow that you can barely make out the base in the background.

This second picture was how we were greeted as we came up to the front of the hotel.  A flaming globe at night.  Warming the hands as you waited outside for a cab or your car is an option.  The inside windbreak was another one too, but this one looks much cooler!

My room was on the 4th floor.  Since it was on the 4th floor, there was a roof that was right at my level and they had snow piled along that walkway/roof area.  It was a bit weird but so much snow that I could barely see out my window!  The other problem with that, they had to come by and blow the snow in case of an emergency as well.  This man thought it was pretty funny that I thought it was cool enough to take his picture while he was working.  He was clearing about a foot of snow though!

This last picture is of the resort from the gondola.  Mom took this one while I was out skiing and she rode to the top with a friend of mine.  Oh yes, Mom....that's right, she came to visit me!  That was the other perk of getting to be in Anchorage over spring break.  A visit from family and a WONDERFUL time with Mom exploring not only Alyeska but Anchorage as well.

More to come!

A big event!

It's a big deal when the dentist comes around.  In and out of school all week.  The kids have appointments for cleanings and fillings (if they need them) and they are only here for a week, so we make it work.  It's pretty fun and an exciting time for some.  A little buzz in the school about clean teeth and the ominous threat of cavities for those who haven't been the best brushers.  Fluoride applications and the like seem to to be the talk of the town, or my little part of it anyhow!

Just before Spring break, it happened.  Not only was it Dentist week, but I had a student lose a tooth!  It was pretty fun I must say.  I'm a secondary teacher.  Most times, if a student looses a tooth where I'm teaching, it was from a fight.  That doesn't happen very often thank goodness, but it's exciting!   

Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle.  She worked for several minutes just trying to get that darn thing out.  It was so cute, she was so determined to have it out by the time the dentist was at the school that day.  My phone call to the dentist earlier that morning allowed her to bring a special tooth box for our little wiggler to keep her tooth in once it was out.  Then talks of the tooth fairy, where she was to put it ensued and it was a great treat to have an elementary student for awhile.  So many experiences have been mine this year teaching here, I will never forget them!  It was even better coming home from Spring break and seeing both front teeth missing!

Basketball Tournament Trip

Sports in Alaska are so very different from what I was used to in Oregon.  Each contest requires a flight for the team, sleeping on floors and several nights away from home.  All the students get together for a few days of community service, competition and creative outlets of many sorts.   In the middle of February, we had our basketball tournament.  Well, we tried to have a couple of competitions but it didn't really work out that way.  The first one was cancelled due to weather.  Because of that cancellation and a delay, I got to go as a chaperone to the district tournament in Kokhanok (Cock-a-knock).  Not having been there before, I was pretty excited to go!

Another flight, over water, past some mountains and getting to see some beautiful ice was amazing.  You'll see that as the water freezes it creates some beautiful patterns.  Many of which I try to capture but I'm sure just don't do it justice!  We also get to see some mountains as we fly that are just pretty amazing because we don't have them very close in Egegik.  Out the plane window, past the wings, you'll see a little hill that looks like a someone decided to push a pencil up from under the ground.

Once in Kokhanok, we get our belongings settled into the classrooms and the gym for the nights ahead.  I was smart this time and brought one of the foam pieces off my bed and folded it up underneath me!  Best sleep I've gotten on a trip this year!  We had the usual group meals, basketball games and I spent a lot of time at the scoreboard this time!  Every game except for one, I was the scorekeeper.  I must say, one of the games with the hometown crowd was pretty intense!  

This trip included the token walk with Jerik from Chignik Lake.  This time there was no Dorothy slipping and falling.  Just a nice little walk to the store to check out what they had there.  Talks about anything that came up and plans for the future while walking in the middle of Alaska.  Things that I'll never forget and was happy to experience.  Thanks Jerik for lending the ear all those times! 

This time the kids got to learn how to make fish camp stoves.  I had never seen one before and I quite enjoyed the experience.  I was amazed at how good some of the kids were in making them.  They of course said they had made them before and knew just what to do.  (Go girls!)  Snip, snip, snip of the tin snips and they were done in no time flat!  I've included a picture of the final product in use, a great little piece of camping and survival gear that could be very useful in the future!  Thank you to Kokhanok and their staff for being such great hosts and to Colter for the dance!  Oh, and speaking of the dance...someone from Perryville has a blackmail picture of me dancing....I think it's the Macarena.

Kokhanok Runway, just before "The flight"

Sunrise and Snow

The cold weather here surprises me often times with some wonderful shows.  I get beautiful sunrises and amazing sunsets.  The colors in the pictures often times don't come close to doing them justice but I continue to take them anyhow.  Maybe sometime I will get into photoshop and get them closer but for now, you get to see what the camera saw.  An early  (well, not so early) morning peachy sky out a classroom window.

We are often times also surprised by the the amount of snow that blows around here as well.  A few inches will fall and then the wind picks up, blowing it from someplace, to my front door.  Drifts, piles of snow massed by the wind are amazing pieces of art made by Mother Nature.  This particular one is right outside my front door and requires shoveling from time to time.  27.5" tall and about 4-5 feet long with a width of 3 feet.  That's a lot of snow to move!  This time I only went as wide as the shovel was because I just didn't want to move any more.  Besides, I only needed to walk through it right?

The other beautiful part of this is my one little classroom window.  When the wind blows just right, the snow piles up on the bottom creating that "picture perfect" snow pile at the bottom.  I love it!  Too bad there wasn't a little Christmas tree outside with lights just outside that window!

These pictures were taken quite awhile ago, they could have been taken today though.  Right now I sit and watch the fresh 4" fall off a neighboring roof as it slides down the steep incline.  Plop, Plop, Plop.  I think it would be fun to stand underneath. Just once  :)

He's ok!

You know, it's been a rough year here for me.  Home life hasn't been the most wonderful for us because so many "experiences" we didn't want to deal with have come up while I was away.  When you are 2,000 miles away, it's not the easiest to just hop in a car and get there in a few hours, much less get on a plane immediately and be there in 8.  For me, it's at least a full day and about $1500!

When making the decision to come up here alone, I looked at the state of everyone at home.  Everyone included our "fur kids" too.  I didn't expect to have my husband have to put one of our dogs down in November without me there.  I knew that he was old, but honestly, I didn't expect him to get so bad before the school year was up.

When we took Ryan (pictured here) in for a teeth cleaning, we sure didn't expect him to come back with really high liver enzyme levels either.  We knew he had a mass on his leg they were going to look at and some skin tags on his elbow to remove, but the super high enzyme levels, that cancer word tossed out as a possibility.  (We know what that can mean)  This here I'm sure caused lots of worry for my husband as, well he might not admit it, but this is his FAVORITE "fur kid."  Again, when you are 2,000 miles away, an expensive plane ride, and at least 24 hours from being home, there's not a lot of comfort that can be given in a Skype hug.

Crying together doesn't help.  Words can only go so far.  I'm not sure we were prepared to deal with so many "big events" this year.

The good news though, is with the treatments, the teeth finally being cleaned and the tumor removal (which was not cancerous!), we can rest easy for awhile and enjoy Ryan and his faithful personality.  Eric and I have rescued him twice.  Once from Hopes Haven, where they had him so he would be away from the abusive situation he was in and now from some medical situations.  He in turn has rescued us many times over.  Each time he "talks back" and puts a smile on my husband's face, snuggles in close for a hug, or just protects by being close.  We know he loves us for who we are and I know he's saved my husband from being so lonely while I am gone.  

We love our Ry-Ry  :)

Ice Fishing

Smelt or smolt?  Which one did you get?  One you put back in, one you keep.  I wish I could show you pictures but the truth of the matter is, we didn't catch a darn thing!  

I could make up a beautiful story for you and talk about how they jumped out of the hole right into our bucket, but that would be a lie.  I could also tell you that we dipped our little hooks in and they hit them right away, that also would be a lie. 

What I can tell you is that I had another wonderful experience and learned how to do something I never thought I would get to do.  Ice fishing is something that was done to survive.  Now, many items can be bought from a store, shipped in and it's not a requirement to ice fish anymore just to survive.  I enjoyed getting the opportunity to see how it is done and experiencing the thrill of stepping out onto the frozen river, standing around hoping something would hit and relishing in the warmth of the jacket as the wind whipped by.  

Learning how important it is to scoop the hole so that the ice doesn't freeze over, watching the ice build up on the line as you wiggle it to entice the fish and standing there in the wind and realizing why people do build the little shacks on the ice when they are out there for days were all great experiences. BUT DANG, it was COLD!  BRRRR!

You might ask, "why make a hole in the ice in the middle of the river and then stand right next to it?"  Well to catch fish of course, silly.  That and because they have been doing it for years and I don't need to ask questions as to why it works, it just does.  Not enough of a hole to make the pressure crack the ice around it where you stand, but just enough to access the water below.  The mind tries to play tricks on you, well maybe just me, but as I stand around the hole, I swear I slid closer to it, the ice melting under my feet and edging me closer each moment.  I know it wasn't happening but the fear of a leg "post-holeing" into the freezing cold water was one that kept creeping into my mind.

To say the least, we had fun, got some good pictures and enjoyed the view of the mountains and the company we kept.  The only part that wasn't so great, my fingers got a tad bit cold.  Frost "nip" they call it when I took off the gloves to take some pictures of the mountains.  It was VERY cold!

These Mtns. caused frost nipped fingers.  BRRRRR

City Dock with the Mtns. in the background

Holding the fingers trying to keep them from hurting so much!