Alaska or Bust

Videos from the Great North Adventure

2010-02-10T23:04:00.000-08:00

I thought you all may enjoy some videos of my adventure walking to school the other day...

Here we are all getting geared up and ready to go to school:

We called this morning and said we couldn't see the village and we were afraid of walking this morning so the VP, Dawn, sent the "school bus". This is a video of us waiting for bus driver Merle to come pick us up.

These are videos of the wind and the view of the village from right behind my apartment

The wind blows hard:

There is a village down there I promise -

Here are some pengins trying to keep warm!

Here we are all getting into the "school bus":

This is a long one, but it is the WHOLE ride into school. This walk would have taken about 45 minutes due to the wind and blinding snow.

The walk in the light is a lot less dangerous and more fun because the wind is at your back! Here are some videos of Ashley and I on the way home:

Adventures in the Great White North!!

2010-02-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

Let's start back at Christmas. My friend David came up to visit me. We spent a week here in Gambell and then a week in Anchorage. The week in Anchorage was a lot more fun. We did manage to have some fun while we were here. He even got the pleasure of fish for dinner on Christmas Eve! My mom sent him with dried Cod and Anchovies. I already had shrimp here so we got 3 out of the 7 fish, but it made me miss home a little less! Also while he was here we went exploring on the on beach. Here are some pics of our adventures:

I am standing in front of some bog ice chunks that have washed up on shore.
Here is the sea washing big pieces of ice onto the beach.

This is a picture of the sea ice actually UNDER the water. The waves wash over the ice and push some of it under!
Puffin got cold so I had to carry her after a while.
Then she got really cold so I carried her like a kangaroo inside my jacket. Her face was all frosted over and she was literally get blown around by the wind!

Here is David and I after our walk. We were certainly a little COLD!

On Christmas Eve, we flew out to Anchorage and I sure hope David wasn't looking for a vacation because I made him go EVERYWHERE! We saw a ton of moose all along the way. Every time we saw one, I made David pull over so I could take some pictures of them.
Here is a pic of one of them (I know it looks like a horse, but trust me):

We even drove down to Homer for a day. It was 6 hours each way, but it was really awesome. We saw a million Eagles!

Did you know an eagle can move its head nearly 360 degrees?

Here is a big one just chilling out and walking around:

The beach was beautiful so David thought he should put his feet in the water:

We also hiked about 2 miles in thigh deep snow for an absolutly Amazing view of Mount McKinnley!!!
Puffin got a haircut while we were in Anchorage. Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!!!

So onto more recent events...SNOW!!! Some days the wind blows so hard that the there is a ton of snow INSIDE our doorway and when we do get to open our door there is just a wall of snow blocking our exit. To get around this, we shovel the snow into totes and dump it into the bathtub. These pictures are of our adventure before we got to walk to school:

Also, we had to use TWO tubs - my apartments and my neighbors.

This is the AFTER - didn't we do a great job :)

Operation Santa Clause!

2009-12-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

The air national guard and army came to Gambell the other day and brought Santa! It was really amazing to see the kids with Santa Clause. They even brought a band AND ice cream!! Here are some pics - http://www.flickr.com/photos/176wg/

October + November = Cold + Wind!

2009-12-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

My students made the Very "mathy" title!

We have had quite some interesting months here. The cold weather has set in and even some sea ice has made it way to the shore. Before it got too cold I was have a little bit of fun in between all the school work.

We had a big trash day and cleaned up a ton of trash that has been accumulating in the teacher housing forever! It was really ridiculous, but at least we all did it together had a bit of fun with it :)

We also a "little water crisis" - as in there was no water. We were very resourceful and caught rain water! Luckily, just as the water shortage began so did a big rain storm and it rained nearly the whole time we were without running water.

Here are our buckets collecting the rain water:

During our water fiasco my roomy had us a delicacy - Fried Oreos!! They were AMAZING!!!

In the making:

All Done and topped with powdered sugar:

Next event was Halloween. We had a carnival at the school and my class sponsored a bowling gaming. It was a lot of fun, but a ton of work. After the school carnival, the kids came trick or treating. A bunch of teachers got together and sat in the hallway of one of the apartments and gave out candy together.

My roomies and I were "The Three Blind Mice" during school.

The Vice-Principal even got in the spirit of dressing up. Here she is with one of our parents in witch hats:

Of course Puffin dressed up for Halloween and even had some costume changes :)

Here she is as a skunk:

And here wearing a halloween shirt and scarf:

Here is Puffin's best friend Kiluk with his owner (Tyler), who is dressed up as from the Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

These are my Rommies Ashley is on the left with Kiluk. Ashley was Donatello and Amy, who is on the right, was a Barbie Doll. :)

Here Megan, who is Splinter, is schooling Ashley on proper stick fighting techniques.

We had a big teacher diner for Thanksgiving. It was really nice and we all had a really good time!

Here is Puffin wrestling with Kiluk. This was a few weeks ago and now Kiluk is about 3 times this size, but her and Puffin still play a lot!!

Diner was a bit latter than anticipated so all the teachers hung out at my apartment while we waited. Here is Megan giving me a hug:

This is me and my roomies hanging out while we wait for diner:

This is Tyler and Amy eating diner:

Here is a group shot of the whole gang eating:

The sink next door (where diner was) broke so they brought the dishes over to our place. This is a picture of the Principal and the Vice Principal doing them :)

We have had quite a bit of snow. Here is Puffin all ready to go out and play! Yes, that is a snow suit...it is really funny because it keeps all her fur wrapped tight so she looks VERY tiny!

One morning my friend, Megan, came over to pick Amy and I up for the commute to work. She couldn't get to our door so she went back and got a shovel and started digging us out. Amy heard her and opened the door and started shoveling too. They meet half way - what teamwork!!

Here we are all bundled up getting ready to walk to school:

Here is my neighbor, Mary Ellen. She is packing down the snow with a tote. We have a ramp outside our door - no more stairs for us!

We made some taffy with maple sirup and snow. It was AWESOME and I felt like Elf eating pure sirup:

My friends Natalie and Andrew thought the sirup was too sweet so they just had the bowl of snow - silly kids:

Puffin got a package from her Uncle John and it had a snuggle in it - really a snuggle...a snuggle for a dog!!

After all the snow fell we went out and played!

Here is Megan digging a snow tunnel between the two teacher housing apartments:

Big Shoveling party!

Puffin and Kiluk playing in the snow:

This was me on the walk home. We had to climb over drifts like this on our walk home:
Sometimes nice people will stop and pick us up. This sled is attached is to a snow mobil.
Here is Amy and Megan leaving the school:

When it finally stopped snowing, we went down to the water to watch the ice come in and see if there were any seals or walruses around. It was really amazing, but incredibly cold. Puffin was in her snow suit but I still had to wrap her in a blanket and carry her in my backpack!

Here is Megan watching the ocean:

Here she is just waving at me:

Here is Mary Ellen sporting a Polar Bear Ruff and Natalie trying to give me thumbs up!

Here are some left over whale bones partially covered in snow:

Puffin and I are on our way home from watching the ice. Thanks Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Louie for the the Coat it is great! Poor Puffin her tears were frozen to her face :(

Here is the village from the Air:

Here is a sunset from the plane:

September Events

2009-10-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but things here have been crazy. This is my first weekend home in a while, but I have some great pics to share.

Before all the traveling, we had a really nice day and after school about 20 kids and 4 or 5 teachers climbed the mountain together.

This is a crazy kid climbing some rocks on top the mountain.

Here I am on top the mountain:

This is Puffin and that is Russia behind her - I think think this would be a nice Christmas card:

Puffin checking out the view:

Here is Gambell from the top -

This is the lake, runway and then the ocean - how beautiful:

I try to take Sundays off from school and go out with Puffin. I can't take her to school with me this year so I try and give her a little more attention on the weekends. A few Sunday's ago Puffin and I walked up to North Beach about 2 miles from our place and played catch. We were at the base of the mountain and I was hoping to see some cool birds, but it must have been too windy or the birds were just sleeping.

This is North Beach:

On our walk there, we passed by these:

Why can Gambell (which currently has no water) have windmills, but the Cape can't figure it out? hmmm.....

I went to a village in the district for a "cultural weekend" and learned that living on Gambell has exposed me to more culture than I was appreciating. Also, the weekend let some of the teachers bond and act like fun idiots :) The village we visited was Shaktolic and was amazingly beautiful and the people were unbelievably friendly!

This is the village as we were landing. They have trees, mountains, lakes, and the ocean!

This is main st:

Megan, Me, and Natalie are all bundled up and ready to go. That is a Blue Fox Ruff that I am wearing I was the only one that stayed warm!

Here is Tyler and Megan on the Honda before our big adventure:

Superman:

Amy, my roommate, (the one from Shewsbury) and I:

This crater is over 2000 years old and was the site of the first Shatltolic residents:

Group shot of new teachers:

We met some very friendly natives that invite Amy, Megan, and I over for tea. This is some drift wood they have collected. The growths on the wood are called "burls", I thought it looked really cool. They were a very interesting couple. The husband has run the Iditorod 3 times, raised sled dogs and herded reindeer. The wife collects a lot of artifacts. This baskets is a berry picking bucket made of bark, leather, and ivory.

I even found a Purple house for Aunt Grace:

There were some crazy jellyfish washed up on the beach. Here are a few:

Here is a jellyfish and a sea sponge:

Tyler is showing me it is a real sponge because he can wring it out.

A kid we were hanging out with found this sand dollar for me on the beach.

Here are some sleepy heads on the trip home:

Final Group Shot:

1st Week of School

2009-08-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

So far, Puffin and I are really having a great time. We are really liking it here. I am very tired and busy with starting a new year, but things so far are going well. Here are some pics.

This is the "road" around the lake. I take Puffin on this 5 mile walk on the weekends.

This is Max the one eyed dog - she follows Puffin and I around on our walks.

This is the view of the mountain during one of our walks:

Puffin got tired so here she is in my backpack. This was a long walk usually she is fine, but it was really foggy and cold and rainy so we weren't able to take the most direct way around the lake.

The final part of the walk around the lake is on the runway. It is soooo nice to walk on pavement. The military paved this runway so it is on of the few paved runways in the bush.

These bones are ruminants of the whales that the people on the island hunt for food.

This is a mini-4 wheeler. All of the kids drive these - I think I would look awesome driving one of these :)

Here is what some of my boxes looked like when I FINALLY received them. David tried to send me some Vegetables in 3 day boxes, but instead I received some liquified grossness in busted up boxes!

The first day of school was also my birthday. These are some pics from that day.

This is outside my kitchen window. The sun is rising behind the presbyterian church.

This is the sunrise on my way to work.

The Kindergarten came into my classroom and sang to me for my birthday. They were soooo adorable and here I am with a sticker they gave me after my wonderful song.

The kids collect "sea food" off the beach. Some of my students found these and were bringing them home for a salad. They stopped and asked me to try some and I was really impressed with how good it tasted. It was like a cross between a cucumber and lettuce.

Puffin and I like to take a walk down to the "beach" sometime. The beach is of course made of rocks and not sand but the water is amazing. When the waves crash on the rocks, it is so loud. There are giant piles of rocks everywhere.

One of the students and I hiked up the mountain the day before school started.

Here I am starting the hike up the mountain.

This is the view just before I started the hike.

These rocks mark the best path up the mountain.

These are some of the rocks that we climbed over to get to the top of the mountain.

Those two large rocks sticking straight up mark the graveyard. Here they can't bury the dead because the land is all permafrost. Instead, they place the wooden caskets on top of the rocks and mark the sites with crosses.
I am part of the way up the mountain and this is the view of the village.

This is a bird rookery where some birds land and hangout while they rest up after their long journey from Russia. That is a real Puffin on the rocks. We tried to walk down these rocks here, but Puffin got scared and wouldn't let us.

Far in the distance, those mountains are Russia.

This is the only other village on the island - Savoogna. It is about 40 miles about through the mountains.

These are some of the other teachers. Tyler is the guy - he teaches second grade. The other two are my roomates. Ashley is the preschool teacher and Amy is the science teacher.

Here are all the new teachers on a plane to Unakleet for in-service.

This is the view from the plane.

These men are building a walrus skin boat. This boat is used to hunt whales. Gambell is one of the very last villages that still uses skin boats.

The skin is stretched over a wood frame and tied down using rope made out of the skin of whales.

Women prepare and dry the skins then they sew them together and the men put them on the boats.

These men are using ivory tusks to tighten the ropes.

First pics of Gambell

2009-08-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my first few days in Gambell. So far, my thighs are killing me from walking, but it sure is a good workout!

This is the view form my backyard. I have no idea why there is some grass just here, but this is the only place there is any grass at all in the village. That is the Bering Sea and you are looking at tomorrow.

Here is the Post Office. It is a blue trailer, but is completely redone on the inside - VERY nice!

This is the National Guard in case you want to join up :)

This is the view as I walk to school. Straight ahead is the mountain and way off to the right is the lake.

This is my apartment complex. There are 4 different apartments in this building.

Solar Panels! Savouga even has windmills. If St Lawrence Island can figure it out, what is wrong with the Cape!!

This is the school:

More pictures to come soon....

2009-08-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

I finally have a new mailing address:
PO Box 108
Gambell, AK
99742

Alaskan Road Trip with John

2009-06-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

John and I spent 2 weeks driving and Camping (sleeping in our rental car) all over the road system of Alaska. We traveled over 3000 miles on our journey and saw a lot of fun and exciting things. It is amazing how long it takes to get from one town to another. Many of the "highways" are unpaved and have sheer cliffs on each side. Also, there are moose, rabbits, geese, and squirrels all over the roads. On top of all that, there are a ton of fun places to stop and hike on trails along the roads so every adventure took us a lot longer than I thought!

We started out on May 16. John flew in that morning and I arrived in the afternoon. We had lunch with some friends of mine who were amazed to see that my "little" brother was so tall! Then we stopped at Fred Myers and loaded up on some supplies. We bought Pilot Bread, which are big crackers, peanut butter, jelly, banana's, and salad. John organized the car and I supervised then we were off.

Our first adventure took us South towards the Kenai Peninsula where we slept outside a glacier for the night. We tried to go to the visitor's center in the morning, but we were in a little early in the season. They had posters up and a hiking trails clearly marked so we just explored on our own. As we were walking, we saw a PORCUPINE. I had no idea what it was - it actually looked like a baby bear climbing a tree. I really need to stop getting my ideas about nature and wild life from cartoons!

A moose came up to our car the first night we were camping. Guard Dog Puffin alerted us, but I got some cool pics of it while it was leaving:

Here are some pics from our way down to Kenai:

We also stopped at a conservations park that rescues hurt animals. Did you know Bison were not extinct?

Up close with a Caribou: Brown Bear - this was definitely close enough for me!

The snowy part in the middle is the glacier:

The frozen water is melted glacier:

We wouldn't want Puffin to get cold while hiking!
Puffin is on thin ice:

Eagles anyone?

A really cool partially frozen river:

Icicles on the side of the river bed.

In Denali, we saw bears, cubs, moose, caribou, and all kinds of birds. Here is a picture of the state bird a ptarmigan (who starts a word with "pt"). It changes plumage from white in the fall to brown in the spring. This one is caught between seasons - part white and part brown:

Mt McKinley:
John and I in Denali:

Back Seat Driver:

We tried to go to a hot spring in Circle (one degree below the Artic circle), but when we got there this is what we found.

In the middle of all these run down buildings, there was this beautiful house...so strange.

If there was a road, John and I traveled on it! We drove over 300o miles in about 13 days. It is amazing that Fairbanks was the hottest place we traveled. We encountered temperatures varing from 30 to 90 degrees. I really didn't exspect the south of Alaska to be warmer than the north. We also got to drive over some really high mountaints (about 5000 feet) with some breath taking views! Here are some random pics from the road:

Nature Week

2009-05-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

This past week I have seen more nature than I have ever seen in my life!

On the first of May, our river broke. Here is what it looked like from my apartment:

This is what it was like at the beach:

Here is what some of the ice build up looked like last night on the river:

I went hiking with some kids and Puffin and we managed to find the last bit of snow.

This is the stream we hiked down to:

Here is Puffin happily enjoying the snow.
A Bald Eagle followed us on our hike:

It has been very hectic here with the end of school coming up on Friday. We had graduation last Friday and 13 students walked. That is a VERY big class. Here they are celebrating after the ceremony:

We also had prom that same night. Prom here is really just a big community dance that some of the graduates and their dates dress up for. It was really fun. There is a band and they play only old country music. I "two-stepped" with a few elders.

The other day a friend of mine got a bunch of ducks. He brought about 10 of them up to the teacher housing for us. So, I actually plucked a duck - like took the feathers all off of it!! It was pretty weird and gross. I was totally grossed out by the whole experience. It peed on me and kept making noises as air was escaping from it's belly. My friends were all teasing me that the duck was mad at me and asking me to stop plucking it...I didn't think they were very funny. I said if I had nightmares I was going to come and stay with them! I didn't actually cook my duck. I just gave it to one of the other teachers who was going to roast it or whatever.

This is a friend of mine that I steam with at night. Here son-in-law caught a porcupine! They called me over to try some, but Puffin and I were out hiking so we missed out.

Last night I was out on the river and I saw a otter and a bunch of MOOSE!! I can't believe I really saw moose - they were huge!! We even saw a little baby one. It was really cool!

The other day, when I was walking with Puffin down at the beach, I saw a beaver that someone had shot out on the river and he was taking it home for diner. I had no idea they were so fat and their tails are scaly like a snake! In person, they look nothing like they do on the cartoons.

The Season Known as Breakup

2009-04-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

In Alaska there is no real Spring, instead we are in the season known as Breakup - the river starts to thaw and hug pieces of ice will soon be move down river, the snow melts, and the roads "breakup". Puffin and I played hookie from school yesterday and we out hiking around.

Here are some pics form our adventure:

Here Puffin is running free outside of my apartment -

This is Puffin playing in the mud -

Here she is playing with Licorice - the two of them are very good if not unlikely friends. Licorice, a black lab, waits at the door of my apartment after after school, hoping I will let Puffin come out and play.

Puffin is taking a break from some hard playing -

This is my apartment building from the old airport-

Here is the view from our hike -

Sun Rise

2009-04-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

I thought you might want to share in the beautifulu sunrise the other morning. I made Puffin get up to watch it with me, but she seemed pretty unimpressed :)

This is the view from my new apartment:

SPRING!!!

2009-04-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

Well, it is April 22 today and I think it is finally spring! Today it is 50 degrees out - practically a heat wave. I have traded my winter boots for spring ones and my Carhart Coat for a lighter Land's End one.

Unfortunately, the rain is starting to move in so the snow will be gone soon and the mud and puddles are already coming up strong. The puddles are crazy there are about two inches of mud, but underneath that is a sheet of ice so if you slip you not only land on ice, but also in a very cold mud puddle. Luckily, Puffin is a little girl and HATES the cold puddles so she isn't getting too dirty, but she does get to run around outside a lot.

The sun is starting to stick around a lot longer. It starts rising at about 6:30 now and doesn't set until about 10. Even at 11:30, it is still just dusk outside so getting to sleep is getting more difficult, but it is really nice to leave school at 7 and still be able to go out walking with Puffin.

Another great part of spring is that there are a lot more Eagles out flying around. :)

Moving...

2009-04-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

I decided to accept a job in on an Island out in the Bering Sea. I know I am crazy, but I really think this will be an incredible experience. The island is way out in the sea about 200 miles from main land Alaska and only about 40 from Russia. You can actually SEE Russia from there!

If you want some more info, check out this site - http://www.tsuru-bird.net/gambell

I promise I will post lots of cool stuff when I get there :)

Spring Break

2009-03-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break, I went to visit Alex. Now this should not be hard since we are both in Alaska, but since we are in Alaska not only did it cost more than coming home or going Florida - it also took longer! I spent a whopping 30 hours traveling each way. Of course most of that was hanging out in airports, there was only about 5 or 6 hours of actual flying time. First, I left my village and went to Dillingham. From there, I hoped a flight to ANC then onto Fairbanks where I spent the night. The Fairbanks airport, although it an international airport, is completely baron - no food, no water bubbler - nothing! Puffin and I had a lovely meal of trail mix and watched some TV over the Internet. Finally the next morning, I took a cab to an airstrip and waited there for a flight out to Alex's village. Luckily, Alex was waiting for me because then we had to drive to his actual town. Like I said it was a lot of traveling, but it was worth it. I had a very nice time with Alex, and I cooked up the rest of the meat I brought home from Davis Square.

I SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!! They were beautiful, but I only saw some green and white and grey, but still it was amazing!! I couldn't get my camera to take any pictures of them though. I am not sure if it was because there were street lights or just because I was taking pictures of the sky at night, but really they were great!!

This is me outside waiting to see the lights:
(Yes that is a fur hat - it is actually seal and beaver fur. The gloves are beaver and fox. Not only is it the warmest thing ever, the hat also blocks ice from forming on my eyes.)

I learned that I think I really can camp!! Alex's apartment was interesting. It is a trailer with no running water or bathroom. He does have electricity so we had a light and a fridge and a space heater. I wasn't allowed to be at his work (where there was running water, a bathroom, and shower) so he snuck me in at night when everyone was gone for the day. Only once we got caught, and I had to hid in the bathroom until his co-worker left. Now, you all know how often I pee so it was a VERY interesting trip. One morning I woke up and really thought my kidney was going to explode!

These are some pics of where Alex lives:

This is the outhouse that I could have used, but there was a bit of snow in the way...
Here is Alex packing my stuff into the car in front of his trailer:

While Puffin and I were visiting Alex, we did a lot of reading, finished up some courses I was taking, and went hiking. These are some pictures of our hike:

This is the trail we followed for a few miles.

At the end of the trail, we came to a river and this was the view from there.

We also walked by a lot of REAL log cabins! This one even had a totem pole out front.
We saw a lot of animal tracks, but luckily NO animals. I have NO idea what I would actually do if I was ever faced with an animal!! Bear Bait (Puffin) and I just pray we never find out!

It was really a nice and everything worked out fine and I think this experience really prepared me for my camping trip this summer. Speaking of the summer, I will be driving the road system and seeing all kids of things form Glaciers to bird watching! So far, it is just Puffin and I traveling and camping together. So if anyone wants to join me, please do! I will be adventuring from about May 20 until the beginning of July then I can coming HOME probably for the whole month of July!!! This schedule is VERY flexible. My plan is to rent a car, drive the road system, sleep in the car and camp along the way. If I hate it, I will just be home drinking Iced Coffee sooner!!

Beaver Fest

2009-03-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a little out of order, but I have just been so busy I haven't gotten to post this. We had a carnival like thing here called Beaver Fest (Feb 19-22). One of the main events is dog sledding so here are some pics of the dog races.

Here are some pics from the races:

How cute is this little boy:

The Highlight of Beaver Fest is the Junior Miss Competition. It is a bunch of high school girls who compete in what can only be compared to a beauty pageant. There "talents" were mostly comedy acts which was REALLY funny. One girl "sang" the song "Let Me Clear My Throat" as an old man. She was fully in costume with a cane and all! She was really hilarious - even the elders were laughing!! I had the very important job of tallying all the scores from the judges. I guess because I am the math teacher it is assumed I can add.

Here is some of the audience:
While everyone waited for me to add the scores, the contestants and some of the elders did native dancing:
Here is the Winner - Tersea:

The dances were another big part of the weekend. Every night, there was a live band and most of the village gathered in the gym to dance. I learned to "two-step" and I had a wonderful dance partner - Craig. This is Craig at the Dag Races:

I was exhausted the night of the pagent but I was glad I made the effort to go to the pageant. It was the best part of the weekend. That weekend was one of the craziest ever or so I thought, but it just kept getting more insane! First we were hosting the middle school basketball tournament from Thursday - Saturday afternoon. Then, on Sunday morning I left for Juneau. I was coaching 3 teams that weekend so I was pretty busy, but as I walked off the court on Friday afternoon the principal said to me "The housing is done - you need to be moved in but Sunday night." I looked straight at him and said "Are you insane?", but he was serious so literally between games I had to pack my apartment and move all my stuff up the hill to the new housing (7 months late) IN BETWEEN games. It was so crazy, but it got done so that is really all that matters :) So, I left for Juneau on Sunday morning and had a wonderful time at the conference. But when I was at the airport going back, I got an email that the games for the upcoming weekend in Dillingham were being pushed up to Thursday. Without ever returning to Stu, I went straight to Dillingham and coached until Sunday morning.

I also received an email that we were moving into the new school and classes would be held there on Monday morning. Again, my reply was "Are you crazy?" But nope, we opened a new school on Monday morning - without ANY materials! It was quite a week. We had nothing - no paper, no pencils, no books, no student computers, no soup in the bathroom, no chalk for the board, NOTHING! It was the week before spring break and since I had been gone the whole week before; I figured it was useless to try and teach math so we did a whole unit on drugs and addition. We watched intervention and read parts of the book "A Million Little Pieces" and discussed what happens to your brain and your body on drugs and alcohol. All in all everything worked out. Supposedly, they have finished moving all the supplies from the old school to the new school. We will see - tomorrow when I return to Stu, I plan on unpacking my classroom and setting it up. As soon as I am settled, I will post some pictures of that too!

Juneau

2009-02-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I left for a conference in Juneau. This is the Capital of the state, but it is only the 3rd largest city in Alaska with a population of only about 30,000. They have a bus system here though - well it is only two routes. I took my taxi driver's suggestion and road the bus around to see the sights. It felt great to back on a bus (now that is something I never thought I would say). Juneau is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, but boy is it expensive. I got my eyebrows done it cost $17 - I was SHOCKED!

This is downtown:

Here is the mountain right on the side of the road. The whole town is surrounded by mountains.

This is the island, Douglas, next to Juneau. It is about 35 miles long.

These are some people walking across some frozen water.

Here is the sun setting over the mountains.

I saw the most amazing thing - an Eagle flew right over me and landed on a tree right in front of me!!

Valentines Day

2009-02-15T19:38:00.001-08:00

I almost forgot about Valentines Day. I had a few fun surprises. First, a few kids from the Elementary came over and gave me little cards. It was awfully cute! Then, my high schoolers made me a poster:

Little
Interesting
Zesty

Truthful
Exciting
Intelligent
Xcellent
Enchanting
Important
Remarkable
Adorable

ZESTY is my fav - it's like I am a salad dressing!!

Finally, I got a wonderful wake-up call (there is a 4 hour time difference!!!) from Steve which was very sweet. I was a bit groggy and not fully awake, but the thought was VERY nice :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-02-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

So I have been VERY busy here - it is a lot of work coaching. Not only do I have to do all the fundraising, with the help of the parents, but when we have an away game I am gone for 4 or 5 days! We fly to another village and play a bunch of games with all kinds of schools. Last week we went to Neknak (it cost $8000 and we raised it all!!), but we had a really great time. The girls came in forth overall, but it was awesome to see them grow and get better even just over the course of the tournament. Naknek is a village about the size of us here at Stu (500 people), but it is much different because they are connected by a road to a much bigger town - King Salmon (about 2000). They even have a swimming pool there and we REALLY had a good time playing there!!

Here are some pics from the trip -

These are a few of my girls while we were on the plane going to the tournament -

This is my captain. Her and I are walking to the post office to mail some stuff because I can never seem to get out of school while the post office in Stu is actually open!!

He are some of the kids hanging out before the games:

Doing their homework in between games:

This is a poster welcoming us to the tournament:

Here they are attempting to wake up after a long night of watching scary movies :)

This girl actually rolled off here areobed in the middle of the night:

Here is the boys team before and after their last game. They took 1st in the tournament.

Here we are playing in the pool. We even played chicken! It is fun playing with the middle school kids because they are my height!!

Even though they are my height, they still like to just play and have fun. Here we are waiting to leave, but all they wanted to do was go outside and play in the playground until our plane came in.

We didn't play any games this weekend so I finally had some time to catch up on my work and even go out for a hike. Puffin and I had a lot of fun hiking, but we got caught in some pretty deep snow. We were walking along in about thigh deep snow, but then all of a sudden I was up to my chest in snow. So I looked at puffin and when she gets in over her head, she swims - so that is what we did - Swim!! I wish I had someone else with us just to take a picture. The two of us with just our heads bobbing on top of the snow, we must have been a sight!

This is the moon rising one night over the school. It was just glowing red!

Here is an eagle we saw while out on our hike -

And these are some fox tracks - Here is Puff during our hike -
And after her bath -

Well this next week is Culture Week and Beaver Fest (like a carnival) so I am sure I will have fun stories and pics from that. For Culture week, I am teaching how to make macaroni sauce and Italian cookies. Wish me Luck!!

1st Ball Game

2009-02-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

In case you don't know, I am the basketball coach for the middle school girls team. My girls had their first Basketball game, and I was VERY excited about it. I am sooooo proud of them!! We road Snow-Gos to Ekwalk, which is a neighboring village about 10 miles down river. Now a ton of New Stu people usually come to watch the tournament, but not as many as usual came this time because it was -23 when we left so there were a lot of machines that wouldn't start. Here are some pics of how many Snow-Gos actually made the trip though -

This is what I looked like for the adventure. I was sooo lucky that Aunt Grace got me those toe warms - they totally saved my toes! And, my new gloves (care of Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Louie) really saved my hands my frostbite. My hands were nice and tostie the whole ride!! My neighbors let me borrow a helmet so my head stayed warm and safe :)

Ekwalk is REALLY small so they only had a girls teams and a co-ed team so my girls got to play and then we broke the boys up and half my girls into 3 co-ed teams. We just kind of round-robin played. It was really fun and my girls did AMAZING!!! I was soooo proud of them. We only lost by one point, but they never gave up trying even when we were down by 15 points. They just kept pushing and playing hard. I was just sooo proud of them! We would have won, but we had two injuries, and there was no real referee so I basically had to run on the court and grab my girl - she was poked in eye and was just wondering around. It was pretty funny and after a few minutes she was fine, but they scored like 3 baskets during that time. Also, a big girl fell on one my 6th grade guards so she was limping for a little bit, but she kept trying so I was very proud of her!

Here are some pics of the team and me coaching:

These are my starters for my first game coaching (I think I was really more nervous then they were) -

Here are some of he co-ed teams playing eachother -

This is me and some of my players fooling around between games -
Here are some of my girls waiting around -

Here I am actually coaching -

My life has been pretty consumed with teaching, running study sessions a couple times a week, taking classes, and coaching so I have no other fun adventures to share yet - maybe next week! We are traveling to Bristal Bay this weekend. It will be REALLY fun - they even have a swimming pool!!!

Who needs power?

2009-01-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

So this past week has been very interesting...we lost electricity, water, heat, Internet and telephone. We haven't even had school since Tuesday. I even had to distill water from melting ice. We found a puddle with ice still on the bottom of it so that stuff from the soil wouldn't seep back up. Then, Alex made a make shift distiller. First, we ran the water through coffee filters to get out any large particulates. Next we boiled the water to kill the bacteria (like from dog poop). Then, we ran it through the coffee (when we had power) to steam and condense it. Finally, it went through the Britta filter because that is a charcoal filter to get out any last stuff. We even had to fill up the water tank in the toilet to flush it. Good thing Alex was here or Puffin and I would just have been drinking dirty snow!!

Here is the bucket that I am storing my water in -

Candlelight is not that romantic when you even need to cook by it! Luckily, we have gas stoves so I could just use a match and light the burners. My LL Bean hat came in use wonderfully so I could actually see what I was cooking.
Here I am modeling it for you (those are little LED lights on the front) -
I also brought Alex up to the airport today on a 4-wheeler and got a bit of frost bit on my hands. They are fine now, but they feel and look like they are sun burnt mostly so kinda red with little white blisters.

Before we lost power and had to go all "roughing-it", Alex and I had a really good visit. Here are some picks of us actually walking on the river. It was only last Sunday we took these pics and since the temp has been so crazy the river is already melting!! (I will try and get picks of that)

Here is where two pieces of ice butted up against each other -

Here it is up close -
Wicked cool swirls in ice there huh?

This is Long Bluff from the River. I pick berries on top of it and fish beneath it in the fall.

To show how safe the ice is, here is a snow mobile pulling a sled riding on top of it -

No Blog would be complete without a pic of Puffin - so here she is running on the snow on top the river. She eventually got cold and tired and Alex carried her in her little backpack (he looked VERY manly :) )

Well more adventures and pics will be coming soon. Everyone bothered me about not updating my blog often enough so I will really try and work on that. Also, I had a wonderful time when I was home - so thanks for making me feel so loved!!

Decemeber

2008-12-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

So far December has not been too bad. Actually it has been pretty mild. We have even had weather in the teens and twenties. Somedays it is even in the thirties, but that not good because then the snow melts and freezes over night.

Today I went out snowmobling with my nieghbors and got some AMAZING pictures Here are a few -

Last weekend Puffin and I went out hiking. She was so cold by the time we were done that she actually RAN into the apartment all on her own!!

Some of my students came over to visit the other night and leaned how to use the self-timer on my camera so this is what I found on my camera after they left -

This is my classroom door all decorated for Chirstmas. It was supposed to be like a book cover, but I didn't read direction that well...we won "Best use of Geometric Shapes and Patterns" :)

This is the tree the kids cut down for the Christmas show this week. The one in the bottom of the picture is what the freshman and sophmores brought back, but of course the juniors and seniors brought back a bigger and better one! Don't worry neither will be wasted. We will chop the wood and use it in the steam houses.

Funny Pics

2008-12-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

These are pictures of the outside of my place. This birdhouse is right on the corner of my roof.

This is the snow above my living room window. It has just been hanging there for weeks!

21 Below

2008-11-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

Yes - the title means exactly what you think it should...it is NEGITIVE 21 DEGREES here!! It's a little crazy, but honestly I would not have known it was that cold just by feeling it on my skin. I have not gone out much today, but the walk over to school (all 40 feet) was not too bad. I only have a sweatshirt and gloves on - I am sure that doesn't shock anyone! Usually, I am getting teased because I always have snow pants and long underwear on. It must be cold though because Puffin feet were too cold so I carried her most of the way.

So, I went to another village for Thanksgiving - Manacottic (KMO). I have a bunch of friends that I met at in-service (orientation) live there so I went there for thanksgiving. It is closer to Dillingham, only a 10-minute flight. So, I flew from New Stu to Dillingham (about an hour) and then from Dillingham to KMO.

Here are some pics of KMO -

This is my friend Whitney, who I stayed with while I was there. We are walking through the village to the post office -

Here are some pics of Thanksgiving there -

Don't you love the Birthday Turkey Cake -

So I found a house for my Aunt Gracie, it is just a nice as the one we found in Bermuda!!

It's getting darker

2008-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

We are definitely getting shorter days here and the sun may not rise until about 9 am, but this is the view of the sun rise from my classroom window:

It is really beautiful and it is like that EVERY morning.

Puffin and I had a pretty relaxing weekend. I made lesson plans and she slept. I baked some bread and she slept. I did my homework for some classes I am taking and guess what Puffin slept!

She probably slept so much because we were out hiking twice this weekend. We had a really good time and now that the tundra is pretty frozen it a lot more fun. We were able to hike up through some trees and saw the river freezing. Here are some pics from us standing on a precipice overlooking the river. We are probably 30 or 40 feet up from the river bed here.

Here are some big pieces of ice bumming into each other at the river bed:

This is Puffin looking over the ledge...if she thinks I am getting any closer she is CRAZY!!

When we were out hiking, we saw some hair like stuff on trees. I (madame nature) had NO idea what it could be so I took some pics and asked Alex. He explained that this is beard lichen and it is similar to Spanish moss, which is found down south.

Puffin is a hiking machine!! Here she is hiking right out of her sweatshirt -

But, I guess we were out for too long because our hike ended with me caring Puffin for a while. Once we were out of the woods and back on the trails, she was ready to run like a little maniac again though!!

Halloween

2008-11-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

I had a wicked crazy week here, but it was VERY fun!!

We had a reading day here at school. We let the kids read all morning and then in the afternoon they paired up with elementry kids and read to them. It was really so cute!

Then there was some Drug-Free assembly, and the little kids did some native dancing to "scare the drugs away from the Villiage". That was really cool - I had never seen native dancing before.

Yesterday, I went 4-wheeling with my nieghbors. It was really fun - I even got to drive one!

Here is my neighbor teaching his daughter to shoot. They are Puffin's Babysitters when I go away. Roberta, the wife, has learned that Puffin will do ANYTHING for Chicken! HAHAHAHA

Here I am learning to shoot my nieghbors gun.

Here I am learning to shoot Terry's gun too! I know when I come back I am going to have to live in NH!! hahahah

We also had a Haunted House for Halloween. It was VERY fun! I was a skelton. I stood in a dark room with only a black light so I glowed, and I looked like only bones when I walked. I was VERY Scary! :)

Here I am Dancing in my costrum -
Here I am with one of the students who was a Mummy for the Haunted House -

I have been sick so there are no hiking pics this weekend, maybe next week...we will see!

trip to ANC

2008-10-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

I went to Anchorage this past weekend to meet up with a friend and do some shopping. I never thought going to Old Navy could ever be so exciting!! I got some new jeans and sweaters there. I also picked up ton of winter cloths from the Amy Navy store so I should be all set for the winter up here now; we will see if I turn into a popcicle :)

The mountains pics here are all taken on the plane ride to over to ANC. It was really a breadth taking ride.

I know that all of you have missed seeing my smiling face so here is a pic for you -

Aren't the mountains really amazing in back of me?!?!

Playing in the snow

2008-10-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is Puffin really enjoying the snow - don't worry she always wears a sweater. She is getting really good at following me. I have even let her off leash around the school and she stays right with me. I am still worried about letting her be free when we are around other dogs because she is just WAY too friendly and doesn't realize that a growling husky chained to a tree may not be the nicest dog to make friends with. She also still thinks she is a bear. We went hiking this weekend and she kept sticking her nose in the snow covered berry bushes looking for berries. She would just look at me like "where are my berries?". It was VERY cute. She also got cold or the snow got too deep so just like when she would swim at Revere and would get cold - she just would jump on me until I held her and carried her through the deep snow. She is sooo funny!!!

These are icicles already forming on the roof kinda crazy huh!!

This is ice flowing down the river - those are HUGE pieces of ice!! The smaller streams and rivers are all frozen so the ice is just rushing through.

Here are some kids sledding down the main street.

I called my mom yesterday and said it was so warm here that I didn't even have a jacket on - she said it was so cold there she had to put on the heat - it was 40 here and 45 there!!

SNOW

2008-10-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

OMG (that says Oh My God!!!) - I woke up today and it snowed! Just a light dusting, but still SNOW...don't the weather gods know this is NOT allowed! It is only Oct 3rd...hmmmm...I don't think I can do too much about this...

Oh By the way...it is still snowing!

Happy Birthday!!

2008-10-02T09:42:00.002-07:00

Well...my baby turned 1 today!! She got some wonderful toys and had a great time tearing them apart. John also got her the cutest hoddie ever, and she looks so happy wearing it! We had a birthday diner of chicken and rice, but Puffin was so excited about digging the squeaker out of her now toy she let the rice wait. No worries she devoured the chicken, but left the rice until her toy was sufficiently destroyed.

Before -

After -

Other than Puffin's B-day nothing much is going on here. The weather is changing here and it is getting a bit colder, but that is what long john's are for, right?

Also THANK YOU all very much for the care packages. They are the highlight of my week - it is sooooo great to get them and the food really wonderful! The lady at the post office always comments how much my family must love me and I just "Yes, they do!"

Random Happenings in New Stu

2008-09-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

So mostly I have been berry picking on my time off from work. Little village kids love to "visit" with me. Maybe it is just the Somerville in me, but there is no reason for 5 little 10 year olds to be at my apartment! Instead, I put them to work and make them help me berry pick! So my hands are all stained from the blue berries. I found some high bush cranberries. They were fun because I have to reach up to get them like apple picking! The leaves are changing here and it is really pretty...not quite as nice as home, but really pretty.

Puffin had a really great time running around on our hike. Here se is practically getting lost in all the space. Some birds (maybe Ospree) tried to get her. They were flying around her and diving at her so I threw rocks at them!!

Here is Puffin being a little bear and eatting berries right off the vines.

Also, this week was spirit week here at school - it was great!! One day was swtich day, where the boys dressed as girls and the girls dressed as boys. Also, we had charator day. Two other teachers and I dressed as the three blind mice.

OMG - I SKINNED A CARABOU

2008-09-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

OMG - I really skinned a Carabou last night!! A teacher got one (so he went out hunting and SHOT and killed it). I was AMAZED. I kept saying so this was really alive a few hours ago?!?!

A bunch of my boy students went over to his house to help cut up the meat too. One of them cut himself, not bad but he is a boy! So anyway - he was my paparatzi! I put him to work photographing this adventure for me.

FINALLY

2008-09-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

So I finally got the Internet at home today...hopefully this will let me blog more b/c I know how much you LOVE reading about me :)

Today after school I went to go visit a girl's parents b/c the girl has been cutting one of classes. She is rediculous - she comes to my morning class and cuts the afternoon one...duh - Like I am not going to notice. Anyway I came home after school to drop off my book bag for the hike up to the girl's hut and Puffin was VERY angry that I left her behind. She not only unmade my bed, but also tore ALL the covers off! This is what I came home to:

Everyone in the village has a nickname. For example, I teach a girl Tiny and a boy Chubs (who I guess was a very chubby little kid, but is now VERY thin!) so my nickname is Dora (as in Dora the explorer) b/c I am always wearing my backpack. The women who gave me the name always sing me the backpack song!

Also, I got (am borrowing) a VHF radio (yes, I am in NH)! Since I don't have a phone here the princlpal let me borrow this radio so I could contact someone if I needed something and so I could know what was going on in the village. I thought the company would be good for Puffin - You know some noise while I am at work, but she FLIPS out at the radio. She thinks someone is in the house - man it is wicked funny!! For real though, I am in Wisky Tango NH - people even have GUN racks on their "Hondas" (aka - 4-wheeler). They all call them Hondas b/c I guess that is the most common brand, but it is funny that people even call a kawaski a "Honda"!

Apartment

2008-09-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

School has been going really well. I love the students and my classes are going great! Shopping in the store is a bit PRICEY!! For example, Sugar is $8.89 a bag, eggs are $4.00 a dozen, and cabot cheese is $13.00 a pound. Good thing I am only one person and Nana taught we well - I freeze EVERYTHING!! I have also been berrypicking a bunch so I am "putting berries up" - that means freezing them for the winter :)

So, I figured that I should probably show you guys some picutures of my apartment. I thought you might get a kick out this - I know you love wood panneling!

This is my kitchen:

This is my livingroom. Notice the lovely coffee table (a.k.a. kitchen chair). Puffin LOVES her chair and she is loving her blanket. That is where is sleeps all day.

This is my bathroom. Last weekend my washing machine broke and flooded my bathroom - oh the excitement!

This is my shine to Revere beach. John sent me the sand, flipflops, and tanktop. He said that when I get homesick I can crank up the heat and spread out the sand on a towel and pretend I am sitting at Kelly's!

This is the second bedroom with some great bunk beds!

This is what I really use my second bedroom for!

This is my bedroom - again do you like the nightstand (a.k.a kitchen chair).

This is my shared porch. I basicly live in 1/2 of a double wide.

This is my apartment.

It was so nice out the night I took these pics I was wearing flipflops!

B-Day!

2008-08-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sooooo this year my B-day was vastly different than last year - And I LOVED it :)

On Friday, I went fishing for the first time. It was NOTHING like fishing in the Mystic!! HAHA I caught nothing though, but the people I was with caught a bunch and they shared with me :) I have to "put up fish" for the winter my friend Jeff says. "Putting up fish" consists of catching and "clubbing" (knocking it with a rock or piece of wood until it is dead) then cutting out the guts and stuff...Can you see me doing ANY of this...hahaha. I think I might starve this winter! No - I will be FINE. Everyone here is sooo nice and helpful I am sure someone will help me "club" a fish if I ever actually catch one!

This is Carla the English teacher. Her and I shared a pole b/c of course I don't own one!

This is the view up river on our way to go fishing.

This is the view down river on our way home from fishing. Isn't the Sky AMAZING?

We even saw bear prints while we we're fishing!! No worries we had a gun (and someone who actually knew how to use it) with us :o

On Saturday, I did want all good teachers do - LESSON PLANS!! Grrrr - they are NOT fun, but they are actually really helpful to have a plan of where I am going and where I want to end up for the week. So far I am really liking teaching though! My only gripe is I have 6 periods a day and 6 Different classes to prep for and NO prep period! I even have two different classes in the same room sometimes (ie. Pre-Algebra and Pre-Calc) so it can be a bit trying! The kids are really great and I have NO problem with any of them, but they are NOT the homework types. I usually have only one or two kids who actually DO the homework :( Since it is still so light up here at night, they are always out. No one ever goes home so I guess that doesn't really leave in room for HOMEwork! But, I think they will get better...we'll see.

On Sunday, some of the others teachers here in New Stu and I got together and we all had diner. I made macaroni...ever the Italian :) It was really nice. The three girls I went fishing with framed my first "catch"...it was a plastic lure! But it was VERY thoughtful and is hanging on my wall :) After diner, I went out berry picking and got about a gallon of really great blueberries. I eat them in my Cream of Wheat for breakfast. Next month is Cranberry season so I am really looking forward to that.

This is where I went Berry picking...

I also got to talk to my aunt's and my mom and Debbie on Sunday so that was very nice. They were having a cookout in my honar (and John was teasing me about the good steak tips!)...my salmon is good too! hahaha

Other than that I have been Reading a ton! I just finished A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving. It was AWESOME! It is about a kid from NH who thinks God has put him on earth for a special reason. It really was a great book (thanks Debbie!) - I totally recommend it!!

Some Adventures

2008-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hello ALL,

So I have been up to quite a bit, but I am now in Dillingham for training and FINIALLY have Internet!! Puff and I are doing GREAT - we are
really having a great time!! We walk everyday and hang out at the river and read...that is the lump sum of our days (and nights so far).

Here are some pics -

Puffin in the airport- she is my little guard dog and she kept me safe :)

This is the only pic I am posting of my apartment b/c I really don't want to scare/horrify anyone, but doesn't Puff look happy!! She LOVES her blanket and since we go out so much and is the most mellow dog EVER in the house :)

This is the river where Puff and I play and read all day :)

This is my new enemy...GRRRRRRRR...This weed is EVERYWHERE - it is called Fireweed and man it kills me!

These are all in Dilingham (the center of the District).

Here is the Dump in Dillingham. We were looking for Bears, but we only found really BIG sky.

Here I am getting ready to go out on the lake...Aren't I wicked cute :)

Here are some Salmon spawning. It was really awesome they would swim like crazy and then rest for a bit then swim up stream again like CRAZY!!

This is a pic of Max and Whitney at the river where the Salmon where spawning. They are really. Actually everyone here is really great! I am really going to miss them. Whitney is my roomie and we are def getting along GREAT.

All they have up here are BIG, beautiful skies!! Here is just a small sample

This is Tara hanging out at the dock after our adventure on the Lake all day.

That is all for now, but no worries there will be More to follow soon :)

In Alaska

2008-07-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

So, I made it to Alaska!! I got to Anchorage at about 1 am, but Puffin and I were very tired so we too a nap. Now it is just about 4:30 and the sun is rising!! The trip up here was not too bad, a bit long but not bad really. Puffin slept most of the way and has barked only a few times in the airport. Some man walked near us while we were napping and Puff kinda flipped out a bit, but only a little bit...my little watch dog. I guess taking her to the beach really on Wednesday before our day of adventure really did the trick because she has been sleeping like a lamb :)

Sorry no pictures yet (so far the airports all look pretty much the same), but I hope I will post some soon.

A Few More Days...

2008-07-21T19:26:00.001-07:00

So, I have only a few more days until my adventure to the Great North really begins...A few people have suggested that I write a blog while I am living/teaching/surviving in Alaska. I figure this is a good way to communicate to the people I care about, and I even get to share some pictures too!

I am really surprised that I am not at all nervous. Instead, I am really looking forward to to starting over on my terms. I have never felt so in control in my whole life, and it is an incredible feeling!!

I must admit I am a bit apprehensive about the journey there - I really hope Puffin will be ok (and by that I mean well behaved). It will take us about a day and a half to finally get there and I NOT looking forward to flying on a 5 person propeller plane, but that too will be an adventure.

So, I guess I am just really ready for this whole adventure to begin!

More to come soon and pictures too!

:)