Alaska Driver's license put to use.....

We finally got our four wheeler today!!! It was supposed to be here about a week ago, but with all the smoke and no planes coming or going, the delivery was delayed. We are actually really lucky because our friends, Heidi and Damon ordered theirs at the same time, and it was dropped while it was being loaded, and is now----BROKEN, totaled, DEMOLISHED!!--so in the fifty-fifty chance scheme of things--we were lucky. Below, the Honda is being unloaded from the plane (the biggest plane we have seen land here so far).

And, here it is....It aint no Dodge (although Nick is considering bigger tires)--

Notice the glow--We went on a nice long ride--It is so nice to be able to explore all the trails and roads around the village. It is so beautiful! We went to one of the beaches and looked for razor clams to possibly dig in the future. We saw a couple of small ones, but will need to wait for a much lower tide. We also finally got our receiver (so that we can actually get T.V.) We haven't watched television since the end of June. Crazy, I know...

Anyway, all is well! We miss you all very much--Thanks for all the emails, they keep us smiling :)

The Singular Focus

We aren't sure how many of you have seen the crazed look in Nicks eyes when he has caught fish or is in the process of catching them (It is the same look he gets when thinking of catching Lemmings). Well, today is your lucky day..... Note the dilated pupils, the glazed look he likes to call, "the thousand yard stare." Not food, nor gold, nor woman can come between Nick and his desire to slay fish--aka: his "fish problem."Really folks--What do you say here? Can I say anything about this picture that it doesn't already say? Still in fish coma? You decide. (And yes, Mike--You may recognize this look as his "chum-face"--out of 68 silver salmon caught, Nick caught the only Chum). His only comment was, "Sweet Ambrosia." He knows you will understand, Mike.

Seriously, though, 68 fish (we aren't counting the chum)--took about two hours to filet. Nick, master of the filet knife was busy until after sunset, which is saying a lot.
One of the cool things is that we get to net fish, and in the process of netting Silver Salmon, a Chum heard the siren call of Nick, and was ensnared by his charms. Again, Mike, this one's for you.
One of the not so cool things is that there was a fire nearby and the entire village was engulfed in smoke for over a week. So bad, that not only could no one fly in for our trainings, but all planes were grounded. No mail came in or out--Below is a picture of the smoke on a better day since you could actually see where the sun was supposed to be. On a bad day, it was like going scuba diving in chocolate milk. To give you an idea of how bad--Bush pilots can land with only a mile of visibility--I think the vis was about 30 feet (Nick says about seven and a half inches).
Both of us have been sick because our sinuses got irritated. However, the smoke did finally blow away and everyone cheered today when the first mail plane landed in a week!! Ahh, the excitement!

Below: The Ulu is a type of knife used by many Alaska Natives to cut fish and game. Cutting fish is typically considered the work of the women, and men typically bring the fish in from the nets. Nick was mocked by a group of boys the other day for doing "woman's work." Luckily, Nick withstood the taunting and did not question his manhood. This is Janna's Ulu, made by a local in the village. The handle is ivory, and the blade is made of an old saw blade.

One of the reasons that Janna bought an Ulu was because she was lucky enough to be taught how to cut fish with one. It is amazing how much easier it is to filet with an Ulu. Much less fish is wasted with an Ulu than with a regular filet knife. Below is a sequence of Janna's education on how to filet with an Ulu. It took about three fish before she really got the hang of it--

The learning curve was a little steep, but luckily she had a good, very patient teacher.

Finally FINISHED!! Janna's first filet with an Ulu--She was so excited, yes--she bought her own!

We miss you all--please write! We are desperate for even junk mail.

BLUEBERRY PICKING!!
Another beautiful day! We went blueberry picking with some new friends, Heidi and Damon. We hiked up to the top of the cliff and had a gorgeous view of the village and ocean. The mountains were also out (much like in Seattle)--You can only see them off in the distance on really clear days.














Above: Janna with the outline of Stebbins off in the distance
Below: Nick with a view of all the lakes that will soon be frozen over.














The tudra, as we mentioned before is really squishy to walk on. It literally feels like a sponge. The ground is covered with foliage and bushes. At first we were looking for blueberry bushes, as you would imagine them in Montana. You know, bushes that are at least knee level or above. We soon discovered that the blueberries actually hug the ground--So it is quite the task to stay bent over for a long period to pick enough to fill a bag. There are five types of berries here: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and salmonberries. Blueberry season is just ending and blackberry season is beginning (these blackberries look more like huckleberries then what we get in the pacific northwest). When we were picking blueberries the cranberries were everywhere, but we were told that you don't pick them until after the first frost or something like that.














Sadly, we only filled up part of our bags (Well--they are really big bags), and we did eat as many as we put in the bag. The blueberry party ended when a ginormous spider (bright yellow with black markings) made its presence known on Janna's backpack. Although fascinating, we didn't really look at sitting on the softy, cushiony ground in the same way--so we decided to walk the other way down the beach and find some spiderless, new territory.




















above: Heidi, Damon, and Nick standing amongst some wildflowers that look like cotton.
below: The other end of the beach has a cliff that is actually called, "the cliff" by the locals. There is a cave, and as you can see it is not a good place for lemmings to hide, for obvious reasons the traps will not be set up here.




















Below: Pretty view on the way home from our hike. We will get some updated photos and post them soon!

Hi!!!! Let me begin with--We Miss You!!
We went over to "North Beach" on four wheelers to have a hot dog roast and took these pictures. Four wheelers are the main transportation here--We just purchased one so that we can go the 13 miles up the road to another town called St. Michael. We can also just get out and expolore more that way.















Norton Sound is quite shallow, so the water is a lot warmer right now than we expected. Apparently in the winter, there is a lot of ice fishing and some people even go crabbing (for king crab). We were told that you have to get down at least 6-8 feet in the ice to get to the water.





























Nick's first four wheel ride--No training wheels required. It is amazing how much these things can hold--and still make it up a hill. Nick carried two people on the back (of the four wheeler, not his back) to get to North Beach. We need to get some goggles because the dust can get pretty bad, and with contacts....well, you get the picture.















More pictures of the beach, right in front of the village.














Above: the fireweed (which you can see peeking out of the shrubs) is everywhere up here. We took this picture when we went on a hike--Everything is so green right now--We are also pretty sure that there is a lemming hole somewhere in these bushes. Nick is hard at work on making a lemming trap.

Below: The School! The school is fourteen years old, but looks brand new inside and out.














Below: Murals painted on the walls:














Below: One of the courtyards in the school














Below: One of the cool things is that there are display cases throughout the school with both artifacts and projects that students have been working on.




That's it for now! We hope all of you are doing well. We are really enjoying all your emails--it makes us feel a lot closer to home!

8/11/05
Hi everyone! We arrived safely in Stebbins August 2nd. We flew in on a plane that we are pretty sure was auctioned off from the Wright Brothers Estate. The pilot, who was very good at what he did, was able to turn the plane on a dime at an altitude of about 18 feet during landing. At one point the wings were completely perpendicular to the ground. We thought of all the people we hadn't called and the lack of tears that would be shed. All joking aside, it was truly an experience to ride such a small plane. Again, luckily, the pilot was VERY good at what he did.

Things are settling in nicely. It is really nice to have a place that feels like home after being on the road all summer. The village is absolutely gorgeous! The view of Norton Sound (below) is breathtaking. There aren't any large trees, but there are small alder stands (more like shrubs), bluffs, and beautiful tundra. There are a gaggle of wildflowers, mostly fireweed. Entire hillsides are covered with these. The myth says that when the fireweed flower blooms to the top, the summer is over. We both thought that the tundra would be more flat, but there are many rolling hills and lakes surrounding us.















Here we are (duh)--standing on the beach a few feet from our home. Yes, Janna has coffee and Nick is carrying all the gear. Nothing has changed :)

We hiked up a hill to get this picture of our village. It was our first real exercise of the summer and quite painful. This was made more strenuous by the fact that walking on the tundra is like walking on a sponge. Science guy (Nick: "It's physics, man") says that this is because the formation of ice crystals entails an expanding effect which forces the surface layer of soil upwards. All the teachers here appreciate these pearls of wisdom from young Cliff Claven.















The day was extraordinarily sunny, nearly 75 degrees. We are told that this weather can be expected throughout most of this year. We are really looking forward to our year round tans. Please send care packages with sunscreen and cocoa butter. And aloe vera.

This is a view from the same bluff. The tundra here is covered with lakes and marshy areas. Sadly, there are no fish in the lakes because they freeze in the winter. This will also hinder Janna's plans for a year round early morning swim club.

Our new home is wonderful. We are so happy and comfortable. Aunt Jemima herself would be proud to make pancakes in this kitchen. Actually, we were pleasantly surprised that the Native Store has just about everything you could possibly need.

Our Kitchen. Important because two out of Nick's three favorite pasttimes are eating.
Here is the worst part of the deal. The view from our living room (and bedroom)..........

As you can see, we are REALLY lucky.

So far it is getting dark around midnight and light around........ well, way before we get up. This is a picture of our first sunset. Apparently you can see the Northern Lights from here come October. So come on up and we'll show you.

Our living room is really cozy. All that is missing is a couple of our friends (and a few wine glasses).

We are excited to be here--and wish you all to come and visit us (we do have a spare bedroom)! We are taking reservations at hotel Padiere (pod-e-yay).

We miss you all and will keep you posted!