Payback From Wayback

Wow have I neglected this thing or what? Last time I posted I was on the verge of getting a really nasty cold, the Chefornak strain. Since that post, my travels have gone like this:
Chefornak>Bethel>Anchorage>Chicago>Madison>Los Angeles>Madison>Chicago>Anchorage>Bethel>Toksook Bay.

There's alot I could have said about each leg of that journey, but I've let it slide. Sometimes once a memory isn't so recent, it's hard to elaborate upon it. Especially in a blog.

From Chefornak all the way to Chicago went smoothly aside from being sick. For those not in the know, going up and down in an airplane when you have a bad sinus problem makes it feel like your ears will explode out the side of your head.

Once I got to Madison I began feeling better. Maybe it was a big bowl of homemade chili that did the trick. As always, Christmas break was terrific. I spent time with not all, but many of my friends and family that I love and miss. Ate many tasty meals. I got to bowl a few nights in my old bowling league. I got to see the Badgers play basketball, hockey, and football. That's right, football.

The Rendall family took a little trip out to Pasadena to watch Bucky lose to the horned frogs. We had a heck of a nice time being together as a family on a trip for the first time in about 20 years, and yes, saying that does indeed make me feel old. Some things we did out in LALA land were: took a tour of the city, where we saw many star studded sites including this one at the Chinese Theatre.

And down the streed a spell was this gigantic macaroni noodle...


Of course, it wasn't all noodles and concrete out there. We visited Universal Studios, which was much cooler than I had hoped. We went to the Rose Parade, where we saw many things, including this thing:



I'd post a pic from the game, but, well, you probably saw it on TV, and we lost, and it's still...it's just too early. But here we all are before the loss:

And we did get to see this guy:

So all in all, a good time. Last two pics, to give credit where it's due, were stolen from sister Janine's facebook.

Not long after the return from LA it was time to fly back up here to AK. That meant getting up really early, along with Dad (thanks Dad!) and putting the truck away, catching a bus to Chicago, and having another long plane ride to Anchorage.

There in Ted Stevens Int'l, watching the Packers trounce the Eagles, I ran into John, a former TO resident who has since retired and moved on to greener pastures. So neat to catch up with an old friend unexpectedly like that.

My plan was to head right on out here to Toksook Bay (Nelson Island School, home of the Islanders) a day or two after getting back to Bethel, but the weather just wasn't having it. The plans got all bumped back a week. Fortunately I had built into my schedule some flexibility for such weather related events, as they are a simple fact of life out here as an itinerant. Here's a little example:

After I got out here, I decided to head in for the next weekend, as a coworker and I were scheming a caribou hunt, probably the last opportunity for the year on that endeavor. But the weather had to go and change, thwarting those plans. I watched the Packers that Sunday dispatch the Bears, knowing I wouldn't be heading to Toksook Bay that afternoon as I had planned. Wanna know why? Because the weather in Toksook had a SMALL CHILD WARNING!! No, not as in the context of raining cats and dogs. Oh no, the warning was against having small children outside because it was so windy, they could be blown away. I can't make this stuff up, folks.

Things are going ok here at NIS, although schedules are full of bumps and unforseens. A good night's sleep is hard to come by, too. This week I will head to Bethel to judge for FIRST robotics competition, then head back here to conclude classes. Oh, and don't worry, I will be watching the big game in Bethel. And I will be putting on a Wisconsin spread for the occasion. You know....cheese, Johnsonville brats. Go Packers.

Following that, I'll do a little ice road truckin', and then be a daily commuter to Napaskiak. I'm looking forward to that stint, as it will afford opportunities to put some miles on the Ski Doo, and put some ptarmigan meat on the table. Mmmmmmm, ptarmigan.

Waq-aa From Chaputnguak School

So here I am in Chefornak, CYF, Home of the Shamans with what could be the last post of the semester. It's flown right by just as they all do.

I'm enjoying being back in Chefornak, and have really enjoyed catching up with the people I met and taught here two years ago. I have a couple of small but hard-working and dedicated classes of students to work with in my short time remaining.

I haven't made it out to get any photos lately due to a littany of excuses, ranging from it being pitch dark out, it's a blizzard, it's cold, or my latest and greatest excuse, I don't feel good. That's right, I finally caught the crud and hopefully I get it shook before heading home.

Hopefully too I can get out to take in some of the sunrises/sunsets here, because Chefornak has some of the best around. Likewise, I'm looking forward to the meteor shower Monday night. AND most of all, looking forward to seeing friends and family in Wisconsin!!

Turkey and Ketchup

So hopefully you all enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast as good as what we had yesterday. You wouldn't suppose that a bachelor pad like ours would put on a such a good Thanksgiving spread. Some folks assume a house full of bachelors doesn't even have Thanksgiving dinner but of course we do, and we do it up well. The trick is to have many pitch in and make what they are good at, and have guests that can make dessert. This year I decided to call up Mom and get a couple recipes from her to help our feast seem more like what I remember from back home. The corn hot dish was great, and my first crack at making real homemade gravy was a big hit. Add to that a carefully made 20 lb turkey with bratwurst stuffing, persimmon pudding, pumpkin desserts, green beans, garlic bread, locally grown mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce, and it all adds up, we ate like kings. No ketchup on the turkey of course. That's for the after dinner conversation, catching up....

I came in from Newtok with a sore back, empty camera and heavy heart. Sore back just from sleeping on an air mattress for weeks. Empty camera, much to my dismay, because I thought I'd forgotten it at home. Here it turns out I put it in the pocket of a pair of blue jeans I never got around to wearing. So there were lots of pics I would have liked to take but it didn't work out. Too bad because I could have shown the difference 2 years worth of erosion makes from last time I was out there. Walking out to The Point is a lot shorter of a hike these days. And there would have been what I think is a hilarious photo session in the school kitchen, but once again, you can't take pictures with a camera you don't know you have.

The heavy heart came from a total disaster there where a man and his two sons lost their lives when their machine went through the ice near the village. Although I didn't know the man, and the little boys I'd only met in the halls, nobody with an ounce of humanity in their heart wouldn't have felt anguish at the thought of what had occurred. I don't know how else to put it other than it was a sad, sad deal.

Back in Bethel it seemed winter had officially arrived, and I got the Ski Doo ready to ride. I got to take it to work 3 times before the weather got warm and it started to rain, wrecking all the snow and turning the close-to-being-safe Kuskokwim into more of a pre-breakup state. The hoped-for Thanksgiving caribou hunt wasn't to be, and as such, I see no opportunities on the near horizon. I don't mind winter weather, but I'd like for it to make up its mind and simply be winter, freeze up solid and let the fun begin.

From here, the next step is to make it to Chefornak this Sunday. It proved a challenge this past mini-week which is why I'm still here. With luck I'll get out Sunday, work classes in high-gear, and make it back to Bethel in time to catch my jet home. It won't be long at all now before I get to share big hugs with dear family and friends. If you're among those I'll be seeing soon, then I'm looking forward to it more than you know. I'll try to have another ketchup from Chefornak before heading back to Wisconsin. Hopefully with pics next time.

Take care, be safe, and as always....Go Badgers.

Return of the Itinerant

Yes, people, I am back in Bethel. Back from Goodnews Bay, GNU, Home of the Bears. With my job, time really does fly. It feels like I just got out there, and that was 3 1/2 weeks ago. Already I'm back, with much work to do, and looking forward to my next journey, a return to Newtok.

Classes went decently, despite the fact that it's "Dividend Season" right now. Local readers will know what I mean, while people from Outside may not. October 7 was the magical date when the PFD dividends came out. When that happens, any number of things start to happen. For a teacher, it means that you're bound to have people missing from class sporadically because they go travel with the new money. You also may have students who are tired and sleepless because the dividend money was being drank in their house the night before. Despite these distractions we made some positive headway in class. Here are some of my Bear students working on a class project last Saturday. We welded a railing back into place in the school which had been cut out previously to allow room to move a large object up the steps.


Of course I found time to get out and do things outside at Goodnews too. Myself and Paul made several trips out on waterfowl hunts. We never had a big day, but never came back skunked either. Here's his dog Stella, having dutifully fetched for me my first mallard, a drake.

He's thawing out downstairs along with a few other ducks. I'm going to try out a tasty recipe involving duck breasts and jalapenos tomorrow, and am looking forward to it.

Last weekend my friend Dirk came and joined us out in Goodnews as well. He's a fly fishing aficionado and had contacted Paul and came out to experience the Goodnews River. Saturday I had to sit out, since I had classes going on. Sunday however, we had a great (albeit a bit chilly) trip up river quite a ways. It was a crisp morning boat ride, with shell ice on some of the banks, ice gleaming on low hanging branches from dipping/spray in the river. We saw lots of birds zipping around, deciding if it's time to stay or go, several eagles, and a brute of a brown bear. Once we arrived at the fishing hole, we were all stoked about the great boat ride, and agreed that the trip was worthwhile even if we got skunked fishing. (Which of course we did not!) We brought back a pile of dolly varden, and a few random rainbows and arctic grayling were also caught. I caught this beauty of a "dolly" on that day as well as 11 smaller ones. Looking forward to seeing them on my plate soon too.

My departure was Friday, and I wasn't so sure I'd get to Bethel at all. Bethel was fogged in most of the day. Saturday was forecast to be super windy, which held up it's end on that deal. I was a little worried, not that I didn't want to be out there anymore, but I really wanted to make it back so I could watch the Badgers beat up on Ohio State. Luckily I made it and didn't miss a play. And in my PO box was waiting for me my very own dividend check from Governor Sean Parnell. Quyana, Sean!!

What am I going to do with it? Buy plane tickets, of course.

The Right Place At The Right Time

So this past Tuesday I flew back out to Goodnews Bay, this time on LKSD's dime, since I'm out here to get work done. I started classes on Wednesday, so we're basically just getting the ball rolling. I'm already excited about a couple of projects that lie ahead for my welding class. Some of my students are more excited about it than others. A couple are so excited they follow me around the school asking all kinds of questions, anxious about when they'll get to do this or that sort of welding activity. I hope that enthusiasm holds up when I put them to work on some metal fabrication.

I'm making an effort to eat better "itinerant food" this year. Packing up 3 weeks worth of chow in a box can mean taking in tons of salt, preservatives and lots of other not so good things. There's no getting around some of that, but I'm thinking that with a little smarter shopping and prep-ahead, I'll be doing the body some small favors.

Of course, me being me and all, it's not all work and no play out here in Goodnews. Thursday evening my friend Paul and I took his boat a little ways up the Goodnews River and set out a spread of goose, duck, and swan decoys. Unfortunately, that night the birds were moving, but we only got one to come within range. That one flew off safely, although he might have soiled his feathers for fear of the racket and steel balls whizzing past him.

When we got back to the village and were trailering up the boat, Paul apologized for the evening's lousy hunting. But check out these pictures I snapped from where I was sitting waiting for birds, and you'll see why I laughed and said the hunt was fine with me. And these you can click for bigness.

To one side was the river's mouth and the small ridge of mountains lit up by the low-level light of the setting sun, hovered by flying-saucer clouds.



To the other side was a real eyeball exploding event...the setting sun chasing, catching, and hiding behind Beluga Mountain. (named so because from the side it is shaped like a...)






So yeah, we didn't catch any birds Thursday. I'm kind of glad, though, because if the hunting had been good I wouldn't had time to sit back, take in and ponder the beauty the evening had to offer.

Don't Die With A Quiver Full Of Arrows

This blog has been a quiet place for months. I suppose most readers I had have given up on me and moved on. It's not that I haven't had stories to tell, just none I really felt compelled to broadcast to the world. So if you're still out there reading, here's a story for you and a simple thought to ponder.

For those not in the know, I flew back here to Bethel, AK on August 8th, landed in the cool rain and got to work the following day. It was awesome to see all my friends back home at the Tundra Oasis, and equally good to catch up with the friends I've made throughout the school district over the past two years at our district-wide inservice. I learned that all summer long, the weather was pretty much the same as I was seeing-rain, wind, and gray skies.

Soon enough, the two-day inservice drew to a close and I ran several sorties in an LKSD Suburban, transferring teachers out to the air carriers where they could embark on another (or their first) school year here. It was kind of bittersweet, knowing it would be some time before I got to see these fine folks again. It was time to get to the real work. The rain continued...

The "real work" is starting a bit differently this season. Normally I'd have shipped off to this or that village and started doing my itinerant routine after a week or so in town. This fall I've been positioned in Bethel, where I'm assisting with a building project at the local high school. Additionally, I've been teaching a welding class at the Bethel Youth Facility, the place where I ended out last school year putting on a Drivers Ed class. It's all well and good, but it's a change. I'm not used to spending this much time in Bethel, or in a town this size at all for that matter. City life just isn't really my thing.

I came to town this fall with aspirations of filling up a freezer with fish and birds, enjoying the harvests and our beautiful late summer days. But, not many people I knew were going out. Due to high waters and a reported "strange" run on the coho salmon, fishing reports were poor. Due to limited Bethel contacts, and some with malfunctioning equipment, fishing and bird hunting opportunities were scarce. Meanwhile I toil on in my work, feeling like I should be "out there" in the villages, doing what I do. Increasingly on my mind with each day are the friends and family I left behind back in Wisconsin. Could it be homesickness? I had a terrific summer and I miss it already. I become restless, tired from sleeping poorly at night and anxious with thoughts questioning the validity of this early autumn. And of course, it rains.

Closing in on Labor Day weekend with no plans besides rusting in the Bethel rain, I converse with my friend Paul out in Goodnews Bay, and we hatch a brilliant plan: I'll pack the gear, guns, and fishing rod, and fly on out there for a nice long weekend of hunting and fishing. The words "just what the doctor ordered" probably never fit so well.

I climbed aboard the Cessna 207, just the pilot and I, my gear, and a plane full of cargo being delivered to the village. The wind was really ripping on the coast, so the pilot opted for a different flight path bringing us up over the mountains that are to the east of Quinhagak and cutting over to Goodnews Bay that way, instead of taking a beating in the coastal winds on the usual bay cut-across route. He tells me this when he notices me peering over at the altimiter and watching it tick higher and higher. Eventually we reach a height of 4,600 feet, and are still not above the clouds where I know the mountains lurk. It was smooth sailing though, and soon enough we were over goodnews bay, where the pilot banked hard and corkscrewed us down towards the water to set us up for a landing. Approaching the airport, I could see my friends Chris and Amanda walking with their dogs and their baby boy, waving to me as I swooped in. I could see Paul on his four wheeler waiting to pick me up at the airport. I was already feeling good to be in a friendly place, and I wasn't even off the plane yet. Talking about the flight later on the river, Paul reminded me of the Far Side comic where they talk about the funny clouds with mountain goats in them. Fortunately, no rocky clouds today. As an aside, I have to say The Far Side has got to be bar none the funniest comic of all times.

After a little time to unload gear and settle in to my little shack, myself, Paul, and a student headed up river and got into some dandy salmon fishing. I don't want to make this a bragging board but I might as well show a picture of this brute coho I landed that day.


Later on as we gutted and cleaned the day's catch, we reminisced about the aggressive brown bear that harassed us last year. I pondered whether the borrowed .45 I had on my chest would be enough gun to dispatch such a bear if it became necessary. Paul's advice was "well, as they say, don't go die with a quiver full of arrows."

The next day we decided to focus on the waterfowl instead of the fish. We set out a spread of decoys and waited for the geese, Canadian cacklers and white-fronts. I'm happy to have finally bagged some, instead of having the birds fly off laughing at my efforts. It was a great hunt for me, despite the fact that we were sitting in the rain getting soaked, and didn't catch a ton of birds. It was a thrill to be out taking in the scenery, and watching Stella (Paul's Chesapeake Bay retriever) work on fetching us birds.


Sunday we decided to head back up river in some iffy weather and work on putting up some more salmon. Our perseverance was rewarded by calming winds, clearing and partially sunny skies, warmer weather and a nice catch of salmon. We even got a nice look at a good sized brown bear on the ride back to the village.

On Monday I caught the last flight into Bethel in gray rainy skies and dodgy flying weather. On that bumpy plane ride, for some reason I got to thinking back to our river discussion...that one about the quiver of arrows. I started thinking more and more about how it doesn't just apply to battlefield enemies, or throwing chunks of lead at an attacking bear. It's life. Everybody's got a full quiver of arrows. The real battles in life are in the day to day trenches, the challenges you face in your professional and your personal life. Your arrows are the good things that get you through it feeling whole and well on the inside. But they don't do you any good on your back...

For me, I was starting to feel kind of down and out, missing my loved ones, missing out on what I wanted to be doing, so I knocked an arrow and aimed for a weekend of hunting and fishing, "river therapy" in some pristine land.

And you know what? Despite the fact that it's a cold day here in Bethel, so windy that the rain is blowing sideways, and I spent the whole day in an inservice, and my truck is sitting at the office with a flat tire....I feel pretty darn good about things.

Thursday Night Sympony

Last night at around 130 AM I took a trip out to the outhouse. The air was as still as gear oil and about 55 Fahrenheit. My ears picked up on the faint call of loons on a distant lake. Soon the song was joined by calls from another pair on another lake. The song built to an eerie echoing crescendo that would have to be heard to be believed. As the echoes repeated and died away, responses came from two other directions, two other lakes. Before long there was a long distance, 4 way instant messenger filling the still night air. The calls gained intensity until the woods was ringing, absolutely ringing with the loon song. After reaching an apex of sorts, the residual echoes hopped through the forest as though on pogo sticks, leaving behind complete silence. I’ve heard plenty of loons in the night but never anything like this.

Summer in the Northwoods, life is good.