Adventures in Alaska: Cross Country & Eating Whale

Here is a giant rainbow over our house after a rain shower. We are in the duplex on the left.

I almost lost my left shoe at cross country practice one day. It got stuck in the mud.

We do a break down at the end of every practice. 1, 2, 3, Braves!!!

Our junior high meet was scheduled for Saturday. At school on Thursday, around 10am we got a phone call... surprise, the meet is rescheduled for today! Send your athletes home to pack and be ready for your plane in an hour.

So, we did just that. The kids ran home to pack and we loaded up the van to go to the airport.

We rode in a 9 passenger caravan to the cross country meet in St. Mary's.

Excited for the 40 minute plane ride.

See you later Alakanuk!

Crossing over the Yukon River, our village is on the left.

Here are some pictures of the marshlands and tundra.

The tundra is starting to turn a golden yellow, a sign that winter is coming.

On the left, there is a small camp by the water.
Some people camp out at these while they moose hunt.

Tons of white birds on the left side of the water.

We are getting closer to St. Mary's because there are small mountains.

The bottom right corner tells how far you are from the destination.
Here, it shows that we are 3.3 miles away from St. Mary's.

This is the road that connects St. Mary's to Mountain Village.

Making a sharp turn for landing.

St. Mary's airport, a major hub for the ERA Aviation flights out to smaller villages.

We got picked up by the short bus to take us over to St. Mary's school.

I bet you could make some money up here with a car wash business.

Some of our kids said it was their first time on a bus.

We stayed in the elementary school gym before the race.

The girls team getting a pep talk from Coach Nathan.

Walking to the start line.

The start of the junior high girls race. The course was 2 miles long, one mile down a hill, then a turn around and one mile back up the hill.

Two of our girls, in the middle, racing in the last 100 meters.

One of our junior high boys on the left battling Hooper Bay for 2nd place. He did get 2nd by a step, and the other boy placed 3rd.

Team picture

Go Braves!

Awards ceremony

After the meet we walked to St. Mary's AC store.

The Alaska State Troopers housing units.

The AC store

Fresh produce!

Expensive fresh produce!

Shopping around

They had a DVD rental section

Looking out at the clear water next to the store.

Walking back to the school, up hill.

They have their own trash service.

The playground had swings!

Planes flying in and out of St. Mary's busy hub.

Packing up to go home.

When we got back, we had the opportunity to try beluga "white" whale. Only natives can hunt them for subsistence living.

The whales mainly eat salmon, which is why we find them in the Yukon River and Bering Sea.

The white part on top is the skin, and the bottom is fat. The custom is to eat it raw, so here is a raw piece of whale.

Nathaniel ate his piece. I had trouble chewing it up, but hey, I tried.

In class, I had my students make posters advertising the short stories we had read last week.

EASY CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients: 2 cans mixed vegetables, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 3 cans cooked chicken, 1 c. Bisquick, 1/2 c. milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 400. Mix in large bowl: 2 cans mixed vegetables (drained), 2 cans cream of chicken soup, and 3 cans shredded cooked chicken (drained). Spread in a 9 x 13 dish.