Alaska Trip--April 09

This trip was as is every other trip--an adventure! It started with my being delayed by 3 days because of an active volcano just outside of Anchorage, that was spewing ash. Flights were not going into Anchorage. Fortunately, I was still in Salt lake when they started cancelling flights (and not in some other city), so I was able to go home and wait. Once I finally got there, it was business as usual. This trip took me to 5 villages (4 of which I have been to before). They were Togiak, Manakotak, New Stuyahok, Dillingham, and Naknek. Here are a few of the highlights:




My first flight from Anchorage to Togiak took us directly pass the volcano--Redoubt. We had to go around it the long way, so as to avoid the ash. Here's a shot from out my window. We were pretty close.









In New Stuyahok I had the opportunity to watch a village Elder skin an otter. He brought it into the local school so the students could watch him. He just flopped it on the ground on a piece of cardboard, and went to work.
I asked the teacher how they got the otter, and she said, "Oh, we chased it down this morning on our way in to work, and ran it over with the snow machine." Not quite what I had imagined the answer would be. But I guess they have road-kill here too!




In Manakotak, a patient said she was going ice fishing that afternoon, and that they would bring us some back if they were successful. Well, they were. They charged us $40.00 for 3 beautiful rainbow trout. Unfortunately, they weren't delivered cleaned and cooked, with a side of vegetables, and a loaf of home-made bread. It was all up to us to clean and cook them. On a funnier note, Sach and I were right in the middle of cleaning the fish (hands covered with blood and a bloody butcher knife in our hands), when a patient from earlier in the day came back to ask us something. They took a look at us and their eyes got as big as saucers. I guess we did look a little like crazed maniacs.




Here I am waiting at the "airport", standing on the side of the run-way, waiting for our plane to come and get us. Global warming is pretty obvious, isn't it?










Flying to one of the villages I noticed a herd of moose down below us. I tried to get my camera out to take some pictures before we passed them. The pilot noticed what I was doing (since I was sitting next to him in the co-pilot's seat) and asked if I wanted a better angle. So he circled the plane around and got a little lower to the ground, so I could get this picture. They're still pretty small, but there were at least 16 moose just laying down there in the snow. I also saw a bear about 5 minutes later along the river, but I didn't get my camera out soon enough, I didn't dare ask the pilot to turn around again.

Signs that Spring is in the air--the ice over the rivers is starting to crack. This trip was a little warmer than the last--upper 20s to low 30s. Beats 20 to 30 below zero from the last trip.