Breakup

Breakup has arrived in Bethel!  The winter was long and, we hear, one of the coldest in recent history, so the sight of flowing water in the river is very welcome!

Here is the river when we heard breakup was just beginning:

Here it is 24 hours later:

People waste no time getting out on the boats, either.

We are included in that bunch.  We've already been out a couple of times, just for some short rides that preview what is in store for the summer ahead.  It feels like a new place here, with the sunshine staying out late into the night, warmer weather, and people out and about enjoying the new feeling in the air.

Our Furry Little Beast

Just about a year ago exactly we brought home this furry little gal.

She was so little and precious.  Now she's a monster!  But a friendly one at that.  It's crazy how much she's grown and how fast time has flown!

A New Craft Table

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron made me a craft table completely out of scrap wood.  We've been antsy toward the end of this cold winter, and the extended sunlight we are accruing each day has given us new and invigorated energy to do some things.  This was one of the ideas we came up with for something different and productive.  It's like we're already preparing for activities next winter with the many days we'll be cozied up inside looking for some things to do!  A craft table is a good first step to get us back into our hobbies.  I want to get back into sewing and learn how to do some new things with that as well as continue working on my photography projects.  Even Aaron is planning on using the table for fly tying, gun cleaning, and drawing.  After  looking at some different designs and the type and amount of wood available, we decided on a great table.  Aaron worked so hard, and with a few touch-ups we did together, it turned out great!

The happy carpenter  

I love these tongue and groove wood panels Aaron decided to use for the table top

The before effect

And the final product

We decided to stain the top with a dark finish and paint the rest white, and I think it looks awesome.  It's definitely not a new spic and span table, but it's going to get its fair share of wear and tear along the way anyway. We got so excited about the table that we actually turned an entire room in the house into our "hobby room" with the table as the centerpiece.  This new addition probably won't get much use in the near future as we hope most of our time will be spent outside this summer on our boat, but we'll break it in on a few rainy days and definitely get a lot of use out of it next winter.  I'm just so proud of my crafty and thoughtful husband!

In other news, this weekend was a good one.  We started off Saturday by going to a gardening seminar to learn how it all works here in Bethel, Alaska.  We rented a row in the community garden this year for a total of $5 and hope to grow some good stuff during the short but intense growing season here.  Managing a garden here is very different than what we are accustomed to, so it will be interesting to see how well we execute what we've learned about the unique growing environment here.  We also went to Saturday Market (the local market where lots of native crafts are bought and sold as well as other fun tables are set up).  We haven't been there since the holiday season, so it was fun to go back and see what's new.  We ended the day by catching up and hanging out with our good friends, Brenda and Russell.  We used our grill for the first time this season and enjoyed some good chats together.  We're looking forward to many more to come!

Sunday afternoon was spent prepping for a sale we're going to have next Saturday.  A family recently moved out of Bethel and left some stuff at the parsonage, so we're going to have a fundraiser for the youth group.  We also made a strawberry rhubarb pie from scratch tonight, and it tasted oh so good.  

Spring is definitely in the air, as we are quickly thinking of lots of new projects to work on and things we want to do now that we don't have to cover every inch of our body with at least two layers when we step foot outside the door.  The tundra is re-emerging and the snow is quickly disappearing.  The transformation is so incredible to see!

From bunny Boots to Muck Boots

From Bunny Boots to Muck Boots!

In Bethel, the main footwear year-round consists of two different types of boots. First, Bunny Boots, also known as Mickey Mouse Boots, are the boot of choice for the harsh Bethel winters. They are rated to keep your feet warm even in temperatures of -60 degrees and conveniently slip on and off without much effort. There is no need to tie and untie them and there stylish looks are unmatched by any boot. (See picture below) Secondly, Muck Boots, are the boot of choice for the spring, summer, and fall. They provide enough warmth for cooler weather and are ideal for muddy conditions, something that Bethel is known for.

As I was putting away my Bunny Boots and shopping for a new pair of Muck Boots, I was reflecting on how this was a sure sign of spring. We find ourselves with renewed energy with the arrival of spring. The winter has been long, with subzero temperatures for the last 6-7 months, but spring is here. The last several weeks have been in the high 20’s and even 30’s at times. And with the warm up means more outside activities.

The warm weather brings with it ptarmigan and waterfowl and that means hunting. Over the last several weeks, we have been going out ptarmigan hunting with friends. Roxanna and I have also had a few ptarmigan hunting dates where she drives the snow machines and I shoot. It has been great fun and our freezer is slowly filling up with ptarmigan meat, soon to be jerky. We have also given many ptarmigan away to elders in the community who are no longer able to get out. We are still waiting for the geese and ducks, but they will be here soon!

Unfortunately we have been unable to bring Kiah with hunting, being that we were on snow machines, but this past weekend we got the idea that we should take her for a ride somehow. We borrowed a friend’s sled and Rox and Kiah rode in the sled behind the snow machine. We drove out to a friend’s fish camp a couple miles outside Bethel where we had a fire, with hot dogs, brats, and smoreos! (you use oreos instead of Hershey’s and graham crackers for smores) Kiah enjoyed running through the snow all afternoon and we enjoyed some time out in the country. What a wonderful day.

I cannot express how welcome spring has been. It has given us a renewed energy and a sense of great joy for the summer that lies ahead. Before we know it the salmon will be running, the berries will be ripe, and we will be reaping the benefits!

We are also looking forward to those who are coming to visit us up here in Bethel. At times its tough knowing how far we are from friends and family so it means so much to us for people to come and visit us this summer.

There is so much more to share, but this will have to do for now. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Kiah's 1st Birthday and a Taste of Spring!

At the beginning of this month, we celebrated Kiah's 1st birthday! It's hard to believe that we have had her for almost that long already. She has been a lot of work, but she has certainly gotten us off the couch during this long cold winter to enjoy some time outside together. So it was only appropriate to spend the day in her favorite place-outside.

Starting with a walk.

And some play time on the tundra with her favorite toy.

Showing off her tricks learned in the past year

Ending the day with a leisurely drive on the ice road. This is the Kuskokwim River in March. They plow the road all winter long, and it's a common way to travel between villages until it thaws and turns into boat traffic!

This was supposed to be a nice family picture, but clearly there is still some puppy in this girl. She likes to break these little "trees" in half just for the fun of it.

It was so good to spend the day outside to get some fresh air and sun! We haven't quite gotten the early spring everyone else has. When it was 80 degrees in the Chicago-area, it was -20 here. But now it's up to 20 or 30 degrees during the day, which feels like a regular heavy winter coat is totally unwarranted. I will never look at winter weather the same. Plus, it's stays light until well past 9:00 at night, almost 10:00 at this point. So we're on the up and out!

Tidbits About a Bethel Winter

A few tidbits about wintertime here:

1. The darkness is really no big deal. At least not for us. Everyone from back home always wonders what it's like to experience the winter darkness up here, but honestly, we haven't noticed it that much. Sure, it's dark when we wake up in the morning and go to work, but it's dark like that a lot of places across the U.S. during the winter months. The sun doesn't rise right now until between 10:30 and 11:00, but it already stays up well past 5:00 at night. I don't think it gets really dark until 6:30 or so. The gain in darkness and then light after December 21st is so much faster here than elsewhere that you hardly get used to the amount of darkness before it starts staying lighter longer. We're already on the upswing for gaining more light!

2. The moon here is unlike any place we have ever lived. Not only can you see it throughout most of the day when it's clear; when it's dark, the moon looks huge and as if you could just reach out and grab it because it's so clear. A lot of time in the dark morning, the moon is hovering really close to the horizon rather than high in the sky, and it just lights up the white winter tundra.

3. Everywhere else in the U.S. may not be having a cold winter, but we sure are! The month of January set a record here in Bethel for the most cold days in a row in recorded history. The average temp was -17 degrees F. http://kyuk.org/bethel-experiences-record-cold-for-january/. That's not including windchill. Most of the month windchill made it feel like -30 to -50 degrees. So our first winter in Bethel has been a milestone weather year! If we can make it through this one, I think we'll be fine. Today we had a heat wave though! It's +30 and feels like +14. It's amazing how warm that feels after having the bitter cold for so long.

Entertainment in Bethel

Bethel, Alaska is not known for being an entertainment destination, but just recently we had one of the biggest and most entertaining events that Bethel has to offer, the Kuskokwim 300. It is a 300 mile race that begins and ends here in Bethel which draws some of the biggest names in the sport of mushing. This year’s racers included Lance Mackey (four consecutive wins in the Iditarod 2007-2010), Josh Baker (last year’s Iditarod champion), Martin Buser (also a four time Iditarod champion), and local legend Mike Williams Sr. (finished 14 Iditarod races). The winner of the race ended up being Rohn Buser who was the second youngest to ever win the race at 22 years of age. These are just some of the many racers who were competing in this year’s race. Rox and I ventured out on to the river to watch the racers take off and then enjoyed the fireworks that followed, and I must say, the race lived up to my expectations. It made me want to be a dog sled racer and race in the K300. Maybe next year! Kiah will be my lead dog. This was truly an exciting weekend and we had great fun!