Snowmobiling

Eric trying to ice fish on the Johnson River

Trying to ice fish

A Russian Orthodox church

Basketball court

The village store

Pike drying outside a house in Napaskiak

The school in Napaskiak

A steam house in Napaskiak, Alaska

Eric and I went snowmobiling today. We rode out to the village of Napaskiak which is 5 miles down river. The village store did not have much food to choose from. They did not have any fresh produce, milk, cheese or eggs. They had some frozen vegetables, and lots of canned stuff. They also had lots of frozen pizzas, burritos, hotdogs, etc. In the village milk is either powdered or canned. Most of the food was expired, and was priced 10 times at what you pay in the lower 48.

I am standing by a steam bath house. Steams are a big part of the culture here. Since water is scarce, this is how most people cleanse themselves. From a medical standpoint, they are a cesspool of bacteria. The steambaths are made of wood, they are not cleaned or disinfected, and people go in there in the nude - with no barrier. People here suffer from boils like you would not believe. Many of the hospital inpatients are there for treatment of an infection that resulted from a boil.

Eric and I decided to try out ice fishing for pike. We did not have any equipment, but that does not matter. All you need is a stick, some rope and a hook. We gave it a try for about an hour, but we did not catch anything. It was pretty cold, and I was ready to head back. The temps were hovering around 10 below zero, which wasn't too bad since the wind wasn't blowing.