Around town in Bethel

The video store. We don't have a movie theater here, so we must wait for movies to come out on DVD. You can rent a movie for 3 bucks.

A view of the AC parking lot in May.

Another parking lot view. This is why break-up boots are a must have in the bush.

Banana prices in Bethel. I remember when they were $.39/pound in the lower 48.....

The cereal and cracker isle at AC.

Pilot crackers, a popular food in the bush. They taste like stale saltines to me.

Milk prices in Bethel.....

Mouthwash is kept behind the counter in the bush. It contains alcohol, and people drink it.

Bethel's grocery store - AC .

This is our "main street" in down town Bethel.

Here's our truck

This is the 800 Building - the apartment complex for YK employees.

Springtime??? The Kuskokwim River is still frozen and it's May 4th..... I'm off to warmer temps.
I decided to take some pictures around downtown Bethel. As you can see, we have a variety of activities to choose from.... The grocery prices blow me away. Many of the villagers buy their food in Bethel since it is so much cheaper than in the village store. That's scary.

This is spring time in Bethel. It means lots of mud. There are no car washes in Bethel, and water is too expensive to waste on washing cars. I have to be careful getting in and out of my truck so that I don't get mud all over my pants. I also wear break up boots or shoes I don't mind getting dirty around town. You don't want to wear nice shoes here - they will get all gunked up.

I love the picture of the mouth wash behind the counter. Bethel is a damp community. What that means is that you can buy alcohol in Anchorage and ship it here, but you can not buy it in Bethel. The law here also regulates how much alcohol a person can ship in per month. And let me tell you, they keep track of it. My friend Janna checks what is shipped in every day - she works for the troopers, and that is her job. People here are so hard up for alcohol, that they will drink almost everything from hairspray to mouth wash. It's pretty sad. The AC grocery store is the local hangout, and I always get a contact high just from walking in. There are so many drunk people congregating in front of the AC, and they always hit people up for money. All I can do is laugh. The AC is also where "deals" go down. Eric and I have witnessed people buying alcohol by the side of the store. That is illegal here, but it is tough to catch. Alcohol is banned from the villages, but just about everyone knows how to make "home brew."

Anyway, I'm off to Anchorage today, then to Utah for Lee's USU graduation. I hope to experience some warmer temperatures! Eric is in Nome, and won't be able to come with me. We are going to meet in Anchorage when I get back.

Winter Fun

The girls - Jessica, Lisa, Courtney, Me, Janna, and Carolina. Napakiak, Alaska

Here we are in Napakiak, Alaska Today, the girls decided to have a girls day out (Eric was allowed to come). We took our snowmobiles out on the frozen river to some of the surrounding villages. Everyone looked at us, as we "drove" into the villages. I know they were thinking "crazy white people!" It was a great time. The weather was much warmer that usual - at 20 degrees. That felt like a heat wave compared to sub zero temps.

I don't know how to drive the snowmobile very well, so I was glad Eric was here. Our machine is made for the powder of Utah, but it has worked pretty well in Bethel. I guess Bethel had more snow than usual, so we could ride our machine.

We stopped at the trading post in Napakiak, which is just like a 7-11, but with no gasoline. You can buy groceries and other small items. The prices were unbelievably high, but I was amazed at how much they had. I also noticed a box of these mushroom/fungus looking things. I learned that was called punk to make iqmik - which is a type of chew. Just about every man, woman, and yes even children use iqmik. They burn the punk, and add it to Copenhagen chew. It's pretty gross. As I said, everybody chews here. People are constantly spitting around town - and it's totally gross.

After the trading post, we had to find a bathroom which is not easy in a village. Villages do not have running water, and most homes still use a "honey bucket". A honey bucket is a plastic bucket with a seat attached. When the bucket is filled with waste, it must be dumped out. Each village has a place to dump the human waste, but most people just dump it outside. We decided to go to the washiteria to find a restroom. I could not believe at the price to do a load of laundry - it will cost you over 10 dollars to do one load! You can imagine the stares we received as a group of rowdy white girls tromp to the bathroom. Once we were finished, we all got back on our snowmobiles and headed home.

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.

Walrus in Nome

Walrus on the sea ice

Bering Sea

A view from the air - outside of Nome. These are some pictures Eric took while he was in Nome. People eat walrus and use their tusks to make jewelry. I'm sure they use the skin for something - as nothing is wasted. Whenever Eric lands in one of the villages, people come up and ask him if he wants to buy any ivory. It is illegal for a Non-Alaskan Native to have a walrus tusk in their possession. However, an Alaska Native can sign a tusk and sell it to a Non-Native. They cost anywhere from $1,500 - $2,000 per tusk. I have told Eric to be on the lookout for an ivory bracelet. I think that would be a neat thing to have from here.

Flying in Nome

A view from the cockpit.

Eric delivering bales of straw to the Iditarod mushers.

The 1900 in Nome, Alaska

Passengers boarding the plane in Savoonga, Alaska.

Passenger waiting for the plane in Savoonga. This is what 50 below zero looks like. Eric works in Nome, Alaska every 16-31st of the month. He has been traveling up there since October. He lives in a pilot house with other Hageland guys for 2 weeks. I must admit, I'm having a hard time being alone all the time. It is our first winter in Alaska, and it's brutal. The temperatures dip to 50 below with the wind chill, and the sun is out for only 4-5 hours. I try to stay busy at night running on the treadmill, but I'm pretty limited to what is available here.

Eric has taken some great pictures of the Norton Sound area. The villages here are more spread out than they are in Bethel, so they must fly the 1900. The weather there is crazy, since these villages are in the Bering Sea. Eric tells me how cold it is with the wind. Luckily, the plane is heated so he keeps pretty warm. He also said that he can see Russia from one of the villages. I guess he is only 40 or so miles from Russia. They have to be careful not to cross into international air space.

Welcome to Bethel, AK

The 800 building (our apartment complex) in the background

Bethel, and the frozen Kuskokwim River

Welcome to Bethel, Alaska

Walking to the post office from our apartment building

Bethel, and the frozen Kuskokwim River