Caribou Hunt

Paul put in for a caribou permit this year for up around Denali.  We went with some friends on the 10th of September.   We left home early Monday morning and met up with the Yeckleys in Eagle River that afternoon.  From Eagle River, we headed up toward Cantwell about 4 pm.  We went 30 miles down the Denali Highway from Cantwell.

 

The mountains and scenery was beautiful on the trip up.

We got to camp about 8:30 at night.  It was getting dark, so we hurried and set up what we absolutely needed for the night, roasted some hot dogs, and turned in for the night.  It’s a good thing Paul and I bought some new sleeping bags that go down to −10 F with our wedding money, because it was 18 F when we woke up the next morning.  The ground was covered with frost.  It was warm in the bag, but I really, really, really did not want to get out of it.  However, eventually I had to go visit the bushed and was forced to get out of bed.

 The next day, Debbie and I fixed up camp a little and arranged it to be there for the next few days.

After fixing up camp, we went exploring a bit.  We walked down to the stream that was close by.  On the way, we ran across a bunch of blueberry bushes that were covered with berries.  They were extremely ripe and would squish as you were picking them.  They tasted delicious.

We didn’t get to enjoy the camp we’d fixed up for long, because Paul shot a caribou in the first two hours of the hunt.  He got a cow that was about 180 lbs.  

While the boys put away the caribou, Debbie and I headed out for a ride.

It was fun to cook over an open fire.  We ate tin foil dinners and roasted hot dogs.  I had forgotten how good tinfoil dinners can be.  Besides hamburger, we put in summer squash, zucchini, red pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, and onion.  It was really tasty.

The next morning it was warmer.  It was about 38 F.  We had a slow morning and cooked a lot more hotdogs.  Then we packed up and headed to Eagle River.  The Yeckley’s helped up butcher the caribou at their house Wednesday night and Thursday day. 

I was proud of myself.  I hate the feel of raw meat, but I stuck my hands in it anyways and got them all slimy and bloody.                           It was really gross!!! 

 However, I am really grateful for the help.  If it had been just Paul and I it would have taken quite a few days to get it done.  especially considering I had no idea what I was doing.

Commercial Fishing

Paul is commercial fishing this summer.  He leased this boat for the summer.  Isn’t she a beauty?!  He had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find her.  Her name is the “Heron."

Avery on the boat.

The net out in the water. 

 One fish decided to do a head stand for us once he got caught.

Paul getting ready to work.

 Picking fish.

The seals decided to have a snack.

Avery found a new friend.

The final test.  Which fish is which type of Salmon?  Good luck!

Off Loading the fish.

Fishing on the Keani River.

Avery caught a heavy one.  Mine wasn’t as heavy but looks a little better to eat.

Seldovia

On the 5th I went out on the ferry to see Paul at work. I rode over to Seldovia on the Bridge as he was working. I wandered around Seldovia for an hour or so before returning to the ship and seeing how they load everything. On the way back, I received a full tour of the ship. I even got to the the parts where they store the water, sewage, etc.

Seldovia Park Sign 

 There’s a lot of wood sculptures around town. They do them with chainsaws.

Fun Bench

Thought this sculpture was cool.

An old Greek Orthodox church.

Thought this was a cool looking old boat. Glad I didn’t have to ride in it.

This is how they grow flowers on the board walk. I guess if you don’t have any ground you have to find another way to do it.

 I did realize that next time I need to bring my camera. A phone works, but only has so much memory.

Moose Encounters

Sometimes I don’t think I pay enough attention to the moose and wildlife I see up here - in more ways that one. The other day Paul drove me to the grocery store in Sterling and there in front of the doors were two moose. They were hanging out in the shrubs eating the plants. People were still going in and out the doors as if nothing special was going on. The customers were giving the moose their space, but didn’t seem to pay much attention to them.

A day or two later, we drove out to a hiking trail. On the way back, we saw easily over half a dozen moose on the side of the road. It was so common place that after the first three I didn’t even bother to count. I mean, why they’re everywhere and I was just going to see another in a few minutes.

Today I walked out my door and started walking to my car and as usual was not paying much attention to anything. A moose on the opposite side of my car, probably five yards away, starts running away and runs out of the parking area. Nothing too unusual. I see them all the time.

I didn’t think too much about it. Then I started thinking, there are two reasons I should probably pay more attention to the moose.

1 - They’re pretty cool. Not everyone gets the chance to see them everyday. I should appreciate what I get to see. I mean come on, it’s not everyone who gets to have a yard covered with moose poop and have the big guys hang out at their house. People from all over the world come here to see things like that and I get to do it everyday.

2 - (And probably most important.) Moose are big animals. If one of them decided to charge me, I’d end up flat as a pancake, with quite a few broken bones to boot. I should probably be more aware of what’s going on around me to avoid being trampled. Is it really smart to walk in a door a few yards from a moose or scare one out of the yard?

So, thanks to Paul, here some pictures of the moose at the store.





Ok, I took this one and now thinking that maybe getting this close wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But hey, at least I was in a car when I did it and didn’t just walk up to it.

Ring

This is for all of you who wanted a picture of the ring.

I told Paul I didn’t want a big diamond, so he got me a bunch of little ones instead.



Here’s how it looks on me.

Moose

There are a lot of wildlife all around where I live. You’d think that the people who live up here would be used to it. These last few weeks there have been quite a few moose around school and every time the students act like it’s the first time they’ve seem them.

Two weeks ago I was walking down the stairs with another teacher. Two female students some running into the school and tell us, “There’s two mooses outside.” Without missing a beat the other teacher turns to them and says, “The plural of moose is moose not mooses. There are two moose outside.” and continues to walk down the stairs. When she got down to the bottom of the stairs she told the girls that she would let the vice-principal know about them. I was just trying not to laugh.

I guess in school it’s not safety first, it’s education first.

Thanksgiving weekend

This Thanksgiving I went down to Sterling and learned to snowshoe. It was fun. I dressed in my Arctic gear thinking it was going to be cold. (It had been about −15 the week before.) However by the time we were done I was unzipping my coat and taking off my outer layer. I think it might have gotten all the way up to 10 degrees.