In the Fun

See the Heart? This is naturally occuring and we just happen to get the picture.




I am going to have to start writing more, but honestly I am busy and I never remember to do this stuff until I have pictures to put up. On October 20th we had a Community Dinner and served spaghetti and garlic bread, with salad. It was good and the kids did a great job of cooking and cleaning. I got all of my Costco food and had to stuff it in the freezer and refrigerator. I got about five pounds of lettuce and have been eating salads now for the past two weeks- yummy but I am about to puke green.
This week is Red Ribbon Week, the week that we talk about not drinking or taking drugs. We have had Hat Day, PJ Day, Slipper Day, and soon scary dress up day- Thursday. The kids are all acting strange, almost like they have now gotten used to me and stopped being excited about doing anything. It could also be that a bunch of them are always gone- going to Anchorage, off to play Volleyball and even to Oregon for weeks and months at a time.
Last weekend we went to the end of the road- a very cool spot and took pictures. This is the road that is in contention among Congress right now. All the King Covers want it so they can get to an all weather airstrip and all the environmentalists hate it becuase it will build a bridge through an isthusmus that is a nesting ground of migratory birds and caribou.

Very Blaahhhh

This week has been very blaahhh. I don't know what it is, but the kids and staff have all felt it. We are having a community dinner on Monday and the student council kids are okay with running it off the cuff- no planning or anything which is very scary for me. We went down to Ram's Creek yesterday to catch some Silvers and I got snagged on lots of dead fish. Then we got two fish and had to bleed them and then fillet them on the beach. I hated it and if I had any culinary ability I would become a vegetarian. We even got the heart out of the fish and it beat on its own for about two minutes. Some kids from the 6th grade class came down to help us and we jigged a few more. These fish don't bite, they are spawning and so you have to jig the line around till you catch one- which might be by the fin or even the tail. We only caught two fish and there was very little meat on them (12 and 20 pounds respectively). I am kind of done with fishing, I would like to dip net and get fish, but this fishing pole stuff is beyond me. Today there is a volleyball scrimage and then we are having dinner at Marty's. Finally later tonight I have to go down to the docks and get my food that I ordered from Costco.

Anchorage and Beyond

Well, last week we went to Anchorage for the AASG conference- that is Student Council stuff. Lots of fun but very tiring since all the kids wanted to do was shop. Getting there was a blast. It took 3 planes and 6 hours but we made it alive. My favorite was the trip from here to Cold Bay on the Cherokee (small plane about four seats) and we landed sideways on the runway, the plane literally went sideways- wing first on the tarmac- it was that windy. Then we flew to Sand Point and the plane was bigger- 20 seats- and we came around the mountain and dropped like 200 feet in three seconds because of a downdraft- almost hit the water and then corrected beautifully. From there to Anchorage was good too- we took off and the runway is in the water, so they had to take the plane and push it back so that when we took off we had enough runway to make it. I did get to go to Target and Walmart while in Anchorage and I stocked up on food so now I can make more stuff. The conference was boring, and I had to sleep on the floor with a bunch of other girls and staff. We took showers in the communal bath and that was a little freaky. The food was bad but the kids had a good time, so I was okay with it. Coming back was good- one flight and then the hovercraft from Cold Bay to King Cove. I took a picture of the ferry that was docked at Cold Bay with the rainbow over it- I thought it was very pretty. This is the same boat that I took in August.

Panoramic Fun

This is the view from the road by my house. I drive this potholey road every day. This was the first day we had snow. We went up to Mt. Dutton and took more pics- see below. It is blizzarding here and all the kids want it to stick so they can go snowboarding up at Chapel Hill.

The Fun Weekend

This weekend was awesome. Here I am salmon fishing wearing my extra tuffs at Rentacan. This is the salmon river where you have to drive through bear territory to get to the river and then bring a gun in case they show up.
Here I am casting into the river. The extra tuffs protect your feet and are water proof. I didn't catch anything and it was depressing. The humpies were still running and they were disgusting.
We had to learn to shoot a gun in order to go salmon fishing. Here I am with a 22 and it was very easy to figure it out. I have surprisingly good aim for someone who has never shot a gun in their life.
Here I am learning how to aim the gun and shoot a log in the water. It occurred to me that even if there was a bear that I would not be able to load and reload fast enough to save anybody. Mark's advice was to kick a friend in the head and then you could get away while they got attacked by the bear.
This is a bear print from Rentacan. They were all over the place. For a size comparison see the shoe print to the left of the bear print- that person wears a size 14 shoe, this bear was huge.
This is Megan and me with Gilda picking wine berries by the airport. The berries are tiny and hard to find so you need to look for hours to get enough to make some jam.
See Lola, my car, by the airport. The little white building is the terminal- or warming hut as it is called. There is no baggage check or anything, basically the little plane flies in and you run out with your bag and then they take off again.
Here is the Roo running around like a freak all over Mt. Dutton. We went blueberry picking and she was supposed to be our bear dog but all she did was speed around the grass like a nutter on speed.
Brianna and I pose on the lava field after our super model walk off. This field is 20 miles from Mt. Dutton and when it blew a hundred years ago it spit huge boulders all over the tundra around here.
Here is another picture of the lava rocks. They are spread in a big arc from the base of the mountain almost to the road to town. It is a huge area and they are very big. The rock in the upper left hand corner is the size of a house.
Me standing by the mouth of the hydro plant. This is where the waterfall goes over and spins electricity and water for the town. The clouds in the background roll down the mountains like water- very neat to look at.


Well that was my weekend, I had a blast and I walked all over the place. On Sunday we walked to Rams creek along the beach and had to walk barefoot through 38 degree water to get to the road. I stepped in the decomposing carcass of a salmon and then almost fell face first into the river after my feet became to numb to feel- we are the genius out here.

Jam and Fishes

Check the hot pink croc boots- they are awesome at keeping out the wet, but stink at keeping out the hurt from stepping on the rocks.

Here we are driving on the actual creek, its only a foot or so deep and you can drive out on it to get to the silvers- those are the good salmon. You catch them with your bare hands in the Aleut way- I sucked at it. As you can see- no fish in my hands.


Making jam in Meg and Bri's house. First you have to pick the berries- a pain in the butt. Then you squish them in a bowl with sugar. You boil them with the pectin and then put them in jars.

Dana and Friends.

Meg and Bri made me a cake for my birthday and they also had dinner for me too. Happy Birthday to me!

Here is the view from the T-dock, where the ferries come in. The breakwater is stopping the big waves from hitting us.

The wind was blowing so hard that it felt like you could fly away. I put my jacket out and almost fell off the dock. The town is in the background.

Rescuing a Sun Starfish from the dock. We went to the dock to see the sea lions and found this guy out on the dock with no water and he was dying, so I picked him up and threw him back in the water.

Playing Dance Dance Revolution with Megan and Bri. I rock.

Here is a view of the Cove from the road to the airport. We go there on the weekends because that is where the good berries are and the awesome bear sightings and good fish.


This is me, Megan, Bri, and Karen in the tiny plane. I sat in the back because it had its own door to escape in the event we crashed.