Hey,
The northern lights have been off here for the last few days here due to the cloudy conditions, snow, and now rain. However they have been spectacular in other parts of the state where the weather has been clear. In fact with the solar flare-ups happening this week they have been phenomenal the Anchorage paper says. There are some pictures at www.adn.com you have to realize that this is a big state though. The joke is when a Texan starts talking about his state, folks here say if they don't stop we'll cut the state in half and make Texas the third largest state. Gets em every time.
Eat some a dat seafood for us will ya. As far as the rides are concerned there are the roads in town and a loop road outside town that is about five miles long. The usual ride is to take the loop one way or the other and get down on the beach which is the only real way out on wheels. Well with the snow and little maintenance on the road and none on the beach, it is difficult so we don't go too far. We just got in the two new snowmachines we ordered this week and we are chomping at the bit (as is everyone else here) to get out and ride. (We also have one used one). There is a local making us a basket sled by hand. He is heat bending the wood and a lot of it is lashed together with nylon. He built one for one of the EMT'S that is just beautiful. These look like the dog sleds but are pulled by snowmachines (or if on the ice you can use a 4 wheeler or dogs for that matter). They can haul a lot of gear. We plan to use it for fishing and maybe camping and travel. The locals us them to haul everything in the winter going to and from their camps and all the villages. They can carry 55 gallon drums of fuel in them, kids, and you name it. When we talked with the native building it he said, "You can fit four caribou across if you stand them up just right before they freeze". The hard part is waiting for the snows-it has to get deep to be able to ride across the tundra over the scrub and COLD weather so the waters freeze deep enough to be safe to travel on. The frozen water is the best way to go the farthest and fastest. One of the security guys at the hospital is a trapper and does a lot of hunting here for food and furs. He is a 30ish guy who always is telling stories about trapping, bears, wolves, whaling, and so on. He is a true native. Today he was telling us about when he traps sometimes, he goes out to his camp which is 170 miles from here, runs his trap line which is about 60 miles, then comes back in one day. Now I know you are thinking BS, but these machines will go over 100 miles an hour easy and believe me the natives run them flat out. They have mileage meters on them also. I believe him. I have seen his skins and two of the lynx and the beaver I own were his. The rest of our furs came from his brother.
As for the trip to the city-yep it was like being in a candy shop. We are going to New York for Thanksgiving to visit Patty's sister and our brother in law. I am looking forward to seeing the prices in the lower 48. Everyone here tells me when they go to the lower 48 they buy all kinds of stuff and then have to give it away because it is so cheap. You see, the prices in Anchorage are a lot lower than here, but still higher than down in the "states" due to having to get the product up. We also enjoyed seeing the other offspring. She is driving my truck around and loving it. Last time I saw it it was in good condition. As far as the big move from here....... I just don't know. We like this small town stuff. We could move next week or we could be here for years. Only time will tell. As far as other places being hubs, yes. The main ones are Barrow on the northern coast which serves a number of native villages and then there is Bethel, which serves 20 something villages way south of here. There are also numerous small hospitals sprinkled throughout bush Alaska (bush being basically anything not in Anchorage or Fairbanks and the stuff around the road between them). Yea, we could go to any of them at any time we chose. That's the good thing about being a nurse. We have TDY (temporary duty) nurses working with us some of which work for an agency that finds placement and some that just contact a hospital and contract for a period of time. The hospital pays airfare, lodging, and meal tickets and they stay anywhere from a month to several months. A couple come in for three months at a time working as many hours as they can get, and then go back to their homes south of here but out in the bush-no running water or electricity, bears, moose, wildlife, and Alaska out their back door (front door, windows, etc). That is an option we may choose at some time. We are constantly posting new pictures on the website to so check it out www.samsicles.net
As for the Saints-Who knew? WE DID, WE DID! No surprise there.
The Sam's
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Last updated:
08/29/05