Lucky Me

Man, let me tell you how much my wife loves me. Not only did she go along with me buying a new snow machine last fall, but she let me buy a bigger one this spring. How lucky am I?! Thank you Pam.

Nice huh?... the snow go, I mean.

Now, I can drag a heavy sled full of moose or caribou with total confidence. I had it up on the long trap line last month. I was pulling my friend's sled and it was full of gear. I don't know what the sled weighed, but it was HEAVY! My baby pulled it right along without a struggle. This isn't a good picture to show it, but the passenger seat comes off and gives me about three-feet of cargo area behind the seat. That's very nice for all kinds of stuff. It's like having a 3/4 ton pickup truck. I love it.

Aside from all of the trapping, hunting, and exploring that I have been doing, I'm also doing a little teaching. Yes, it's true. I do actually work... sometimes. We just finished doing statewide testing. What a waste of time. Let me officially say that I HATE No Child Left Behind. I can't believe that the American people are going along with such a stupid program. My students were really good about dealing with all of the stupid rules and the boredom. I hated subjecting them to such a counterproductive activity. I hope the "man of change" changes our education policy.

We also had parent teacher conferences. It went well and most of my parents came. I only had one parent who was scolded for having a whiny, spoiled truant crybaby of a child. She wasn't happy with me, but TOUGH.

I guess I wasn't too rough on her, because I was offered a new contract by my boss. Looks like I'll be in Bethel for at least one more year. That suits me just fine.

The thing I like about Bethel is that most everyone who is willing to work is thriving. The silliness of the economy has had an impact here, but is doesn't seem to be as terrible as it is in the lower 48. Maybe because of all of the native subsidies.

We moved in to a new home. We are renting a very nice, spacious two bedroom apartment from some really nice people. We love our new place. There's plenty of room for our outdoor toys. It's pretty quiet here, with the exception of some very friendly neighborhood kids. They are our own students so we know them well and we like them. The place also comes with unlimited access to "The Man Shed." Having a place to skin critters, other than the kitchen, is a huge benefit. Having that place right at home is even better and having a resident expert to keep me from screwing up is perfect. I spent all of last winter using Rafe's "Man Shed" and his tools. I am forever grateful to have had access to his facility; but now I don't have to travel to use a heated space to do the work. PERFECT!

I know it sounds like life here is perfect, but there are some drawbacks too. There's no McDonald's or Burger King. {Bummer} Adult beverages have to be shipped in because sales here are forbidden. We can drink it here, but we can't buy it here. Another, more serious, limitation is the access to specialized medicine. Every time Pam needs to see a specialist, she has to go to Anchorage. That's about a $500, three-day trip. So far our insurance has been lousy about helping us pay for such visits. The worst part about being so remote is missing our family, our children and our grandchildren. Being with the babies hurts.

All in all, we are enjoying our life here. It was especially nice last month when Sabrina and Jon came to visit. Unfortunately, their vacation time and ours were at different times, but at least they had plenty of time to rest. Unfortunately also, was the fact that a week of pretty damn cold weather hit when they arrived and stayed longer than they did. We got to so a little sight seeing, but the cold put a serious damper on the party. They did, however, get to see a very rare "Triple Catch." Rafe caught 3 lynx in one set and Sabrina, Jon, and Pam got to see it. I took them out on my little trap line and I took Sabrina to a couple of villages for a look at real "country-life." If you think you live in the country, think again. Sabrina can tell you about country.

Unfortunately, we have to go back down-states this summer. We will move the rest of our stuff home so we will never have to leave paradise again. After having so much freedom to roam I can't see me living any place else. I guess we'll see what next year and the year after brings. Maybe I can get my son and his family to visit next. Having my brothers visit to do a little fishing would be really cool too. Hey, maybe my folks would be interested in a visit... maybe when it gets warm... maybe.