So Much to Say

First, let explain why there are no photos in this post. In January I was in Anchorage for training. While there, I stayed at the Hotel Captain Cook, a very nice place. My only complaint is that my camera was stolen from my room. I told the hotel detective about the camera and he refused to believe that anyone would take it. He was nice enough to look in the lost and found for it. Jerk.

The training was on how to make underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV). I made a fully operational ROV that swims and does whatever I ask it to do. We started with a huge parts list of hardware store stuff and a box of Radio Shack parts. By the time we were finished, we were driving our little submarines in the UAF swimming pool. It was very cool. I hope to be able to teach this next year. My biggest obstacle is the lack of water in which to swim the ROVs. I'm working on solving that problem by next school year.

My daughter is coming here next week for her spring break. She could have gone to Florida and gotten skin cancer, but she chose to come to Alaska. I guess she wants to see some beautiful snow and breathe the cool, pure air; or maybe she wants to see her mom. Either way, I'm glad she's coming. What's more, she's bringing her significant other, Jon, with her. That is very cool.

Pam has had an interesting year in her new job. One of the duties of a teacher's aid is to be a substitute teacher as needed. Well, Pam has been a sub in the same classroom since before Thanksgiving. The teacher she covered for had a horrible string of bad luck and, hopefully, it's finally over, because Pam needs a break. The experience showed everyone around her that Pam is a natural in the classroom. Over and over she has heard "You should get your degree and be a teacher." Pam just smiles and shakes her head.

I hope to get another camera soon so you can see the stuff that we are seeing. Until then, you'll just have to use your imagination. If you choose to use your imagination, imagine about 40 pounds off of me, please.

My Kids (Well, not really mine)

I was asked to write a little something about the students I am teaching this year. To tell you the truth, the difference between this year's bunch and last year's bunch is tremendous. How I go about teaching this bunch is different too.

In regards to language, this year's class of 6th. Graders is hugely diverse. Some of the kids have language just like kids in the lower 48. They speak conventional English without much of any trace of an accent. Some kids speak regular English with a hint of the Alaskan accent that evolved from the Canadian, Russian, Scandinavian, and Alaska Native influences on speech. Then we have the kids who came in from the village. Their speech patterns are very much the same as the kids I had from last year. They use a language that is almost like a pigeon language. It uses the mechanics of language used by the Yupiit (Yup'ik people), with it's succinctness of words and it's lack of gender assignment, and an almost village-specific dialect that has been passed down from the time of the Russian colonization of Alaska. Surprisingly, these village kids adapt very quickly with their new environment. Most of my village kids are already using Town-Speak as their primary language. We still have a Yup'ik class too. All of the students here get 40 minutes a week of Yup'ik language education.

The cultural make up of my classroom is pretty diverse too. I have a student who is a Muslim that was born in Jordan; a Mexican from Texas; four white kids that represent the lower 48 states; and a whole bunch of mixed race and full-blooded Yup'ik Eskimos. In the village, most of the parents did not have jobs. They lived on various welfare systems and from subsistence hunting and fishing. This year, most of my parents are working people. Their occupations range from doctors, nurses, lawyers, and teachers to mechanics, telecommunications technicians, and store clerks. We also have a few that use the welfare system. Even though we have a wide socio-economic spread, there doesn't seem to be much class-generated conflict among the kids.

One of the things that my town students have in common with my village students is dysfunctional families. This is the most heartbreaking part of my job, dealing with deadbeat parents. I have kids coming to school in sweatshirts in -35 degree temperatures and howling wind conditions. The kids will say I have a coat, but I don't want to wear it. When I call the parents, they say that they will be sure to make their kids wear their coat to school. The problem is that they aren't out of bed when the kid is getting ready for school. The kid wakes him or herself, gets dressed and on the bus while the parents are in bed. This is not a wide-spread problem, but I really feel for the couple of kids who have to suffer this.

For the most part these kids are like kids everywhere. They want to enjoy life and be accepted by others. I really enjoy teaching these kids. I don't really like the teaching model that I'm forced to use, but oh well. The optimism and enthusiasm of youth makes up for the less pleasant parts of the job.

Merry Christmas

On a cold and windy day, sometimes the sun isn't able to shine through all of the blowing snow. Christmas day 2008 was like that. The swirling winds blew the snow all around. Big snow drifts were made and then unmade within hours. Even the hardiest traveler is wise to stay holed-up in his cabin on a day like this one. Regardless of the weather, Christmas in Alaska is best.

The other day Rafe and I went out to check traps and it was a good day. The day was windy, but warm and the sun shone like summer. Fresh snow was everywhere and new critter tracks littered the ground. After the big blow that we had all of god's creatures were out enjoying the sunshine. For trappers, this is a bountiful time because our target animals behave predictably and we end up catching some. On this day we were very fortunate to have caught one of the more elusive fur bearers in the north, the lynx. These pictures let you see some of the lynx's beauty, but they don't let you see the size of the animal. These awesome creatures have really long legs and huge feet. Their pointed beards and tufted ears are cool to see, but their teeth and claws are the features that remind you of the beast in this beauty.

Just another cat? Not even close! If this tom had his way he'd run far from here, but since he can't he'd like to rip Rafe's lungs out. You should see the video I shot of this guy's speed and ferocity.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I further hope you that each of you can appreciate what a gift life is and just how good our lives are. Some times folks start feeling bad because they miss loved ones at holiday time or they can't have life the way it used to be, but this is the perfect season to look forward. Enjoy life. If you don't enjoy the life you are living then change it. Be bold and be happy. Make good decisions so you don't end up like this lynx.

First Fox

As you may know, I have plied may hand at fur harvesting, which is also known as trapping and/or snaring. This is something I have wanted to do all of my life, but have never made it work for me. I am finally connected with the right people to learn this craft and the right conditions exist in my life for this activity to be possible, so I'm going for it.

Rafe taught me the basics of fur bearer behavior and how to make snares. Then he gave me a grubstake to help me get started and helped me choose and construct my first set. His efforts paid off for me, because I snared my first fox yesterday.

Here is a picture:



She is not the most spectacular specimen, but she is my first. With luck and a little skill, there will be many more.

I have also been learning about moose. The Fish and Game guys hosted a public meeting that described the how successful the ban on hunting has been in strengthening the moose population. I believe what they said because I have been seeing a whole lot of moose tracks. However, as my daddy says, "You can't eat tracks." Well, it finally happened. I bumped into moose. Man, those things are huge. This cow and calf had me so excited that I was shaking and had that wiggly feeling in my stomach. It was cool. If an out-of-season cow and calf make me feel that way, I wonder how I'll react to a bull in my sights?



I promised to write more about my new job and especially my students, but that will come in a few days. Sorry.

Reason for Thanks

For five weeks I've been giving my students reasons to think about and express their thoughts about the Thanksgiving Holiday. I have offered the Plymouth Rock/Pilgrim's and Wompanoag's story to them in the form of an alien invasion, an opportunity for charity and in its traditional form. I even gave them the story in a homeland security threat scenario, but what I didn't do was ask them what makes them feel thankful. At the time, I hadn't thought much about feeling thankful.

Well, the feeling of thankfulness came over me this morning as I ate breakfast and reflected on the holiday weekend. What came to me first was how wonderful my wife is. While I've been off, bombing around the tundra with my buddy Rafe, she has been patient and supportive. In fact, I got blood all over the bathtub and she never made a fuss. But, she doesn't have many opportunities to get out and visit people so I know she must be getting bored. I hope we can change this last part soon. Thanks Pam.

The second reason for my feeling of thanks was the ingredients of my breakfast. It was mostly the usual stuff, coffee, eggs, toast, and caribou back-strap. Did I say CARIBOU BACK-STRAP!? Oh yeah, I did. How did I get caribou back-strap, you ask?

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Rafe. He said "How itchy are you to go caribou hunting?" As a man who has been itching to go caribou hunting since I was 10 years old, I told him that I was ready to go whenever the opportunity came. It seems that he got a phone call from a friend of his about the whereabouts of a nearby caribou herd. So within the hour the two of us and another fella, Dave, were on the trail.

After about an hour of very cold, windy riding we found the herd with no problem. I didn't know it then, but the easy part was over. Caribou hunting is nothing like deer hunting. Everything happens very fast on a caribou hunt. The caribou herd heard us coming long before we saw them so they were ready for us by the time we got there. We pursued the herd over some rough terrain for a little while and we took our best shots. I have often boasted, in the past, about never making a less than perfect shot on deer and never using more than one bullet to kill a whitetail. I will be not be bragging like that about this hunt, because I used three shots to get the job done. My first shot was ugly, but fatal with time. Because I could get close and finish my bull, that's what I did. I rode my snow machine close and shot twice more; no point in letting it suffer.



Yep, it's a bull. The bulls already shed their antlers. One of the things I never understood about caribou was its body size and I guess I still don't. When you see them they look to be small. When you grab hold of one and try to move it, it is big and heavy. It is a hard thing to describe.

Anyhow, Rafe, Dave and I all ended up with bulls. After this compulsory photograph to commemorate my first caribou, we loaded them into sleds and headed for a wind break. The temperature was about 5 degrees with a windchill cold enough to freeze hell over so getting out of the wind was important.

I learned many things on this hunt. Rafe taught me how to quarter a caribou without gutting it and how to cape a bull so the hide has some value. I also learned just how good the knife my brother Craig made for me way back when still is.

With my old knife, I butchered that whole caribou without ever having to touch up the blade. And after I got home I ran the knife over a whetstone a couple of times and finished processing the whole animal. I've carried that knife for about 30 years and the reason is obvious. It works. That is the third thing I feel grateful for.



Old and beat up, but still does the job.

Lastly, none of this would be possible if not for good people. I have to thank Rafe for taking me under his wing and teaching me about trapping, snaring, and hunting Alaska style. Thank you. I look forward to as many more lessons as I can get.

Oh wait, wait, wait, did I mention that Rafe got me pulled over by the cops? That's right, we were putting in his lynx line today when a State Trooper in a Piper Cub (bush plane) on skis landed on the snow near us. The trooper checked our licenses, chit-chatted with us for a little while, and then flew off to keep Alaska safe for all humanity. I never would have imagined that a State Trooper in an airplane would come out of the sky and pull me over while I was riding a snowmobile. How crazy is that? I wish I had brought my camera... maybe next time.

Well, that's all for now kids. Until next time, may you have many things in your life for which you feel thanks.

Tough Fish

So, do you remember in my last letter I mentioned catching pike in a minnow trap that was set to catch mink? Well here we go again PLUS. In another tiny stream that doesn't really freeze, regardless of the temperature, he set another minnow trap, but this time my buddy caught some pike that were almost as long as the trap itself. Two pike, both were probably a little over two feet long. Not only did he catch more pike, but he caught a muskrat in the same trap, as well. Not one to turn down a free meal, my buddy decided to keep these pike, because of their good size.

In the sled they go and about two hours later we returned to the house. We spend about another hour unloading traps and such, when we finally get to the fish. I carried the fish inside the fur shed and I noticed that the fish were only almost frozen, not completely frozen. I put them on the table and noticed, or at least I thought I noticed, something strange. I thought I saw one of the fish move its tail. I mentioned what I thought I saw to my buddy and my he said he saw it too. Then the other one moved. Then they both moved. Those fish, though having been out of the water for two or three hours in near zero temperatures, were still alive!
Even the fish are tougher in Alaska!

Something New

For some people the words snow and cold are synonymous with the words misery and agony. For me and people like me snow and cold mean opportunity, freedom, and joy. For example, if it weren’t for snow and cold I wouldn’t be able to ride my snow machine, I wouldn’t be able to travel the tundra and the river, and I wouldn’t be learning about trapping and snaring.

In fact, I wouldn't have this little story to share if not for the cold. The tiny stream in the photograph is several miles from the river and doesn't seem to go anywhere special. I was with my friend as he checked his mink trap, the submerged minnow trap also shown. When he pulled it from the stream, we both got a shock. Instead of having a mink inside, it had pike. This was shocking because this stream is so tiny and pike are such big fish. Yet, there they were. If you are not familiar with what a pike looks like, then look it up.

I am finally starting to do the things that brought me to Alaska. Today I went out with the same friend as he put in his fox line. We only saw one live animal on the outing, an ermine, but saw some animal tracks that got us pretty excited. We saw moose tracks and wolf tracks and they were real close to the village. Pretty cool, huh?

Unless catastrophe strike again, there will be more to follow. Until then, pray for snow.