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.

Life Before Bethel

I can't believe that I'm capable of such a huge oversight. I spent nearly a week in paradise and I didn't tell anyone about it. All I can do is apologize for not sharing Seward and Homer with you. Uh well, and show some of our photographs with you too, I suppose.

After our cross country trip from Indianapolis to Seattle, Pam and I set out to see some of what we missed last winter. Before we could enjoy ourselves, however, we had to pay our dues. The first challenge on our quest was buying airline tickets at a good price and then to rent an affordable car. We failed at both. Not only did we pay more than both of those services are worth, but we had to jump through 500 flaming hoops before we were ready to start our vacation. I hate traveling.

Once we were on the road, life was pretty good; expensive, but good. Our plan was to go to Seward and Homer, the two places that we didn't get to last winter. Our first stop was in Seward.

Like Valdez, Seward is another perfect place in the world. It's right on a major water way, Resurrection Bay, which is surrounded by huge mountains.

The one thing Pam wanted to do while we in Seward was do some whale-watching. The only problem with her request was that whale-watching season was over. You see, May and June are the best whale-watching months and we were there in mid August. Sorry, Pam. We did take a nature cruise, though. It was a half day tour of Resurrection Bay to look at the natural beauty of that place. Take a look for yourself:

If my memory serves me correctly, these are Stellar Sea Lions. If that's not right please don't bother correcting me. It will only destroy me self-esteem. Look kids! Puffins! We were on a really good boat for taking pictures, the bay was pretty clam for a breezy day, and we got really close to a lot of our subjects, but it is really tough getting high quality shots with a cheap camera.

These are some of the Harbor Seals we saw. It's tough getting their picture, because they are very shy.

And with being the home of some really cool animals, Resurrection Bay is also the home of some cool rocks that jump way up out of the water.

Back in Seward we saw some charter fishermen showing off their catch. Pretty cool, huh?

Oh yeah, I also found out how I'm going to spend my retirement years. Look at this retirement rig.

Is there a more beautiful sight on the Earth than a boat harbor that's surrounded by snow capped mountain?

We visited Exit Glacier and saw some other glaciers, but I'm getting tired of uploading photos so you don't get to see them. We also saw sea otters and eagles, but none for you this time. If you want to see more, tell me and I'll post them.

After we left Seward, we went directly to Homer. The four hour drive was long but beautiful. We saw a moose and some awe inspiring views of the Pacific Ocean. When we finally made it to Homer, we went directly out to the spit. The Homer Spit is a very cool, very touristy, but very cool place. I saw this little shop that I fell in love with. Not for the products they sold, but for the building. It is all logs with splayed walls and a pointy roof. I'd love to have a home like this.

All to soon the party was over and we made our way west to Bethel. Talk about contrast. Bethel is different in every way imaginable from the Kenai Peninsula. I like it in Bethel and I'll like it more when it snows.

Autumn is Here!

Some things happen very slowly in Alaska and some things happen very quickly. To be specific, winter happens slowly and the other seasons rush by. It was summer a couple of weeks ago and then, on October first, it snowed for the first time this year. Today's high temperature was 27 degrees and there's about two or three inches of crunchy snow on the ground and I saw someone driving a snowmobile today. This time last year I was in the hospital in Anchorage so I didn't get to see the tundra put on its winter coat. I didn't realize how quickly it happens.

Pam and I were out doing a little sight seeing today when we came upon some poor lady who had slipped and fallen on the icy road. While I got out to help this poor lady, Pam took this picture of a boat.

Obviously, heroic attempt to rescue this fallen citizen didn't impress my wife. Why do I try? In my frustration to find a way to wow my wife, I drove down to the Small Boat Harbor to see what was shaking and I spotted some things that don't always go together.

For example, I can't remember when I've seen a bulldozer parked at a boat harbor with the boats.

I've seen picnic tables and bait stores, food joints and taverns, but never a bulldozer. Something else you don't see is free life jackets, or Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs). Well, not exactly free, but free to use. In an attempt to improve boater safety up here, we have a "Kids Don't Float" program. This one of the stations set up to provide loaner PFDs. It's odd for people in the lower 48 see anything set up on the honor system especially a PFD loaner station. What's more, there's ice sickles on these vests.

While we were snapping this picture there were people breaking ice so they could get to the river and others were trying to get their boats out of the ice. These are some hardcore boaters.

This weekend was also our first Junior Native Youth Olympics meet and our first meet of the wrestling season. On Friday, I had my class in the computer lab when I got a big surprise. The whole Atmautluak JNYO team came waltzing in to say hello. They were all happy to see me and I was pretty excited too. Pam and I went to the JNYO meet. Pam got to see the kids do some native dancing as well as the sports events that are unique to NYO. Since some of my students were competing against some of my former students, I had plenty of people to cheer for.

It seems that as time goes on I see more and more friendly faces. This weekend I was warmly greeted by at least a dozen people that I met last year. Their hugs and handshakes genuine and heartwarming. Unfortunately, I had to answer the same question over and over. "Why didn't you come back to Atmautluak?" In my mind the answer is easy to understand, but when I try to explain it, it doesn't seem to make as much sense. Maybe I'll get to visit them in the village this winter.

I can't wait to see what happens next. Everything will freeze up soon enough and the tundra will become accessible to Pam and me. The real adventure will begin then.

Oh yeah, some kids in our school were asked which season most tourists visit Alaska and it took them a bunch of guesses to stumble onto the correct answer; summer. It took them so long because, to them, it is not logical to come here in the summer if you want to see the best of Alaska. They said winter is the best time to go places because that's when the tundra gets hard enough to go anywhere you want. So for your next Alaska vacation, visit during the winter and you'll get to see more of this great state because snowmobiles can go just about anywhere.

Stay warm.