Bush Shopping with Dividend Traffic!

Here I am in Anchorage. Had to fly in in order for Aileen to see an orthopedist. Because there is no orthopedist in Dillingham or an MRI, we had to bite the financial bullet and fly in to see the Dr.. Unfortunately, it required a two night hotel stay in order to catch flights here and back. The good news of all of this is two parted: 1. I found out that this expense will be reimbursed by our insurance (Thank God) and 2. This meant the ability to get 200 pounds of stuff back to Dillingham. Pen Air, the only airline offering service to Dillingham this time of year allows two 50 pound bags a person.

It is easy to take for granted the ability to go to the store and pick up a gallon of milk, or a jar of mayonaise, or frozen pizza. Back in Massachusetts that milk would be somewhere between $2.69-2.99 in Dillingham- $7.99. Mayonaise- $6-7 for a small jar. Frozen pizza-$11.00 each. Cheese- runs well over $10-20 a pound in the bush depending on the type. So, coming "to town" and being able to shop saves a significant amount of money.

Coming to town, you pack the minimal amount of clothes to get you by. You bring your empty Alaskan Suitcase- the rubbermaid type tote. These totes you take and drill holes around the perimeter so that you can wiretie them shut in order to fill them with your treasures.

Today- between MD appointments and MRI we ran to Costco, Walmart,Best Buy, Baileys Furniture, JC Penney, REI, Carrs (safe way), Lowe's and my new alternative food favorite- New Sagaya's. We picked up prescriptions for friends. Looked at big items for another to determine quality before they were purchased and shipped site unseen. Lists were carefully made and a traffic pattern was made to get around town in the most efficient way.

Complicating matters today was the fact that yesterday was Dividend day. Each year Alaskan's get paid a dividend from the oil fund. This year the dividend was about $1,100 per person (children included). This fund is paid to anyone living in Alaska over a year. So- every store we went into was packed with people off spending their dividend checks.

Back at the hotel, I was not the only one in the parking lot sorting and securing totes. You carefully measure them for weight to be sure that you do not go over 50 pounds on any of them. Totes are packed! With the exception of the frozen food that I have stuffing the freezer in our hotel room to the gills. I have learned that the trick to your frozen foods is to remove your clothes from your carry on and to fill these bags with the frozen goodies. There are a lot of times that personal baggage gets bumped for freight on the return trip to Dillingham. Consequently, the safe way to get your frozen goods home is to physically carry them onto the plane with you. At least you don't have to worry about your clothes rotting if it takes a few days for them to find their way back to you!

So- back to the bush in the morning. I am attaching pictures today of the seasons at home while I have the faster internet to do the trick!

Time flies where the time is slow!

Time- such an amazing concept. Back home, I suffered from lack of time- constantly spinning my wheels. The mileage on my car attested to that- a brand new car three years later is pushing 100,000 miles. That same car must be wondering what happened to it because it has sat still, well at least it didn't create it's movement, for what will be two full months by the time that I see it again.

So, two months I have lived in bush Alaska without a vehicle. Fortunatly, friends have helped me in getting to work and have brought me to the beautiful places around here to appreciate the beauty that belongs to Dillingham and Alegnagik. Weekends have been spent doing volunteer work- walking dogs for hours on end at the local pound. I have been fortunate to go with the pack to tops of mountain in the blowing wind to "lay out in the sun" and absorb vitamin D. I can't remember a time in my adult life that I could walk off into the wilderness and just get lost in my thoughts and the vastness of my surroundings with not a thought at all about what I "should" be doing.

My commute is a blink of an eye in the morning compared to the one hour I spent each way back home. I scan the landscape for any wild visitors that may be out feeding where the tundra opens up. I also enjoy looking along the coast for the passing of the tides that mark the coming and going of the day. The flow of the tides is such a treat to follow and I never cease to be amazed by the difference in height between low and high. The mornings are now dark and the sky presents a different view daily; from the stages of the moon that seems so close, to the stars that seem so bright and beautiful. Maybe this will be the time that I will learn the constellations, a life held goal that always has seemed to elude me.

The work day flies by. Some days I feel that I go to work and 10 minutes later it is time to go home. The days are busy with one project after another. I enjoy all aspects of my work and the joy of finally following my dreams and doing what I have wanted to do for so long makes the time fly.

I now have time with my daughter in a way that I never have in the past. Cooking no longer feels so stressful and exhaustion is no longer a spice in my recipes. I have the energy and the ability to enjoy the process of cooking and enjoy the time spent at the table with my daughter and the occasional friend.

You learn to be patient with time if you need something done around here. The satellite dish that my neighbors ordered and arrived before I did still sits in our garage awaiting installation. You see- here time rotates around the seasons. The seasons are not what I and most of us are used to. Where I have grown up, we moved through the seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Here, I am learning to adjust to the seasons of Dillingham.

So far I have experienced Fish Season. In early fish season-in mid to late June, the residents hold their breath waiting for the anticipated run of Salmon. Nets are set out patiently waiting for the fish to arrive. Daily the conversation rotates around what each person has caught so far and when different people feel as though the fish will appear. Life starts to rotate around the tides with the setting and picking of the nets occuring with the ebb and flow. Work starts or may continue late into the night as fish are prepared and stored for the coming year. The town is alive and full then with the commercial fisherman working on shore to get their boats ready, repairing their nets and waiting for fish and wildlife to give them the green light to fish. The cannery fills it's dorms with workers from all over the world ready to pack the massive amounts of salmon that is brought in for processing during just a few short weeks. Sports fisherman pass through on their way to the lodges and camps out in the lakes keeping their guides busy. Fish season comes briskly, peaks at a frenzy then tapers off with the fisherman carefully putting their gear away and bringing their boats ashore to await the next fish season.

After fish season has wound down, the berry season starts. Families will spend weekends off in their "secret" spots gathering salmonberry, crowberry, cranberry and more. Upon opening my bank account here I was gifted with my very own Wells Fargo berry bucket. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to participate in the picking this year. The rain was severe during the weekends and the berries were lacking in size, quantity and flavor. I have now discovered where I can gather blueberries in the mountains. The cranberries speckle the landscape of the tundra with little red dots and the leaves of their plants eventually turn red marking the beginning of the next season.

Moose season starts in September. Lake boats come out as hunters wander off to find their bounty. Work stops for many as they wait to get their quota or they finish hunting by proxy for their elders that can no longer get out there to bring home their own. The satellite dish in our garage still waits for the back log created by moose season to get caught up. Women come to work with tales of how much more work needs to be done to finish putting the moose away. With moose season comes the Dip Dooley- the daddy long leg "look alike" that just appears and bursts forward with its multitude of progeny. These visitors find their way into homes and seem to enjoy the showers. Warning - do not kill these creatures inside as the stench they emit when squashed readily outdoes their size!

Now as we await winter, ptarmigan hunting becomes a weekend activity. The first "termination dust" has landed on the mountains marking the end of the tourist season and the approach of winter. This is a time we actually are eagerly awaiting. Locals tell us how the land opens up and the adventures begin when the snow lines the ground. I look forward to experiencing this.

The amazing thing to me about time here in Dillingham is that my days are full in spite of having more time. I mark the time of day by the landing of different aircraft in my back yard and am always surprised by how the time passes. Yet, here the time passes in a way that is more relaxing and fulfilling than time I have spent in the main world. I appreciate the setting of the sun daily and the rising of the moon is an event that I anticipate. I wonder nightly what display it will gift me with - or if it's wonders will be hidden by clouds.

So here I am continuing to patiently await the time when my car arrives. To me- that will be my own personal holiday. That arrival will far exceed any anticipation of Christmas or a birthday. And when it comes-I will continue to move slower because speeding doesn't happen easily here. Potholes come and go with the rain and slow the traffic down. Inside here on the computer- my time moves slower as the connection takes it's time to bring forward the joy of the next page. For those of us that remember dial-up, "high speed" connectivity speed here is reminescent of that time. Because of this, I will take some time to add pictures!

So now, I hope that I will continue to take the time to post on this blog. The day to day adventure that is Dillingham is truly an experience to share.

August 10- We escape Ohio

This morning we awoke to Wally really being ready to go. Our exhaustion from the late night had me actually sleep until 8 am- unusual for me. By the time we reloaded the crate in the car and found something acceptable to eat from the Quality Inn's "continental breakfast" it was 9 am. A headlight was out so we took off to the Auto zone to replace that. By the time the battery was replaced the call had come in from Kingsville towing. Cliff, our rescuer from last night had passed the message on that we wanted two new tires so we would have a spare and they had us ready to go by 10 am. We had to take some photo's of the tire that caused us to fall behind on our travel schedule. I immediately noticed that the car was not working as hard to pull it's load and found that we were using much less gas. There must have been something wrong with that tire from the beginning.

All went well across Ohio until far from the Ohio border we passed a rest station with gas that had the sign- "last services in Ohio". I looked at the tank- over 1/4 full and drove on. I didn't suspect that the last rest area on the turnpike would be the last gas until the Ohio line. The tank ran low, I looked for gas off the highway- none to be found. 3 miles before the next gas station- we ran out of gas. We pulled over, gave Wally some water and tried calling AAA. As Greg spent about a 1/2 hour on the phone with them trying to convince them that the town Holiday City actually did exist, I spoke with a DPW truck who called us assistance. Moments later these guys were followed by a state police officer that told us help was on the way. The weather was reaching 100 so we sat outside the car being cooled by the breeze of the passing traffic. Finally- Lincoln, the attendant to the next service station delivered us our rescue. He also rescued us by directing us to good food. "There is a reason I am fat- head to the next exit and take a left go to the 4 Season's restaurant- the food is good and the quantities large".

We fueled up- placed Wally in his crate outside the restaurant with his meal and we went in to sit at a table by the window to watch him. I looked up at the TV playing CNN news- and there was Dillingham, Alaska on the map displayed with a scrolling life history of former Senator Ted Stevens. After weeks of trying to describe where Dillingham, Alaska was to people- it was now being talked about across the nation. The plane crash killed 5 people including Ted Stevens. They were flying a small plane in inclimate weather with poor visibility to a cabin owned by GCI in the wilderness outside of Dillingham. The cause of the crash was a soft landing which usually occurs when a pilot cannot see a land feature and is suddenly flying into it- I guess this is a last ditch effort to save the plane. Other local pilots stated that it was not weather to be flying in. With my job- I will be traveling to the different remote villages by small plane- and I have been told it is not unusual to be socked in by weather.

GCI is a major telecommunications provider in Alaska that does provide cell service to the remote villages in the bush. I have already been advised that I will need to stop in Anchorage during my layover to get GCI cell phones. GCI had a company cabin in the wilderness that the plane's party was going to stay at- many companies have "sporting cabins" in the Dillingham area and many VIP's from the lower 48 come through Dillingham to access the world class fishing in the Dillingham area.

We finish our "breakfast skillet", the food that becomes our road trip staple and head onward. Through the planes I drive straight through stopping only to fuel up. There is really no view to enjoy and the time is monotonous. At this point I have developed a sore throat and cough and speech is painful, so other than the radio in the background the car is fairly silent. I advise Greg to rest up because I can drive forever, however, when I crash-(ie get tired not slam into guard rails) I go down hard and fast. Finally in Iowa I hand over the wheel. Sleep is accomplished in a sitting position on the passenger side as there is no room in back to lay the seat back. I feel the car slowing down an wake up to a rain that is harder than any I have ever seen before. The wind has it blowing sideways. After trying to drive with zero visibility Greg pulls the car over to wait out the storm as we nap. Two hours later, the rain has not let up at all and we decide to move forward. However, as we approached Des Moines the rain was relentless so we decide that the weather has called it a day for us. We use the GPS to find a hotel and go toward the Iowa state fair. The water is running through the roads in a constant stream at this point. We arrive at the hotel to find that there is no room because of the fair going on. I return to the car and we head back on the same streets we come in on- however, in those few moments that we attempted a room- the flowing streams on the road had changed to lakes. Cars were stuck in the water with their drivers waist deep in water trying to figure out how to get themselves out of their predicament. We carefully picked and chose roads to maneuver our way back to the highway without being stuck ourselves. The next morning we would find out that the flash flooding we were in the midst of had killed a 16 year old girl and put thousands without electricity and water.

We got back on the highway and the rain had slowed down. At 4 am I took over the wheel again and we continued onward. South Dakota brought very little entertainment in terms of landscape as we started through. The most entertaiment was found in the Wall Drug signs that were placed every few miles along the side of the highway. "Wall Drug or Bust", "Kids Love Wall Drug", "Coffee 5 cents at Wall Drug", "Poney up to Wall Drug" and many more creative enticements were seen along the way. Our other form of entertainment was collecting license plates of all 50 states. This game was accelerated when hoards of Harleys started traveling around us. I hadn't realized that my trip cross country happened to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle rally. Bikers from all over the world were converging on Sturgis South Dakota to just "hang out with each other" and enjoy the races. This made fuel stops interesting as well- there wasn't a stop where there wasn't conversation about the "moving mobile" while we would talk to the bikers about where they were coming from and how their ride was.

We pulled over at a truck stop at 6 Wednesday morning in order to eat while it was cool enough to leave Wally in the car. The truckstop waitress, a matronly old lady, entertained me with stories about the crazy things she had seen working nights at an interstate truck stop. The crazy and skimpy outfits that come with Sturgis were the most entertaining for her. We marveled and could hardly resist buying "Born to Be Free" Harley vests for only $10.99 an I had to wonder who actually buys the illuminated angels and indian princesses with microfibor wings that were on sale for $29.99. I envisioned many a trucker's wife being blessed with this gift when their hubby did their last minute Christmas shopping on the road. 1/2 of my skillet breakfast was shared with Wally before we got back on the road.

Wally at this point had been existing in and out of his crate for 2 full days and was now showing resistance to getting back in. He would stop as we walked back to the car after a fueling walk and splay his paws wide while he dug in his doggie heels in an attempt to stop his journey. We would have to lift him in to get him going to keep the ride moving. At one fuel stop I decided that I would start a "Where's Wally" series of photo's to entertain my kids and maybe give a little geography lesson. The first one was taken at a ghost town midway across South Dakota.

At 1pm we reached our goal of the Badlands- I had wanted to arrive here in the morning. Our visit here and most of the national parks on the trip were limited to what could be seen from the parking lots as pet's were not allowed on trails and the weather was too hot to leave Wally in or near the car. The badlands- lableled so by the French traders who found them a "bad place to travel across" were rustic and beautiful. There were many variations on the rock formations. I couldn't help but think of Billy Crystal in his midlife crisis movie as a rent a cowboy. Here we ran into Mark Gallagher- a forge racing paddler.

From there we hopped back on 90 and were off to the great town of Wall. This Western- "South of the Border-like" town was loaded with bikers. I sat outside with Wally as we waited for Greg who had gone inside to buy rootbeer floats for the two of us and a cup of icecream for Wally. We again made many new acquaintances with the bikers that were hanging around the streets. Unfortunately, I couldn't explore the wonders inside Wall drug- because of having Wally and the heat of 102 degrees.

We again got back in the car. I was very thankful that the two trailers that had been parked around us had moved- otherwise I would have had to practice my "not so fine tuned" trailer back up skills in a very crowded parking lot. We got back in the car and headed toward Mount Rushmore.

The landscape had completely changed again on the road to Rushmore- now we were on steep mountain roads with pines lining them. Again, there was a whole new variety of rock formations. You could see Rushmore as we approached but there was nowhere to pull off and take a picture. The parking lot was full of cars who each had to pay $10 to a private concessionaire. My National Parks Pass that I had purchased in the Badlands wasn't usable here and we weren't eager to line the pocket of a concessionaire that wasn't necesarily using the profits to benefit or national lands. A stop around the corner gave us a shot of Thomas Jefferson though.

Again- we were back in the car with the GPS programmed for Yellowstone. However, we did stop at the Crazy Horse Monument to check out this private monument honoring the plight of Native American's in our country. This monument is being carved slowly by a family. Apparently, they have been offered government funding to finish the project but have refused it because they didn't want any assistance from the government. At this point the face of Crazy Horse is complete, the ridge to become his arm is cut out and an outline of the horses head is painted on the rock. The rocks taken from the mountain were for sale in a big bin as a potential souvenir to take home to memorialize the visit- although it was extremely difficult, I refrained from buying one. Wally was able to join us on the viewing deck and he provided some more entertainment as we worked to get him to pose for his picture.

Again, we loaded back up the car to head toward Yellowstone- we did well moving along until around 9 pm we both admitted defeat to exhaustion and had to pull over to sleep. We found a hotel, got a room and went off to a local restaurant where I had a "late dinner breakfast skillet". Back at the room I showered off two days of road wear and was fast asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Departure August 9th

It is 5:30 in the morning and I am rushing the last of my possessions into my car as I am trying to get to my last day at work for Berkshire Medical Center as a cardiology nurse practitioner. I am leaving from work to take pursue a life long (well more than 1/2 a life long) dream. I have accepted a postition as CHAPs Training Manager for the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation in bush Alaska. So- for the next week as I travel across the country- I am bound for the bush. When I arrive, I am bound there for a few years. This means leaving behind my home, friends and much of my family.

Dillingham is my destination- a little fishing village on the Nushagek River which leads out to the Bering Sea. Dillingham is also the staging point for many people who are leaving for wilderness trips into the Togiak Wildlife Refuge and Wood Tikchick state park. The village is small and on the tundra just off shore. There are a total of 24 miles of road there- however, you can't get there from here. At least by car. The only entry to Dillingham is by plane or barge.

As I load my dog into the car and head down the road to pick up my trailer I am nervous. Some because of the constant to do list going through my head. And some, simply because I am starting to fall behind in the timing to go to work!

I back up to the trailer and have the car perfectly centered on the ball hitch when I realize that I have put the hitch that the ball goes on upside down and the trailer would be dragging on the road. Yesterday, I had made sure that everything was tightened down- so there would be no hand loosening this. My tools are well packed in the car. I scramble to get a wrench out and struggle with the loosening. After getting really anxious about being ablet to accomplish this task on my own, a few curses under my breath and a rapidly beating heart from knowing that I am running late for work and still don't know how the trailer will pull when and if I ever get it connected the ball loosens. I quickly reverse it and get it hooked up. After remembering the safe place I had put the pen and cotter pin and a quick test of the lights I pull away. The relief of knowing that my car could pull the load was emmense.

Yes, I should have tested this all out before the last minute! However, for the past six weeks since returning from my interview every waking moment has been spent researching shipping to Dillingham and sorting all of the family belongings into "sell", "ship" or "store". I have bought a snowmobile trailer with two snowmobiles so that my daughter and I can explore our new neighborhood. The space around and above the snowmobiles has become my moving van. I have also been working on finishing those unfinished projects around the house, finding tenants that I felt comfortable in leaving my home with for a few years and saying so long to family and friends. The preparation stage has kept me busy from dawn to dusk for the last few weeks and I am exhausted before even hitting the road.

I head of to work for an uneventful day other than the fact that my dog is working with me today. He behaves well and the day goes smooth. I say so long to my co-workers which is an odd feeling. I have never left a job I really enjoyed this much before and this in itself is a little nerve wracking.

I hit the road from North Adams, after my body guard for the trip arrives. My friend Greg who is presently unemployed jumped up for the job of helping me get accross the country after my daughter backed out of the cross country trip in order to have more time with her friends before she leaves. She will fly out to join me on the 28th- just in time to start school.

We are now off to Buffalo, our first goal. Here we will meet with Don Stoneman for a late dinner. He will take my Gillies marathon boat and I will continue on. Don became a fast friend last year after I agreed to race the Classique de Canot in Quebec, Canada with him last minute after his partner was injured. Our adventure of racing one of the premier marathon races in North America after only 20 minutes together in the boat really "bonded" us. Thankfully, we both had a similar sense of humor and finished this race smiling even with a few glitches like a white water swim due to a stuck zipper preventing us from swamping in the white water in the final day.

We meet Don at close to 9:15 in Buffalo. The first restaurant we arrived at was closed, but we moved down the street and shared a meal. Afterwards we spent almost 1 1/2 hours with the boat exchange in the rain. Don, insisting that I needed a "safe" boat to train with has brought me an outrigger boat to take to Alaska with me. We will be taking on the Yukon Challenge together next year and training for me will be mostly alone on the glacial Alegnigak lake and Wood River. I hope to find some recreational paddlers in Dillingham willing to paddle with me some. He has designed an adjustment to the rack which put the back end of the outrigger above the front of the trailer. We made adjustments, found space for the outrigger and got the rig adjusted in the rain. At a bit past midnight after hugs good-bye we pulled out of the parking lot with wet dog smell permeating the car.

Greg slept preparing for his shift of driving as we tooled along down the highway. We made it through New York and Pennsylvania without a problem. Just as I was crossing the Ohio line with it's welcome to Ohio sign- there was a sudden jolt and bumping felt in the back of the car. Initially for the first thirty seconds I thought it was the change in pavement- but steering had become difficult too. I pulled the car over to discover that the right trailer tire had completely peeled off the trailer.

A call to AAA wasn't of help because they don't deal with trailers. The towing company they suggested wouldn't come to get us. Finally, Officer Chris came along. He was very pleasant to deal with and finally got us a tow while weeding out the companies that would really rake our wallets. After 40 minutes more of waiting Cliff, our rescuer came along. He effortlessly pulled all my belongings up onto his flatbed and we followed him in the car back to his shop. He told us that our trailer would be ready with two new tires (which would now give us a spare) by 10:30. We found a hotel and slept until morning.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Departure

Yesterday, I started on my new adventure to the Alaskan bush where I will be pursuing an almost "lifelong" dream of working in rural health service. A random google search last year led me to a position in Alaska that fits what I have been looking to do to a tee. I found a position as CHAPs training manager on the Alaskan Native Tribal Health web site that had all the components of a dream job for me. Rural, a population

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Followers

Blog Archive

• ▼  2010 (5)
  • ▼  October (2)
    • Bush Shopping with Dividend Traffic!
    • Time flies where the time is slow!
  • ►  August (3)

About Me

Brenda Bowie

View my complete profile