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.