Moose Week

It’s August 30th and school has closed for the next week for moose hunting. Families have packed up and moved up river to moose hunt. They’re allowed three moose this year which is more than the normal one allowed. The moose numbers have increased in the last couple of years while other game such as reindeer and caribou have decreased.

Today is the day Wanda returns to Mississippi. We had a flight scheduled to leave at 8:45 am. The weather didn’t cooperate and it was nearly 2 pm before we were able to get headed to Bethel. The flight included the pilot, 5 adult passengers and 1 small child that sat in her mother’s lap. We squeezed in a small aircraft after the pilot asked our weight. Apparently it mattered so he would know if he could get the flying coffin off of the ground. He popped in 4 seats for us after he unloaded the cargo he had for Kwethluk. We flew at approximately 800 feet, just under the clouds, all the way to Bethel. I started my video when he started the engines and stopped it as we taxied up to the off loading point at Bethel. The video lasted 10 minutes and 50 seconds. To say it was a smooth flight would be a gross exaggeration of comfort and safe feelings. Honestly, he told me just before we got in the plane that if we didn’t leave in two minutes we wouldn’t be leaving. I thought oh joy we’re gonna have some fun now.

Wanda’s flight left about 30 minutes late from Bethel and disappeared in the clouds faster than I thought a plane that big could. The wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour and it was 42 degrees with rain. I stood in it until it was out of sight. I stayed out in it for a good 40 minutes after Wanda boarded. I told her I wouldn’t leave until she did. 

I am staying at the elementary school on a cot for this week while we have our annual fall conference.  The last two weeks have flown by while she was here and we planned her departure to coincide with this conference. She went with me to check in for the conference and we spent the rest of the afternoon eating an early dinner and waiting at the airport.

I can now report that the moose have definitely moved into the village area and I can’t wait to see one myself. One was spotted by a fellow passenger on our flight into Bethel and another stepped out onto the runway right after we took off from Kwethluk according to the person who dropped us off.  I got my first taste of moose meat Monday on culture day at the school. The staff had a potluck that included moose and dried and smoked salmon. Moose is very good and the best way I can describe it is that it’s very lean like venison and has a taste somewhere between venison and beef.

It’s now Thursday night, my roommate who has called me Kevin for the last 2 days, is now asleep, and the conference concludes tomorrow. (I told him my name the first night and he had it right. The next day I was Kevin. I tried to tell him the first couple of times what my name is but after that I gave up and just went with Kevin.) We will return to Kwethluk in the afternoon if the weather allows. I learned some interesting things at the conference. I took classes on Notes, iPad, iMac, canvas and technology in the classroom. I can use some of this in education but I can also use a good bit of it in my personal life. I knew how to do the basics of all of it so I was more interested in the bells and whistles that many of these products can do. There were things that I didn’t know were possible but if I had I would have been doing them for years. I’ve already shared a few things with Wanda and we’ve incorporated them into how we communicate and interact over this distance.

If there is one thing I can tell you that I wish I had thought of at the beginning of the conference it’s that I should have asked which school had showers not which school was closer. I ended up in a building without showers and have to make the long walk every morning to get one. It’s a little brisk at 6:30 with a good breeze and 42 degrees. Especially when you’re not really dressed for it. Also I’ve been sick with the crud for a week. Today I think I finally got over the hump and feel like I’m on the back side of it. My cough is starting to slow down and my sinuses are getting a little better. Maybe the morning walk has been good for me, who knows.

If everything goes well I might get to tag along on a moose hunt this weekend. If I do I’ll have something interesting to report. Until next time…