A Little Bit of Everything

It's been about a week and a half since we've posted last, and there have been lots of things going on in Goodnews, so this post will have lots of random photos and stories...enjoy!

First of all, congratulations to Donny Porter for winning our Alaska basket at the fundraiser in Everson last weekend. In addition to some delicious Alaskan jellies and rolls, Donny won the first season of Alaska: The Last Frontier on DVD. In our post Alaska Basket, we wrote that this is the only show on Alaska worth watching that gives an authentic picture of life in the bush. Our friend Gary actually knows some of the people from the popular show Alaskan Bush People, and he said that the show is fake, along with many others on TV. His actual estimation of Alaska reality shows went something like this: "The Last Frontier...it's a pretty good show. The rest of them are all BS." Most of the others have a lot of manufactured drama and try to sensationalize bush life. So if you want the Real McCoy, watch The Last Frontier or read our blog!

No manufactured drama here, either. Last weekend, I got my Honda stuck about 5 miles out on the trail to the trout stream.

 The quad sunk down in the mud so deep that the frame of the quad was actually resting on the trail. I spent about an hour trying to get it out by shoving sticks and grass from the tundra under the tires to try to give it leverage. But it was stuck pretty good. So, I walked a mile and a half and climbed a hill, praying that I would have cell coverage enough to call somebody. Luckily, I was able to get a bar on my phone long enough to call Gary. The poor guy was relaxing at home watching football, but he drove the 5 miles out to pull my quad out of the rut.

Gary actually got stuck here himself the day before, but he was with someone and they were able to get his quad out. After pulling my quad out, we made a new trail on the tundra that bypasses this section.

Looks like mink or muskrat tracks. These were everywhere along the bank of the stream. 

A 17" dolly varden char. 

This is actually pretty small for this type of fish. There were some much larger char I saw swimming by my line. I'll be back for them in a couple of weeks. 

My fishing pole bunjeed to the front of the quad and caribou antlers 

I found on the tundra bunjeed to the back. 

Sounds like the start of a great country song.

A bridge on the trail made from PVC pipes tied together.

We may not have fall leaves in autumn, but the tundra has some beautiful colors of its own. The smell is unique as well, a mix between fall leaves and evergreen; very aromatic.

The greenhouse behind the school.

This weekend I unboarded it, cleared out all the weeds and junk, 

and planted some cold weather crops.

The dirt is not very good, so we'll see whether anything will grow or not.

It would be great to have salad again!

Ben and I have been playing basketball at men's open gym on Tuesday nights.

It's been a good chance for us to meet some of the people in the village our age (and get a little exercise!) 

In addition to preparing for the week, our Saturdays are now spent as chaperons for school-age open gym. Each classroom has a time they can come up and play games in the gym (or play on computers for the older students). Here, Christina is showing some K-2 students how to play cornhole, one of our favorite games from back home.