Fun Facts!

Here are some fun facts I found about Alaska the other day. Enjoy!

If you place Alaska, with all of its islands, on top of the “continental” United States, it spans from the Great Lakes to Texas, and from Florida to California.

At 591,000 square miles, Alaska is larger than Texas, California,and Montana combined.

The coastline of Alaska is longer than the coastline of the continental United States.

Of Alaska’s 3 million lakes, the largest (Lake Iliamna) is the size of Connecticut.

Alaska’s mainland is only 51 miles away from Russia.

Alaska has 17 of the 20 highest mountains in North America (Mt. McKinley is the highest at 20,320 feet).

Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for under 2 cents per acre.

The name “Alaska” comes from an Aleut word meaning “The Great Land”

Astronauts say they can see the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline from outer space.

Due to long summer days in Alaska, giant vegetables are common, such as a 98-pound cabbage recorded in 1990.

Alaska has two of the three biggest islands in the U.S. - Kodiak and Prince of Wales.

First Snow!

Even in Alaska the first snow is exciting! It came last Wednesday while we were in school and the kids were so excited! We all went to the window and watched. In Meghan's class the older kids were excited too! So even in Alaska you get a rush when the first snow comes. After school and our Wednesday district class Meghan and I let our dogs out to play. They had so much fun running and wrestling in the snow. At that point it was dark and had started to rain so we didn't stay out too long but they had a blast. 

Andy took me out hunting for ptarmigan and looking for beavers. We didn't see any beavers but a beautiful golden eagle was sitting next to the river. It let us get very close. We saw a TON of ptarmigan that day. Andy got one and I missed the one I was supposed to get after he winged it. We searched and searched but they can run fast and hide! We didn't find him which stunk because he was hurt. I now realize how fast they are and to act fast! Andy took me out again last night but we only saw two ptarmigan and they were too far to shoot. Walking in the tundra is hard work! There are a lot of holes, it is squishy so you almost have to march, and it is deep. I'm sore everyday after but it is a lot of fun to go out and it is so pretty. I have also accepted pictures can never capture the beauty of sunrises/sunsets, stars, and mountains. I still try though! I even saw a shooting star the other morning. There have been a lot of bald eagles flying around the river. I wish I could get a picture of them but they are so high up and moving so fast. They are beautiful though. 

 The eagle we saw. 

The river floods sometimes and fills the whole marshy area outside my window. Here are a couple of pictures of it flooding. It is crazy how fast it happens! You look out the window and in 15 minutes you look out and it looks like this!

Last weekend Meghan and Andy moved into their new house! I helped them carry things the best I could. Then I spent all Sunday at their house and had a really great day. It was the best weekend I've had so far. Hopefully I'll be in my house soon. My birthday is on Friday and we are hoping to have me in for my birthday but we'll see. 

It snowed again all day today. I was excited to take Piper out to play as soon as I got done with our after school program Wolf Club. It had turned to rain in the late afternoon so the snow was wet and heavy. Everything was also covered in ice and very pretty. Piper got to go in the tundra which is one of her favorite places and play in the snow so she was very happy. We stayed out for about 20 minutes until we were both drenched from the rain and wet snow. 

Temperature has been unseasonably warm with a lot of rain. We've been in the high 30s/low 40s for the past couple of weeks. Last night it was 23 but the temperature is going back up. It gets light around 9:30am and dark a bit before 6. The getting dark earlier has really cut into our walk time so I'm trying to keep Piper busy by continuing to work on training. I bought a rally obedience book and was pleasantly surprised to see Sue Oakes' review on the back of the book! Made me think of Oakes K9 and her friends there. We miss them and are still working to be on our A game when we get back. I've also been going to church every Sunday. I missed this week because I was hanging out with Meghan and Andy which I feel guilty about but it was such a great day. Church makes me miss North Wales Baptist and the Runners. I miss all of my friends and especially my family at home so much but I'm just trying to focus on all of the positives here. 

Well that's all for now. If you wrote to me, thank you! I'm sorry I've been so bad at writing back but I'm working on it. You'll get a letter soon, promise. Hopefully my next post will be pictures of my new house!

Halloween in Alaska

So the houses have arrived! Unfortunately we are still not living in them. Getting them off the barge caused a lot of damage to both houses. Then they had to get them from the beach to their spot in the village. Now they are still working on getting everything hooked up and fixed, building the arctic entry ways, etc. Hopefully by next weekend we will be in! Meghan and Andy are supposed to be moving into theirs this weekend so fingers crossed nothing gets in the way of that! Here are some pictures of the houses arrival:

I have now written four IEPs and done one re-evaluation. I'm glad I have those experiences under my belt! Piper and I have been spending about an hour outside every night so she can get some energy out and we can both stay acclimated to the dropping temperature. It has been in the high 30s/low 40s. No snow yet. It gets light around 10am and dark around 7pm at this point but this weekend is the end of day light savings. We were lucky enough to see a bold beautiful rainbow on our walk one night. There are also three new puppies :( I was hoping I wouldn't have to see anymore. Piper has impressed me with her new trick. When I put a treat on her nose she leaves it and then catches it in the air when I say take it! She doesn't always get it but she is getting good! There are also three new puppies :( I was hoping I wouldn't have to see anymore. Here are so pictures from our walks:

Andy taught me how to clean a ptarmigan. They are cute little birds and they taste delicious. The ptarmigan is the state bird of Alaska. They are brown in the summer and turn white for winter. Right now they are in the process of turning white.

Tonight was Halloween! The kids were excited all day so we didn't get a lot done but that was expected. We let them out early so we could get ready for the Halloween party. Last night Meghan and I made two huge things of Jello and then today we decorated and got everything set up. The party was for the whole village and there was a great turn out! There was bobbing for apples, blind folded pumpkin drawing, a Jello eating contest, a cake walk, and a costume contest. After the party I came home and got ready for the trick or treaters! I opened my kitchen window and passed candy out through my window. They use four wheelers to get around so I don't know why it surprised me to see them riding around trick or treating on their four wheelers. I guess seeing a group of masked boys on a four wheeler is a little shocking. My mom FaceTimed me while I passed out candy and talked to all of the kids. Piper also helped and liked looking out the window at them. The canine trick or treaters who strolled by also got treats.

Maggie was my first trick or treater. 

 Nicole and her little sister 

 Howdy, Nicole, and Kaitlyn 

 Daniel 

 Ivan

 Tommy, Daniel, Gabriel 

 Carlton and Curtis 

 Piper greeting the trick or treaters 

 Peter, Ciara, Tanya, and Layla 

Thank you to everyone who supported our school by purchasing Twin Hills School gear! It is very much appreciated! Hopefully you'll be getting your items soon. :) Piper and I are doing well. We miss everyone at home very much but we are both staying busy and I just try not to think about it. The holidays are going to be hard but I'm glad that I have Meghan and Andy to keep me company. They are great friends and I am thankful for them everyday!

Stinkweed, Bones, and a BABY!

Wow! I can't believe the first quarter ends tomorrow! I have officially written my first two IEPs and have the meetings tomorrow after school. I feel overwhelmed right now with a three year/annual, another annual, report cards, quarterly assessments, and stuff for my teaching in rural Alaska class to do but I know I will get it all done, I always do.

The puppies both left Thursday the 3rd with Meghan and Andy. When I called Alaska Airlines to make sure they could travel cargo from Dillingham to Philadelphia it was the last day of summer so when I called back to make the reservation they told me they could only fly them from Anchorage, cargo only goes out of Dillingham in the summer. I was a mess! I thought Piper had two new sisters for the rest of the year. Fortunately I have Meghan and Andy, my life savers! They were going to Anchorage that Thursday and offered to take them with. Everything fell perfectly into place. The airline said the puppies couldn't fly if it was over 85 degrees in Philadelphia when they were arriving. It's October, it won't be 85 in Philly! Well of course it was a high of 85 that day in Philly. Everyone's prayers came through and the temperature dropped. Meghan and Andy played carrier shuffle on their way to Anchorage trading mine with the vet that did the health certs and then needing to buy a new one from the airline in Anchorage. Juneau is happily living out with my aunt near Lancaster PA and Denali is living with a girl named Bekah in Selinsgrove PA. Before they left Andy said to me "Now did we learn our lesson...Are we going to do this again?" Lets just say there will be no more puppies shipped to PA anytime soon.

The day after the puppies left Piper got very sick. She was vomiting, had diarrhea, wouldn't eat (Piper ALWAYS eats!), and was lethargic. She was just laying there, drooling and looking so sad. I was a mess. The worst feeling in the world was knowing I couldn't get to a vet. She even pooped herself in her sleep Saturday morning. I knew she ate some puppy poop but she had also found some weird plastic thing with staples in it she ate. I didn't know if it was a parasite, virus, or blockage. I withheld food and then eventually put her on a bland diet. Thank goodness Dr. Ross her vet sent us with enough metro for an episode of diarrhea a month. After a few days she was back to herself and she is now feeling much better. That was very scary and I hope we don't need to go through that again out here.

Onto some exciting news....Meghan and Andy were going to Anchorage to find out the sex of their BABY!!! She told me she was pregnant at inservice in August and now that she has announced the pregnancy and the sex of the baby I can too!! They're having a baby girl! I am so so happy for them and can't wait until the baby arrives. She is due in March so she'll leave the village in February to go stay in their house in Homer until the baby is born. Then they'll come back here to finish out the year. Being pregnant in rural Alaska is quite a project. She has to fly out to Anchorage for all of her doctor appointments every six weeks.

Ash and Piper announcing the baby! :)

Last week Andy took me out ptarmigan hunting. Yes, I went out hunting and carried a gun. We didn't see any but I got to go all the way out to the lake I'd been seeing from afar. It is bigger than I thought and was very pretty. I then got to practice my shooting skills and after many attempts I shot a tree! Well he told me I did anyway. He also took a few shots at it so I wonder if any of the hits we actually me but we can pretend they were.

Martha took me to the old Togiak site this week. Most of the people there starved one winter. The people were so weak and so many were dying they began closing houses with the dead instead of digging graves. Their bellies were full of smelts so they say smelts have no nutritional value. The people lived in sod houses so old village has disappeared. It was right on the edge of the sea so the ocean is naturally excavating the site. Martha told me people come down here to find artifacts to sell. Because the ocean is eroding it everyday something new is always exposed. She also said because there were so many that died and buried in their homes it isn't uncommon to find body parts. We found some pieces of an old pot and lots of animal bones. We could also see logs strategically placed, ash from fire pits, and some areas packed with dried grass. While we were looking I found a pointy tooth I assumed was a bear tooth. I carried it around while we looked and eventually showed Martha and her boyfriend to ask what kind of tooth they thought it was. It was at that moment we realized I was looking at the tooth wrong. The pointy part was the root. We turned it around and the actual tooth was a perfect match for a human top front tooth! I screamed and threw the tooth up into the grasses. I should have taken a picture but I was too grossed out. Now maybe it was a tooth to some other animal but it sure was the perfect shape and size to be human! After carrying around human remains we searched for stinkweed, a medicinal plant. People use it for aroma therapy in maqis, drink it as medicine, and put it on open sores. We picked a bunch and it is hanging upside down drying in my house. I don't think I'm brave enough to drink it but it does smell very good.

Old Togiak:

 Old Togiak is right next to the cannery

 Stinkweed

 Bone

 Pieces of an old pot

 Something made of dried grass

 More bones

 Martha looking for things

Bear jaw

During our trip down to old Togiak we got to see maintenance from the school district plowing down part of the beach for the barge to arrive! Our houses got here Friday night. Maintenance broke all of the equipment getting the houses off the barge so they are just sitting down by the beach right now. They'll be back tomorrow to repair the machines and start dragging them all the way to the village! They'll be here soon!

Here are some pictures from our boat trip to Togiak a few weeks ago. It was tough to take a straight picture rocking in the boat so sorry they aren't the best!

Passing the cannery 

 Huge boat at the cannery 

 Togiak! 

Last chance to help support student activities at our school! Order Twin Hills School clothing apparel at http://twinhills.groupfundraisingstore.com Sale ends TOMORROW!!! Thank you to everyone who has already bought something! It is very much appreciated!