The Art of Berry Picking

Berries here grow close to the ground. These are called "low bush" berries. The pine-looking leaves to the right of the red plant is called Labrador tea. It smells really good and can be used as a medicinal tea.  The berries in this pic are crowberries and blackberries.  They aren't like the blackberries (high bush) we have at home. They are just little black pea-sized berries. So far I have picked over two gallons of berries, including blueberries.  People make agutak (pronounced uh-goo-tack) or "Eskimo Ice Cream" out of the berries in winter.  It is made with Crisco, sugar, a dash of milk, and berries. Actually, it is pretty good, and of course, fattening.

Fall on the tundra is not observed by looking up.  The evergreens stay the same.  Fall is observed by looking down as the fireweed turns red and the plants on the ground turn colors.  There are, however, some birch trees here whose leaves turn yellow in color.

My friend, Colleen, bought me this seat in PA. Unfortunately, about an hour after this pic was taken, I plopped down on it and broke it. :(  I will miss it, because it saved my knees and my back.

8/25-26/2011 Funky Bathroom Stalls and Rainbows

These are great stalls in the ladies' room at the King Ko Restaurant in Naknek.

 Here is a partial rainbow behind the SAVEC building at the old airforce base in King Salmon. (above and right)

 Here is another rainbow in Naknek.

Boats docked for the winter at Naknek.

The Cost of Things in Bush Alaska 8/20-22/2011

  The cost of living in bush Alaska is absurd.

It costs $11.55 for a variety pack of Pringles.                                        Ice pops are $13.35 per pack.

 A 10 lb. bag of flour is $17.75.

A 4 lb. bag of sugar is $7.59.

A box of 144 Huggies diapers costs $72.65.















FREE: blueberries, blackberries, crowberries, cranberries, and flowers to make fireweed jelly. 

 FREE:
Dried salmon

 FREE:
Moose meat

 This fancy sign is from the Naknek Trading Company's General Store. The grocery store is right next to it.  Believe it or not, the prices are slightly lower than in Iliamna.  I bought a kitchen towel set and some long underwear here.  Prices are crazy.  I am glad I shipped most of my stuff up ahead of time.  I'm ordering fresh produce from WA state from a place called Full Circle Farms that sells organic fruits and vegetables.  I am going half with anther teacher, so it is not so expensive.

8/20/11 The Landing and the Rapids

This is The Landing where boats can be put in to go North up the river to Nondalton and Lake Clark. Fellow teachers: Mary, Derek, and Kirsten.  This is north of the village.

Here is the view from the landing looking north (upriver). This river runs pretty fast!

The color of the water at the Newhalen River Rapids is the most beautiful turquoise. It's amazing!
 

The Rapids is downriver from the landing, closer toward Newhalen and Lake Iliamna.

 The water is totally clear.

My happy self.

Flora and Droppings from Big Fauna...8/20/11

Stoney ground, lots of moss and different shades of green.

Looks like a wasp type insect.

Fireweed starting to turn red.

Purple flowers

Mary and Kirsten near the Rapids.

Look what we saw right on the trail!  Bear poo.

                                      Looks like he ate lots of berries.

My Classroom at Newhalen School

 This is a view of the school complex.  To the left with the blue roof is the Newhalen House, used to house students for the School-to-Life vocational program. The next building in the background is the school.  Then, the red roofed building is the teacher apartments. My apartment is the one with the blue and white steps on the left.  The window is my bedroom.  To the right, connecting the apartments, is the laundry and freezer room, then more apartments on the right.

Newhalen School

This is the view from my classroom window. You can see the lake and the mountains from here.

This is the elementary area.

The computer area

The high school and junior high area

Sink and closet area

My desk

 The cabinets separate the lower and upper areas.

The room to the right and below is a quiet place off the elementary area that is used for storage and for a quiet place to work.

A Short Walk Around Newhalen

New building for Russian Orthodox Church-they're still working on it.

You can see the lake and the mountains in the background.

I took a walk and found the Russian Othodox Church and the graveyard.

This is a view of the Newhalen River.

Newhalen River with the mountains in the background.

There are only 10 miles of paved roads here.

This is Dump Lake, so called because it is across from the dump.  The kids don't swim in it because it has leeches. The brown dirt you see is where the 4-wheelers drive next to the road.

 This is Fireweed.  You can pick the flowers when they are open and boil them to make Fireweed jelly!

In the fall, the leaves and stems of the Fireweed turn bright red, hence the name.