tracibuckle

Eek is a beautiful little village on the Eek river in the tundra of Western Alaska. The population here is about 280 people with a little less than 90 kids in the school, K-12. The nights are starting to get longer. The sun is rising about 7:30 am and the sun is going down before 10:00 pm, finally. There is nothing worse than starting to teach and the sun is still up at 11:30 and you can't get to sleep. I am keeping very busy with school and I am traveling to Bethel quite often for various meetings. Can't wait for the snow!!!!!... read more

I arrived in Bethel the morning of Saturday, August 9th. New teacher training was to begin on Monday, August 11th and I wanted to see a little of the sights before starting work. I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast on the Kuskokwim River and spent my day wandering the town. It is a utilitarian town of about 5,000. From the moment I arrived people were nothing but nice to me. It started with the school district sending a driver for me at the airport. I got a brief tour of the town by truck and we stopped by at the Saturday market that is held in the community center. Julie introduced me to a few of her artistic friends and I met the local organic gardener and bought some local produce. I spent Saturday and ... read more

August 7, 2008 Rafting ride on the Talkeetna River in Alaska. Talkeetna. a small tourist/artist town that is just southeast of the Denali National Forest and is a starting point for many of the mountain climbers that dare to scale the peaks. I arrived in Talkeetna after two nights in Anchorage. I stayed at a lovely hostel in town and found my way wandering through town where I spotted a sign for a rafting ride. Who can say no? Had a wonderful Bear Tooth Ale while waiting for the trip and then we gathered together and traveled in a van to our launch site. It was a very beautiful evening. We didn't see much wildlife, but a bald eagle, beaver, and salmon. Apparently we missed a baby bear by about 20 minutes. (Which would probably mean ... read more