Fall Adventures in Chevak

Taking a break from gathering wood.

The beautiful colors of the fall tundra.

Kirby and his "gondola!" :)

We are already half way through the first quarter which is hard to believe. I have realized that I am not blogging as much as I did last year which is probably because there aren't as many new things for me. BUT, just when I was beginning to think that winter was coming without any new fall adventures... things changed. :)

Since we often take steams (maqii) with Denise and Carrie, Chris and I told them that we would like to go out by boat with them to help collect wood for the wood stove that is used. So, one afternooon after school around 5:30p, we headed out by boat with Denise and Kirby towards Kashunak. We took the shortcut and about a mile and a half from our destination, we got stuck in one of the sloughs because the tides had changed and the water was too low for the boat. It was soon sitting in mud. We decided to make a fire and have a snack and then try pushing the boat a ways until we got to higher water... but, the higher water wasn't coming anytime soon. So, after some pushing we made the decision to make another fire, sit back, and wait until the tide came in again... this happened around midnight. We did get to see a GORGEOUS pink and orange sunset over the tundra and the night was lit by a bright, full moon. We made it home around 2am... needless to say, I didn't workout at 6:30 that morning! Thanks for the adventure
Denise and Kirby!

Me, Kirby, and Denise

Priscilla, me, some of my students, and a beluga!.. Impromptu field trip :)

Earlier this week Chevak was fortunate to have a pod of beluga whales come through our river which doesn't happen every year. I have never seen a whale in real life so I was super excited to see one, while the locals were super excited to catch one! News spread quickly over the VHF and through word of mouth (and cell phones now) that the whales were here so around 2 o'clock, with permission from the principal, Priscilla and I took the kids down to check for whales. Without each kid having a pair of binoculars this would be a difficult task... BUT, someone had caught a beluga and had just begun the gutting/portioning process so we were lucky enough to see this! I didn't have my camera (BAD teacher!), but the superintendent's wife was in town and was cool enough to snap some shots and send them my way(thanks, Bev!). Now, talk about hands-on science and social studies! Ah, life in the vill.

Emily and I on a boat ride with the Ulroans.