On Tuesday October 18th at 2:30pm we boarded an Iliamna Air plane called a Pilatus and headed to King Salmon, AK. I was so excited that I could barely contain my anticipation. I was a little nervous about flying on the small Pilatus because in Alaska plane crashes are very common. Our pilot was a sweetheart and everyone on staff knew him which made me feel safer. Also, Ron sat in the co-pilot spot and he use to be a pilot so that made me feel better that if anything should happen Ron was there. When we boarded the plane, Richard, another teacher from the district was already on the plane. I had met Richard weeks back at the district cross country event. He is from Pittsburgh so we have a lot in common. We had one more stop to make before heading for King Salmon. We flew across the lake and over to Newhalen to pick up Derek. Derek is also from Pennsylvania. Side note: A lot of people from our District are either from Pennsylvania or Montana. Anyway, we picked up Derek and we were off to King Salmon. The ride was not too bad, a bit bumpy with turbulence but overall it was quick.
We landed in King Salmon and a bus was there to pick us up and take us to our sleeping destinations. Originally we thought we would all be sleeping at the school but they put us up in a lodge and an old military dorm. We stopped at one of the stores on our way to pick up some things. I was looking around at the prices and was surprised but not shocked. A bag of Lays potato chips were over $8. I decided I did not need anything at that point in time and saved some money.
We dropped off Derek and Richard at Savaoc (old military dorm) and then the rest of the Nondalton staff continued onto Bear Trail Lodge. This is one of the top Lodges in Alaska for fishing. Danielle and I stayed in one of the cabins with two other personnel from the district. We unpacked a bit and then headed over to the main building to mingle with the other staff members that were there. I got to meet tons of people from all over our district. They are an amazing group of people and they are all a close knit family. I am so lucky to be apart of this. As we mingled the Bear Trail Lodge staff let us have free reign over the bar since it was the end of the season and they were trying to get rid of everything. Needless to say, the alcohol didn’t last very long because there was not much left, which only meant the staff members were running out to the store picking up more alcohol. Now I know what you must be thinking. This is a professional development with the people you’re working with and you’re all drinking and having fun. Well the only thing I can say is that it is a different way of life up here. And we are all adults and the district respects us for what we do and understand that we are isolated out in our villages and need time to just have fun.
Everyone from Savaoc got picked up on the bus and was brought over to Bear Trail for some dinner. We had some awesome Mexican food. The cook there made tacos, enchiladas, burritos, etc. It was delicious! We all hung out for a bit before Savaoc people had to go home early because of the bus. The rest of us at Bear Trail stayed up till about 11pm talking, drinking and getting to know one another.
The next morning came too soon, 6am my alarm went off so that I could jump in the shower and get my day started. The bus was there to pick us all up at 7am and took us over to the Bristol Bay School. It was about a 20 minute drive and we were all so tired. When we arrived at the school they had breakfast waiting for us. Nothing fancy, just yogurt, fruit, muffins, etc. Around 8:30am we all headed to the classrooms were we would have an hour and half sessions. The sessions were a variety of topics from learning about technology, to literacy in the classroom, science, social studies, you name it. We had two sessions in the morning then recreational time. During this time, you could do yoga, swimming, basketball, volleyball, etc. You could also use this time to walk down the road to the visit the store. At 12:15-1:15 the school supplied us with lunch. Day 1 we had some wonderful sandwiches with pasta salad and veggies. We all raided the veggies because it’s so hard to come by fresh veggies and fruit out in the villages because it doesn’t last long and it’s so expensive to fly it out. So overall, lunch was good. Then in the afternoon we attended two more sessions before calling it a day. By 5:15 the day was over and we were getting back on the buses to head to Bear Trail for dinner.
Bear Trail that night was pretty much the same as the night before. This time we were served BBQ Chicken and ribs. It was very tasty. Once again we didn’t get to spend too much time with our Savaoc people because the bus came to pick them up shortly after dinner. Bear Trail people stayed up too late that night having beers and playing card games. It was a blast but getting into bed at 1am and getting up at 6am was not a good combination. The next day we were moving like glaciers but made it to the school and did the same routine as the day before.
Thursday night instead of going back to Bear Trail for dinner we did a Memorial Fun Walk/Run on Naknek beach. This is the second or third Memorial run for someone that died in our district a few years back. She was young like me, practicing for a run she was going to be participating in during winter. She was running in the woods with her headphones in and didn’t notice a pack of wolves following her. Unfortunately she did not survive the attack so the district puts on this Memorial for her every year. Most of the people who were there were from our district, others were townspeople who came out to support and remember her. A bunch of us walked but a good amount ran too and competed for metals. It was so nice just walking along the beach. It’s so peaceful and calm. There were tons of jelly fish washed up on the shore but that’s normal to any beach. The thing that is different here is that beached walrus’ and whales are common to see. Bristol Bay runs right into the ocean. For those of you who watch Deadliest Catch, this is one of the places they are in and out of.
After the walk/run we went over for a BBQ in one of the airplane hangers. This is where I got to try Moose and Salmon. The moose ribs were actually really tasty. It was chewy like jerky but very good. As most of you know, I am not a fish person. However, I am in Alaska and I have to try new things. I tried the Alaskan Salmon, while it was tasty and good, I still did not enjoy it. Sorry! You should be proud of me though for trying. After we were done eating we began planning how we were all going to get to go out for the evening to a local bar. It was difficult to plan because there are so many of us and only a few transportations available. Then there’s the issue that not all of us are staying at the same place. It was very complicated. However we were able to figure a plan out. We headed back to King Salmon and went to a bar called Eddies. It was small, dark, smokey, and everything you would think an old bar would look like. We had a few drinks there and then walked across the street to a bar called Kin Ko’s. Kin Ko’s was a newer bar, still smokey, but brighter and just looked like a new bar. The only difference here was they have what you call a crab pot. To me, they were cages. It was a small stage with poles that were covered in fish netting. Now, I walk in looking at these things and you can image what I’m thinking. The staff giggle and said “yepp, welcome to Alaska, how many more do you need before you jump in there?” I laugh and say absolutely not, no way. We all laugh it off and sit down with another drink. The bar started playing a trivia game asking a variety of questions so we got into teams and played. It was a lot of fun and since we were all teachers we knew almost every answer. It got to be midnight and so we called it a night and decided to go home because we still had one more day of sessions.
Friday came and we were looking like zombies but we still pushed through the day with flying colors. When the sessions were over we were able to go shopping before heading back to Bear Trail for dinner. I picked up a few things at the grocery store but didn’t want to go overboard since it all needed to fit into my suitcase which space was limited. We got back to Bear Trail and had the best dinner I’ve had in awhile. They served us prime rib, potatoes, steamed broccoli, caesar salad, and rolls. To top it all off, for dessert we had chocolate brownie sundaes. It was heavenly. Just about everyone on staff decided that because it was our last night we were going to hit the bar one more time. Plus Kin Ko’s was having an end of the world party that night because it was there last night being open for the season. We loaded onto the buses and went into town. The bar had a few locals and then all us teachers. We danced and had a great time. Before we knew it there was a dance competition. The bar was going to give money away to the person who won the competition. Before I knew it a bunch of teachers were signed up to dance and even a few locals. Let me just say it was one of the funniest and shocking experiences in my life. Let’s just say the dancing happened in the crab pots and on the bar. There were pitchers of water being dumped on people. It was crazy!! Not at all what I was expected but we had a lot of fun. The older teachers went home around midnight while the rest of us young people stayed out till 2am. It was a blast. However, waking up the next morning was not fun. We were all not feeling well and had to pack and jump on our planes to head home. We had a quick breakfast with everyone then it was departure time.
We got on the plane sometime after 10am and were home in a half hour. We had the same pilot that we had coming out. The flight was so smooth and peaceful. The views are amazing. I wish I had taken pictures but there just wasn’t enough time to do everything.
Overall, it was an amazing week with lots going on. We barely had time to just relax. We were constantly moving but it was so nice. It feels weird to be home now, alone with nothing to do. For days we were constantly surrounded by people and now it just feels weird not having them around. They really are like my second family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everyone is just amazing and so sweet.
Ps- It’s looking more and more like I am going to be staying next year too. I talked with the head of human resources while I was there and he said he would try to get me a job next year if there was an opening and if there wasn’t one in the district he has tons of connections elsewhere. So fingers crossed that I can stay! I love it here!!!
Anyway, I know this was a ton to read and obviously I left things out but you got the jist. xoxoxo
