Walking on water

 I was looking through some recent pictures when I realized that it has been quite a while since I have posted any updates. So here are some new pictures and news.

This picture of me to the left is an example of a typical days outfit, plus a little frost. We had a brief hiatus from the bitter cold for almost three weeks and thought that Spring was on its way. Hovering around + 30*F the temperature was a relief and made things much more bearable. However, now it is back into the negatives, but not too bad. The sun has been hanging out for longer and longer each day, up to an additional five minutes, which has been helping with the winter blues. Today I laid on the couch, in front of the window, and soaked up as much of its precious rays as I could.

Some time back I was given an entire king salmon that had been stuck in the back of our freezer at work. It was caught by Fish and Wildlife just in front of our house during the summer, so I was pretty excited to try it. After carrying the thing home, with a huge grin on my face, I was faced with the dilemma of what to do with it once at home. Fortunately, it fit in our stand up freezer, but then the question came up about how to divide it into manageable pieces for just two people. One option  would have been to just let the whole thing thaw out and feast on it for a couple of days. Not a bad choice, but I was hoping to enjoy the salmon over a period of time. Option two presented itself when I recalled having brought an over abundance of tools. Ah ha! The wood saw, a natural choice for dismantling a frozen carcass. It wasn't until I had begun hacking away at the poor fish that I even thought about how barbaric the situation was. But I suppose, when in Alaska... However gruesome the processing was, the results were effective and delicious. I also learned that salmon saw dust makes a great treat for the cats. Needless to say they were pleased.

The Yukon River in September

The same spot in February

Earlier this week Marta and I took advantage of a beautiful sunny day during the short Spring break and went on a walk across the river. We had not done that walk yet and is was kind of strange to conceptualize the event, having never really thought about the idea before. The crunching of the snow against the ice just beneath our feet made eerie sounds that changed in pitch depending on the thickness and density of the snow. Next to the banks and right in the middle the river looks just like a snow highway, which it essentially is, with sled grooves and track marks. It is not uncommon for young riders to cruise at speeds at over 100 mph!

Serving as a vital method of transportation not only within the village, but to and from other villages as well, the frozen river also serves as a hangout place for the youth in the area. This is made painfully apparent, especially in the evening, by the screaming snow machines racing by at all hours.

While on our walk we saw several sticks aligned in rows embedded in the ice which is the method for setting up nets for fishing. We also saw a man painstakingly chipping away at the ice to collect the chunks into buckets for water. I am told this was the common practice up until less than twenty years ago before the village was furnished with a modern water and sewer system. Apparently there are still some people that have to resort to this method when pipes freeze, or when a families poverty level prevents even the most basic of utilities.

Once on the other side of the river we could see the whole village and the perspective of seeing it from the outside really reminded me of how small it is. Living within the village and not travelling outside of it for prolonged periods of time make it feel bigger somehow. This, I imagine, is why so many people here seem to be content with staying here.

Having come from the outside though, it is difficult to be content knowing very well what else is out there and wanting to enjoy those pleasures not provided here. That is why our main goal at this point is to enjoy, as much as possible, the things that can only be seen and experienced here. Which there are plenty.