Bush planes

My first bush plane experience was August 1, 2015 coming to Elim and it scared the crap out of me.  The pilot missed the runway in Elim because he came in way to fast and had to circle around which took an extra 20 minutes.  The noise was unbearably loud and I was certain I would go deaf after a couple more trips.  I have found out now that that was a single engine plane and there are other bush planes slightly roomier and less deafening with more engines!  

This was our trip in January to Anchorage for Jack's principal training! 

The blue roof house in the front is ours!  Everything past the houses is the ocean.  It looks like land since the ocean is frozen.

View of the Elim village.

Since the plane stops in a couple villages (routes differ daily) you don't know what time you are being picked up exactly.  They announce it on the CV radio about when they are landing then one of the janitors picks us up in the truck while we wait on the side of the runway for the plane to land. The airline Bering Air does a morning and an afternoon flight.  You can't schedule it online so you call and give them your name and route you want to fly.  You don't even pay beforehand!  When you land in Nome you pay.  So it is easy to cancel/reschedule, which is so weird for an airline.  And that is how we missed our flight to Anchorage, no set times.  We had to take the evening flight and hang out in Nome for 8 hours. 

This is Nome straight ahead.  It is about an hour ride straight from Elim to Nome, population 3,000ish. 

Landing in Nome where we get the jet to Anchorage.

Anchorage was great.  We were there for the 7.1 earthquake. We shopped, ate sushi, went to the dentist, pediatrician, dermatologist, hairstylist, and chiropractor.  I stocked up on some refrigerator/freezer food and best of all the hotel had a swimming pool we enjoyed.  This was Crew's first time in the water.

 What to do when you find an abandoned bike in the produce aisle?  Ride it behind the cart!

One of the Anchorage Walmart's has a "Bush program" to pack and ship your purchased items for you!  It's much cheaper to do it yourself, but it came in handy for all the school needs and huge over sized items.

The Alaska fur exchange had a real crocodile underneath the table....random.

 The fox fur to make hats and mittens for the biculture class.  I see why hats go for $300 now!

The trip is over and this is the kids in Nome walking to our plane to head back to Elim. 

This was the pilot getting in his "door" of the single engine plane.

Leaving Nome.

Elim's runway in sight straight ahead!

Peculiar things about this peculiar place

SCHOOL: the hub of events

Bingo for books was the January event the teachers put on for the community. Free books lined the tables and floor around the lunch room to be won while Jack served ice cream cones.

Pep rally for boys basketball

Jack, the coach, and athletic director.

The coach's dad, an Elder, saying a prayer for the team.

Zax got picked for a free cup, lol!

And his prefect attendance slush puppy ticket.

INDOOR HOBBIES
Wearing moosey socks on moosey Monday

I knit and Jack sews.

Jack did an awesome job with their hats!

Playtime!

Play date with Emma, a teacher's daughter.

This was at 11:50am. I was heading into the post office and saw the sun rising over the frozen ocean.

Different day, same time, view from the counselors office. Our cellphone service stopped working after Christmas for no reason so I was there getting ready to teach my relief society lesson on the school landline. We use gmail to call for the other meetings to listen to at home.

THE FOOD

The village store inconsistently has fruit, sometimes it has already gone bad, and it's expensive. This batch was $35. When it is in I am grateful.

Whale chili. The meat on its own was hard to eat, so Jack made it into a chorizo sausage and it was great in our chili.

Fresh crab, still alive!

Trying to escape

Ila swiped Jack's shake at school.  We're staying healthy with Isagenix shakes now.  My sister introduced me to the company and now I'm hooked and glad they ship here!

The sister missionaries are over the bush branch and scheduled this FaceTime session to get to know us!  In our branch it's expected to never meet the fellow members since it spans across the entire state, anywhere rural. The sisters teach lessons on skype and email with members and their friends.

Crew just turned 7 months old. Toothless, hairless, but lots of smiles and love.