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| Snow covered Mountains down the Nome-Teller Highway |
Roads closed since October have continued to be cleared, so
I was able to make my first trip to Banner Creek in months. Banner Creek is a settlement of houses
a half hour drive outside of town.
Most of the houses are without plumbing, relying on honey buckets and
outhouses, and none have landlines.
During the winter folks must walk, ski, or snow machine out to their
vehicles through treacherous conditions to make the perilous and long drive
into town. Friends living here
experienced pipes that were frozen indefinitely, an indoor temperature of no
higher than 50 degrees all winter, relying on saunas for bathing purposes and
subsequently starting multiple fires in the process. Needless to say, it’s some hard living. In the warmer weather however, some would
say it’s all worth it. Residents
of Banner Creek enjoy living directly next to the river, cascading mountains,
ample wildlife, and the serenity of a remote location. For me, visiting a friend for a
bring-your-own-topping banana pancake breakfast bash was more than enough for
me. Hard living, but a nice place
to visit.
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| "Bannaner Creek" Pancakes |
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| A Banner Creek backyard |
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| One of the nicer honey buckets I've seen - no this doesn't flush! |
Later that evening it was time for the annual Soup-er
Bowl! Attendees choose a pottery
bowl that was handmade by students at the UAF campus, and enjoy three servings
of gourmet soup as a fundraiser for next year’s NYO games. This event is talked about all year,
and brings quite a turn out.
Activities usually begin on “Nome Time”; that is, about 15-20 minutes
later than the time stated. The
Soup-er Bowl however brought out a crowd that was early and waited for the
doors to be opened. The only other
times that folks arrive early to wait in Nome is for the first Iditarod musher
to cross the burled archway, and to be one of the lucky few that is issued a
permit to shoot a female moose, or “cow tag”. I was warned of the crowds (everything is gone by 5:30!), so
I arrived early to secure my spot and have my choice of pottery bowls. The event was scheduled to start at
6pm, so I arrived at 5:20, thinking I would be joining a line. Much to my surprise, I was met by
nothing more than a swirling dirt devil.
It wasn’t long before others started straggling in, and it was a warm
sunny day so I didn’t mind the wait.
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| Dirt Devil greeting us (these things kick up all the time) |
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| Checking out the menu |
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| They all sounded delicious, hard to choose |
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| One of the biggest lines Nome will ever see! |
Let me tell you, it was worth the wait! I got to window shop the bowls ahead of
time, so I knew just the one I wanted.
I also scoped out the menu while waiting in line, so I had my top choice
ready in mind. I started with
Spicy Chicken Curry Thai soup, with noodles, snow pea pods, sweet potato, and
coconut milk. Next I chose a rich
Tomato Gorgonzola, and finished with Mulligatawny Stew filled with “everything
but the kitchen sink” – it had 48 ingredients including lentils, carrots,
potatoes, and apples. Going with a
friend to this event is key, so as to share and taste even more soups.
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| Handmade bowls and a bigger line |
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| My first bowl of soup - yum! |
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| My honey's first pick |
Fortunately for me I went with a whole group of friends, and
was able to try nearly all of the twenty-two different soups on the menu. There were a total of 140 quarts of
soup made for this event, and by the end it was all gone. Bon appétit! Our method of attack for getting the soups of our choice
(with so many people, they run out fast!) was to get a bowl, walk back to the
end of the line and eat our soup while waiting. By the time we arrived at the serving line our bowls are
empty and ready to go. Despite
this precarious technique, I was able to hold onto my bowl for the whole evening
without casualty. Throughout the
evening an unlucky few lost theirs through the telltale sound of breaking
pottery. Each time a bowl would
smash, the room would erupt in “oooooooo”ing and “awwwww”ing. Shucks. After all was said and done, the Soup-er Bowl was quite a
production, and certainly lived up to its hype.
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| The soup line and the crowds, in the high school cafeteria |
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| This young soup fan enjoyed it from head to toes! |
The cold and snow have stuck around (as you are enjoying 80
degree weather, we’re still getting
snow), but Lemonade Day was upon us sun or not. This was an event for school age children to learn how to become
entrepreneurs by starting their own business and setting up a stand to sell
their wares for one day in the community.
This was reminiscent of the famous Pushcart Fair of my middle school
days, and it was fun to see all of the kids out in the streets with their
goodies. Hot chocolate may have
been a better sell on this brisk day, but many kids made delicious lemonade
from scratch, with plenty of other treats to be sold as well. We were on our way to a hike, so we
only got the chance to snag a few cupcakes and rock-hard, frozen rice crispy
treats, but it was fun to support some budding business owners.
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| One of the many Lemonade Day stands |
We’re never quite sure where we want to hike. Once you’re outside of town you’re
immediately surrounded with mountains of all sorts, so we just pick one of our
three roads, choose a peak that looks good, and start hoofin’ it. This time, while searching for a spot
to climb, we were lucky enough to find eight adult moose, all seemingly
pregnant, chilling out at the base of a hill. I could’ve stared at these gals for hours, and they were
certainly checking us out too. After
pulling ourselves away from the moose maternity ward, we made the trek up the
mountain and back, and upon our descent were able to peek at these moose once
again, with no further additions.
We nicknamed the peak “Baby Bump” in honor of the momma moose. What a sight to behold!
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| The moose mamas-to-be |
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| Penny River is open |
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| Sledge Island, taken from the top of "Baby Bump" |
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| The best part is the absolute silence at the top... |
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| Our hiking crew |
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| Surrounded in beauty |
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| Quick mishap, bound to happen |
This week was our very last junior high session of the year,
bringing in 8th graders from nine different villages that have
already attended this year. This
particular week was called Freshman Transition Camp, and was designed to give
the younger students a sneak peak into many of the core intensive courses that
are offered to high school students.
I was tasked with organizing the whole shebang, and let me tell you, I
pulled it off. I lead the students
through six hours of babysitting training, while also leading many of the hands
on activities. Students made
cupcakes and learned how to decorate them for a taste of Culinary Arts, made a
spiral keychain beading project for Native Arts, took mini joyrides in our
Driver’s Ed vehicle, used a plasma cutter to carve their names into pieces of
metal, earned their Food Handler’s cards, and learned how to tie a fishing net
out of rope. Definitely one of my
busier sessions, but also one of the most fun.
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| Last junior high group of the year! |
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| Practicing how to pick up a toddler |
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| Practicing how to feed an infant |
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| Helping out a new friend! |
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| Real women weld |
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| Real men bake |
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| The finished cupcakes - beauties! |
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| Morning rec at the bowling alley |
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| Eskimo beading project |
The students were full of that excitement and enthusiasm you
only see in middle school, and I was soaking it in. I was given yet another Eskimo name; Unga this time, meaning
smile. I was told this should be
my name because even through all of the craziness I kept a smile on my
face. Students this session were
especially thoughtful, and bought flowers for me for Mother’s Day, saying that
I was one of their “NACTEC moms”.
Too cute! These younger
students have not yet lost the spark and zest for learning, and it was a great
way to end the year with this age group.
One more session to go!
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| My lovely "Mother's Day" bouquet |
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| How pretty! |
A sleepless night during the week caused me to make another
kuspuk, this time for a friend and coworker. It turned out even better than my first one! This gift was made just in time for
“Kuspuk Wednesday”, a spirit day of sorts for Nome Public Schools. Both of us decided to wear our parkas
in support. I received many
compliments, and folks could hardly believe I’d made them. Throughout the day students compared
their kuspuks to mine, pointing out the differences between each of the individual
styles made in the villages.
Simple things like the way the hood is constructed, the placement of the
ric-rac, and the size and design of the pocket are key indicators of which area
your garment was originally made or designed from. I found out that mine is in the style of St. Lawrence
Island, where people actually call them gusspuks. The more you know!
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| Another finished kuspuk |
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| Celebrating "Kuspuk Wednesday" |
