Summer's over!

Today's September 21, and the last day of September.  We really don't have fall up here, so we're quickly sliding into winter!  The weather people are already predicting snow showers next Friday (one week from today).  It sounds about right, because we did get a light snow last year at the beginning of October.  It didn't stick, but it was definitely there.

Last year, it was interesting when we had our first snows.  At the hospital, the lobby has a large area of windows and a lot of people, natives and transplants were out in the lobby, watching the snow come down, as if they had never seen it before.  It was kind of nice to see people take pleasure in something so simple!

I'm really looking forward to the snow this winter.  Everything looks so much cleaner and fresher.  No allergies or mosquitos or mosquito bites.  It's a nice time of year! :)

This is from July, when the mosquitoes really came out.  We had so many mosquitoes in the house, I was going crazy!  I woke up in the morning with these two bites on my face (one in my eyebrow) and about 8 others on me.  So I hunted mosquitoes that day with my bug zapper and killed something like 20 of them in the house that day. I'm so relieved that they're gone now that it's too cold for them!

Other things that happen in Bethel, that wouldn't happen anywhere else...

The hospital is currently under some construction.  Because of the high moisture, asbestos is a common problem.  For example, several years ago, the hospital built about 6 apartment buildings next to the hospital for employees.  Unfortunately, they discovered asbestos a few years later and now they're abandoned/condemned because of the asbestos.  So there they sit.  Empty and slowly deteriorating.

Anyways, recently they discovered asbestos in all of the inpatient wing of the hospital.  That's where patients stay when they're hospitalized.  They had to get it fixed, so they built a wall and are fixing one half of the wing.  This means that they're short of hospital beds and occasionally, they call the outpatient clinics (where we both work) and tell us they're on divert.  So that means that when we're on divert, any patients that need to be admitted end up getting medevac'd to Anchorage.

And this is only the first half!  Once that's done, they'll be switching to ther other side of the wing to get that one repaired.  So crazy!!!

The current cost of watermelon!

I just had to share this because even having lived here for a year and a half, I was still astonished!

Things that happen in Bethel, that wouldn't happen anywhere else...

Wow, it sure has been awhile since we've posted.  In the last 4 months, we've been back to Oregon for a visit, which was really great!  I wish we could've seen more family and friends, but it went by way too fast!

Our small airport is currently under construction and has been for several months.  The City of Bethel was having the airstrip resurfaced, causing a number of problems.  The project has cut the runway in half lengthwise, which makes it much harder for planes to land in high winds.  We have three flights (on Ala.ska Airl.ines) daily and lately, a number of them have either not left Anchorage at all, or left, but got to Bethel and turned back around over the town.

The other day, the morning plane was coming in, and even had their landing gear down, flew over the house and Jeff and I noticed that they were pretty high up still.  It was foggy that morning, and instead of landing, the plane kept on going and turned back to Bethel.  Poor people!  That would stink.

The project was stalled for nearly a month (leaving Bethel with only half the runway) because the building materials hadn't passed the state requirements.

There have been rumors going around town that Alas.ka Airl.ines was going to withdraw all their flights this winter because of the poor runway conditions.  However, according to DOT, the airport should be good this winter.

It will be interesting because we constantly have high winds, fog and snow in the winter; we are wondering how many flights are going to be cancelled or delayed because of this.  It should be an interesting winter!

(Just a fun little fact: Bethel airport is the 3rd busiest passenger airport in the state and the 2nd busiest cargo airport in the state.

The river break-up is almost here

This is from www.bethelsar.org which you should check out if you ever want to know what's going on up here besides on our blog. 

Friday May 10 - Tuluksak Bluffs jam turns into a monster

Like Godzilla. 

Sometime on Thursday, the miles-long Birch Creek Crossing jam between Aniak and Kalskag broke and its debris and water surge flowed quickly downriver to join the large jam at the Tuluksak Bluffs, turning it into a ham of a jam. Islands around the Bluffs disappeared under water and ice, and the countryside is now inundated with water.

Some people say the water might go going backwards (upriver), due the amount of water that can't go downriver. Water escaping nonetheless is causing water levels to rise at Tuluksak, so it's 'under the gun' now and emergency evacuations are being prepared if needed when the Hoover Dam at the Tuluksak Bluffs finally breaks free. Hopefully, there'll be few more jams before Tuluksak so it doesn't reach the village all at once.

Elsewhere, near familiar locations below the Bluffs--such as the Bogus Creek, Wise's Camp, Nelson Island, Tuluksak, Mishevik Slough, Mikey's Island, and Cauneq (just above Akiak)--the ice is either deteriorating or shifting, with leads or open-water areas.

The ice at Akiak moved about a quarter-mile downriver, as did ice just above Kuskokuak Slough, blocking the channel to Akiachak. Ice at Akiachak also moved down and is "stacking" (long pieces turned sideways). In the Kuskokuak Slough, ice moved about a quarter-mile below Wass Evan's camp, as did ice below Kwethluk.

Even the tributaries--the Tuluksak, Kisaralik, Kasigluk and Kwethluk--although free of ice, are experiencing near-flood stage high water. This won't be good news for the village of Kwethluk, which had floods in the past from its own river.

With this high water we're having, continued shifting of ice and/or jamming anywhere along the lower Kuskokwim will cause water to rise in villages from Bethel to Tuluksak. Some water rise could be sudden, as in the case of Crooked Creek last year.

From the Akiachak/Kwethluk Fork to Bethel to Napakiak and Oscarville, the ice is still intact with no apparent cracks. But it's changing from white to darker or grayer colors, meaning that water is now seeping from the bottom to the top of the ice, and is expected to begin fracturing at anytime.

It appears we're not through with winter after all!

We've had snow for the last 4 days up here.  It's been just warm enough that it mostly melts off by the end of the day, but this morning, this is what I saw out the window and there's more coming down!  Nearly all of the ground that you can see was brown last week because most of the snow has melted now.

The beginning of May

This blog should actually have been titled interesting stuff around Bethel!  We finally got our car up and running again, now that the gas line won't freeze anymore and it was so great to be able to get around on our own steam without having to pay a taxi!

The cost of fruit here is outrageous!  Apples normally cost $3-something a pound, but last week, they were on sale for $1.75 a pound so we stocked up!  The bananas were on sale too!  I was so excited I slightly overdid it, so we ended up eating alot of fruit for the next week.

 Our library and cultural center, and kind of the center of town.  This is where they have the plays, the Saturday markets, the banquet dinners, pretty much everything.

 The cost of internet here is insane!  We have the largest internet package, which costs around $100-ish a month.  However, we're limited to how many gigs we can use AND if we go over, they can charge $20 per gig up to $460.  And unfortunately, since Jeff got his kindle at Christmastime, we've gone over numerous times because it has to download and it's so frustrating because we haven't been able to completely figure it out.  We even gave up netflix trying to figure out where we were going wrong.  This picture is Jeff trying to get WIFI at the hospital! LOL

 Then we went to fill up the car and had to show everyone how much we pay for gas!  The only fortunate part is that we only drive about 5 or so miles each day to work and back.  And most of the places we might have to stop at are on the way between work and home.

 The gas storage tanks just off the river.  When the barges come in to deliver gas, this is where it goes.

 We got 6 and 1/4 gallons...

 This building is across from the actual hospital; it has the executives offices, HR, the gym, the eye clinic and the dental clinic.

 This is a hotel on the river, which is behind me.

 The tripod!  Everyone has their tickets for the break-up of the river.  They started around last week and go up into June.  It got alot cooler this week which might have slowed it down a little, but I think the break-up is coming pretty soon.  SAR and told people that it's unsafe to be on the river now, but some people still walk on it, or ride their snowmobiles on it.  Kind of risky, I think.  I wasn't willing to be on it until the dead of winter when I know it's frozen solid and I can't fall through!

 The other view of the fuel tanks.

 HELLO!!!