Yup'iit Cultural Museum

The museum is housed in a multipurpose building which also is home to the Bethel Public Library and a good sized auditorium used for celebrations and the occasional showing of a movie. The building itself is quite beautiful. The architectural features are derived from the Yup'ik double circle design representing the cosmos and the earth. The Yup'ik language and culture have been fairly well preserved as outsiders (oh yes, the Christian missionaries at it again) did not arrive here until the late 1800's. Over 75% of the native population here speak the Yup'ik language. This is a very high percentage for native people as languages such as Cherokee in the Eastern Band of the Cherokee are spoken by only about 300 or so people.

The Yup'ik people mostly live a subsistence life, meaning that they live off the land rather than on a cash economy. This is true still today. Fishing, berry gathering and hunting are not done for entertainment, but as a necessity to survive.

Here are some pics from the museum.

This amazing tile mosaic is located in the main hallway of the building. Easy to see the circular themes. It has a sister panel further down the hallway.

Traditional fur parka's and kuspuks.

Fish catching basket.....for whitefish I think?

Traditional women's headdress, worn in dance ceremonies

Hand made dolls. The artisans show their wares at a monthly craft fair. The detail on these dolls is stunning and the pictures do not do them justice.

This is a raincoat made from seal gut, which is apparently quite waterproof. Who needs Gortex?

Drums, instruments and hand fans used in traditional dance

Mukluks, mittens and hats made from seal, beaver and other furs. These are beautiful examples of items that are still worn today. I was luck enough to buy a seal and beaver hat from one of the few traditional skin sewers here.

Kale??? What's Kale???

With the advent of my bi-weekly veggie boxes has come the necessity for a little kitchen creativity. Although I cook with a good many veggies on a regular basis, one veggie box contained some lettuce-y looking stuff that didn't taste so good. After sorting out the veggies against the packing list, I discovered it was red kale. What the h$%* is red kale and who would eat this stuff......cows perhaps??

After an internet search I found a kale and bean soup recipe courtesy of another blog:

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/02/rustic-red-kale-and-white-bean-soup.html

I decided it was worth a shot......the vegans gave it rave reviews after all.

It was delicious!!!

And even better with a moose at the bottom...

When in Alaska..............

Visitor

While here in Bethel I have missed my dogs (among other things) very much. Before the snow flew I was very happy to have a furry visitor! She parked herself in front of my living room window and watched me watching her. Labs......gotta love em! She still comes by from time-to-time for a pat on the head and a scratch behind the ear......oh....and doggie treats if ya got 'em!

Out and About

Found a new store in town while hiking around with a friend. Its the variety-slash-Radio Shack store. Interesting combination of party favors, personal care things like soaps and shampoos, and Radio Shack electronics.

Keeping an eye on the whole thing is a huge buffalo head! Radio Shack at home's got nothing on this shop! I may have let out a little squeal when I rounded the isle. :)

Went to a yard sale at a house that overlooks the tundra. Was a drizzly day, but not too cold. Got some good buys too!!

Veggies!!!

Special Delivery

Way out here on the tundra, fresh veggies are not the easiest thing to get.....and never mind finding organic produce. So what's a veggie lover to do??

Full Circle Farms, located in Washington, has a CSA (community supported agriculture) program that ships to Bethel.....yes, way out here to Bethel! Each week (or every other week) you can order a box of farm fresh organic fruits and veggies and other items such as free range eggs. The boxes come in each Thursday on the afternoon flight and are brought to the Cultural Center to be picked up. I got my first box this week......what a treat!

http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/index.html

Just a few of the items I ordered. The corn never stood a chance. I shared two ears with my neighbors and immediately cooked the other two, slathered them with butter and salt and shamelessly gnawed away till not a kernel was left on the cobb. Yeeeeuummyy!

Signs You Just Don't See Everywhere

Bethel is a very unique and interesting place. Even the signs are unique. Here's a few from around the hospital....

Apparently, ice cleats and hospital floors don't go together. I'll keep this in mind this winter.....not want to get nabbed by the ice cleat police!

Apparently, spit doesn't go with the hospital floors either. Good thing I wasn't planning on spitting.

Just in case any of you were looking for some fresh seal blubber....Fresh!!

I LOVE Bethel!! :)

Alaska Adventure

No Roads Lead to Bethel

Alaska adventure--- sounds like a great motorcycle trip doesn't it?? Well, this time its a work trip. And, there are no roads here......so no motorcycles without knobbies. Well, there actually is one main road that runs through town and out to the airport. The rest of the roads are dirt/gravel....prone to ruts and potholes that will swallow an F-150. I'm in Bethel Alaska for eight weeks working at the YKHC hospital. Bethel is a little town out in the western part of Alaska on the tundra. You can only get here by air.....no roads in or out. It's about a 1.5 hour flight from Anchorage on either a bush plane or a cargo plane. Here are some pics from the trip to Bethel and on my first trip (read hike) to the grocery store.

Alaska Airlines Combi 737 from Anchorage to Bethel. Has both a cargo and separate passenger section

Glacier somewhere in the rockies. This was on the trip between Seattle and Anchorage. It was a beautiful aqua color which the camera did not pick up through the (dirty) airplane window.

Tundra in its fall colors just outside of Bethel at 830 p.m.

Hospital Housing. Not too pretty on the outside, but my apartment is quite nice on the inside. The environment is very harsh here. Temps range from highs of 80's in the summer to lows of minus 50 in the winter. Paint doesn't stand a chance!

Permafrost keeps the water and sewer pipes above ground in Bethel. Its good to have running water here in Bethel, as many outlying villages do not.

Boardwalk into town. This boardwalk starts near the hospital, goes past housing and then on to town. Otherwise, there would be no way to cross the marshy tundra except when its frozen during the winter months. Town is where the grocery store, restaurants, library and cultural center are. My trip was to Alaska Commercial Company which carries groceries, household goods and some clothing. http://www.alaskacommercial.com/

Elevated portion of the boardwalk. It was fun walking on this part as it is like walking on a suspended bridge......it swings side to side!

Day 10 Excellent Adventure

Sequin Tx to Natchez Mississippi (525 miles)

Today gets mixed reviews. The first 1/2 of the day today was spent on I-10 from Sequin past Beaumont, Tx. This includes getting through Houston, the city from hell. Now I remember why I avoided Houston the entire time I lived in Texas!! Most of the riding time was spent dodging crazy drivers who, we were certain, were trying to kill us. This stretch of I-10 is plagued with construction and lane shifts. The truckers were actually the best drivers on the road...the rest of 'em were nuts....and in a BIG hurry to get somewhere.

The second 1/2 of the day was spent on back roads in Texas, Louisiana and just over the border into Mississippi. It was immediately apparent when we left Texas and crossed over the Louisiana line....we didn't even need a sign! The roads immediately changed from smooth and freshly paved to old, cracked and chronically pot holed. I think I rattled all my fillings loose in the 150 miles of Louisiana back roads. These were probably the worst roads I've been on in any state.....someone needs to tell Gov. Bobby Jindal to get some of those Obama dollars and fix his %$#@ roads.

At the end of the day, we crossed the Mississippi river.....something I always enjoy. We finally got off the bikes around 8:15 p.m. Unfortunately, there are no pics from today. Tomorrow: The Natchez Trace!!!

Day 9 Excellent Adventure

Alpine Tx to Sequin Tx (495 miles)

Today we spent most of the day on Hwy 90. The ride from Alpine to Del Rio was nothing but spectacular open roads, gentle sweeping curves and rolling hills.....motorcyclists' paradise! Again today we saw very few others on the road. The morning was overcast, rainy and cool.....much needed since we knew the forecast was for temps over 100 degrees.

Road side picnic area between Alpine and Marathon

Desert foliage & Bloomin' cactus

From here you can see the mouth of the Pecos River, the Rio Grande, and the mountains of Old Mexico.

The highest bridge in Texas...273 feet above the Pecos River

Another view of the Pecos

Skipper checking out the bridge

We got caught up in all the scenery and realized we were running on fumes with 40 miles to go until Del Rio. There are few (or one!) gas stations between Marathon and Del Rio. We happened upon this one little ole pump all by its lonesome out in the middle of nowhere. It seemed odd to see a modern gas pump this far out. The owner told us it was only three months old! In any case...we were extremely thankful for the fuel!

Another view of the lone gas pump

Things heated up between Del Rio and San Antonio to about 105 degrees. There are no pics of this stretch since it took all we had to just ride and drink silly amounts of gatorade and water. This is a stretch of 90 that is not scenic in any sense of the word and I'd recommend saving it for cooler months of the year! The good news? No crazy storms today!!! :)

Tomorrow: Seguin to ????? points east!

Day 8 Excellent Adventure

Alamogordo, NM to Alpine, Tx

Our intent today was to ride to Del Rio on Hwy 90. The weather had different plans for us. The day started out with gorgeous weather....fairly cool, clear and sunny.

East of El Paso on Hwy 90

Cactus!! Very exciting for a NC girl!

More Cactus

The ride was going along just fine until we ran into this on Rt 90 at Van Horn. We decided that we'd keep going and see if we could get a bit closer to this mess...then re-assess. We rode about 12 miles down the road when we began to see little twisters reaching from the ground up to the clouds. Winds were gusting to 50 mph and the sky got very black...dirty rain drops began pelting us and the whole scene started looking a lot like the Wizard of Oz....so we made a u-turn and headed like wildfire back to Van Horn. I don't think I've ever experienced Skipper riding like it was track day....she definitely won.

The route to Marfa ....not looking promising

So we parked the bikes and popped in Papa's Pantry for lunch....and shelter from the approaching storm. As we ran from the storm, we realized that it was heading right for us. It tailed us closely back to Van Horn despite the fact we made the speed limit look like just a suggestion.

Really cute little cafe.....specializing in Mexican cuisine. Lucky us!

Hands down the best fajitas with home made tortillas I've ever had

The bikes shortly after arrival at Papa's Pantry

And.....20 minutes later

Big puddles all around us..........waited out the storm for a couple hours. It finally began to move past us and we decided to ride even thought it was still raining. The severe part of the storm had passed and the radar looked favorable for reaching Alpine. Unfortunately, we were delayed long enough to have to abort plans to reach Del Rio today.

As we were approaching Marfa, Tx, out in the middle of nowhere, a Prada store sat on the side of Rt. 90. I had to get a closer look at this. In fact it is not a store, but a permanent land art display by Elmgreen and Dragset. Inside the store was merchandise from the Fall 2005 Prada catalogue. Crazy eh??

The Prada goods

Now we are a tad bit behind schedule, so we will be changing the route for the last four days. Stay tuned for Day 9!!