More pictures of Alaska

Here are some pictures from our walk down the river.

These tall barrel-like things make up the river's retaining wall. They are supposed to be covered, but most of them have lost their covers.

River side view. The ladder is provided to get in/out of the boats.

Seth in his stroller on our walk. He's wearing the hat his Aunt Lyn knitted for him as a baby gift. It was too big when he was an infant, but has worked great for keeping his head and ears warm on our walks in Alaska. (I thought I could turn the picture after uploading it, and when I found I couldn't I tried to delete it, so I could re-upload, and it wouldn't budge. So, sorry for the picture angle.)

This is a float plane, similiar in size to the one Daniel flew in on one of his village trips. While we were enjoying the serenity of the river, the plane flew in. Seth really enjoyed watching it land.

The plane coming into the harbor. My camera's batteries died at this point, so we started the walk home, which due to a flooded walking path, we had to take the long way.

Some Pictures of Alaska

Some of Bethel is actually pretty. Especially the fall colors as seen in the first picture. These pictures are from a walk we went on a couple weeks ago.


The second is of a "steam bath" (I think that's what they call them) and the wood/fuel pile next to it. Many Natives use these regularly. It's a really hot steam room that purifies and cleanses the pores. Kinda like a sauna, but much, much hotter. A local friend described her one experience as being hotter than the hottest hot spring. Wood is expensive and scarce, so people use shipping crates for a lot of their wood needs.

Aach! I'm actually starting a blog!! Pinch me and tell me it's just a dream!

Okay, no offense to all those avid bloggers out there, but I used to swear I'd never start a blog.

So, here are my reasons for starting one:

1. Photobucket is starting to drive me crazy with their ads, so I needed somewhere else to post photos.
2. I just gave a talk in church about journal keeping, and figured this might get me on board again. Sort of. I will not be putting anything too private/personal in here, so I should probably keep a seperate REAL journal, as well.
3. Since starting Optometry rotations, I've been sending a weekly mass email "newsletter", so why not have them all here in one spot.
4. I found out I can keep it to invitation only, so I don't have to worry about just anyone reading it.
5. I like the idea of being able to post quotes and dreams to help bouy me and others up.
6. It gives me something constructive to do while stuck in Nowhere, Alaska.
7. I have certain friends who blog more than read and respond to emails. Hopefully joining the fun will keep us in better contact.


Okay, that's all for now.

Stephanie