Flying

A thin blanket of snow covers the ground as I walk to the school to get ready to depart for training in another village. We finally get the call that the plane will be here is about 15 minutes. I put on my snow pants, insulated boots, down jacket, hat and gloves in preparation for the flight. I hop in the back of the truck and get a ride to the gravel airstrip just outside of town. During the winter they suggest that you wear all your winter attire when you fly just in case the plane crashes or you get stranded at an airstrip. Not a very comforting thought when you are boarding a tiny 4-passenger plane that is about to take off on a gravel runway that is covered in snow.

When most people think of flying they think of large airports, long security lines and big airplanes. Most people dress nice or in business attire when they fly and pack light because of baggage charges. This is not the case when flying in the bush. When flying in rural Alaska you don’t have to wait in long security lines, there are no airports, you fly on small airplanes and there are no extra baggage charges - comfort is more important then style and you pack light because there might not be enough room on the plane. However, flights are rarely on time and sometimes you are waiting for a flight for a few hours.

A bush airplane is an aircraft that is used in remote, undeveloped areas of the world where there is an insufficient road system. They are primarily used in the African and Alaskan bush, Canadian tundra, and the Australian Outback. All bush planes have some similar traits that include:

• High wings for better ground visibility.
•  Landing gear with two large main wheels and a small rear wheel in order to increase prop clearance and to help when taking off and landing on rough-surfaced runway.
• Characteristics that help bush planes take off and land on short runways.
• Since it is not uncommon for bush planes to have to land and take off in areas that no airplane has been before they are equipped with tundra tires.
• Removable floats and skis so they can operate on water or snow.

The most well-known bush aircrafts are the Fairchild American Pilgrim 100 A and B, Noorduyn Norseman, the Cessna 180, Cessna Caravan and 206/207, Douglas DC-3/C-47, DHC-2 Beaver, Piper Super Cub, Aviat Husky, Antonov An-2 and Pilatus Turbo Porter PC-6.

These are the facts about bush planes - flying on one is quite a different experience. Planes are a natural part of life out here in the Alaskan bush. In order to go shopping, see a doctor, compete with other schools in sporting events, or just to go see a movie you have to fly. The first time I flew on a bush plane I was a little uneasy, but I have now been on so many that it has become more normal. I actually now like flying on bush planes because you always have a window seat and it gives you the opportunity to see some of the beautiful Alaskan wilderness.

Life In The Bush

Alaska is divided into six geographical regions: Southeast, Southcentral, Anchorage, The Interior, Fairbanks and The Bush (Northern Artic).

Southeast

Also known as the Panhandle, Southwest Alaska is a 500 mile coastal strip made up of hundreds of islands. The inside passage is a transportation route through these islands.

Southcentral

The Southcentral region curves from the Gulf of Alaska, past Prince Williams Sound to Kodiak Island.

Anchorage

The Anchorage Bowl holds almost half the state’s population.

The Interior
The Interior includes three major roads – the George Parks, Glenn and Richardson highways – that cut across the center of the state and pass a number of forests, state parks, and recreational areas, including Denali and Wrangell.

Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska’s second biggest city, is in the flat valley floor formed by the Tanana and Chena rivers. This is the best place to see the Northern Lights.

The Bush
The last region is The Bush, it is larger than the five regions put together and is separated from them by vast mountains and powerful rivers. The Bush covers a wide range that includes the Brooks Range, Artic Alaska, Western Alaska on the Bering Sea, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands. I spent my fist two weeks in Alaska traveling through the Southwestern region and exploring Anchorage. I am now living in The Bush and loving it!

I am living in the Western part of The Bush region on the Bering Sea. I get to watch the sun set into the Bering Sea from my bedroom window every night (that is when it sets before midnight) and a few weeks ago I went swimming in it. The majority of the Bush is made up of small, remote native villages that can only be reached by plane or boat, and endless stretches of untracked wilderness.

Historians believe that the first Alaskans migrated from Asia between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago. The nomadic groups followed the animal herds. The first groups to come over were the Tlingit and Haida tribes, who settled in the Southeast region and the Athabascans, who settled in the Interior. The other two major groups were the Inupiat, who settled the northern coast (they are also called the Inuit), and the Yupik, who settled southwest Alaska. Life was harder for the Inupiat and Yupik tribes than the tribes further south. The cold winters and cool summers forced them to develop a highly effective seal-hunting culture to sustain life in the harsh regions of The Bush, which they maintain today.

The village I am living in is primarily Yupik. Many of the tribes lost some of their culture when fur-traders and whalers started coming into the villages but they have been able to keep some of their culture intact and it has been interesting to see. I have been in the village for about a month and I have seen people out berry picking, there are nets all along the beach for salmon and I have heard kids talk about their hunting trips. I have also seen Eskimo dancing (which is beautiful). I am looking forward to seeing both the Iditarod and Potlatch (Eskimo dancing festival) in March. I have also picked up a few Yupik words. Life is both simpler and more complicated here, but it is a beautiful place to live.

Transportation

The only way in and out of my village is by plane. I have never been on so many planes in such a short amount of time. I have also never been on planes as small as some of the Bush planes I have been on in the past month. It seems like every plane I get on gets smaller. Planes are just a normal part of life in The Bush and the majority of the villages have a small airport. The smallest plane I have been on was a four passenger plane. It has taken a while to get used to the Bush planes and the gravel landing strips. I have been on about ten planes in the past couple of months so I am slowly getting used to flying everywhere I need to go - I actually kind of like it. There are not many places in the world where school sports teams take planes to travel for meets.

There are roads in the village and one ten mile gravel road that leads to another village, but these are the only roads on the island. The main mode of transportation is by Honda (4-wheeler) or in the winter snow machine. There are a few trucks on the island, but most people just use Hondas.

Food

I have had wild blueberries and all the fresh salmon I want since I have been in Stebbins. There is a small market in the village where you I can get essentials and a little bigger market in a nearby village. I have been able to get milk and eggs at these stores, which I have been very happy about. The items I like are about double the price, but so worth it. I usually pay about $6 for a half gallon of milk and a few weeks ago I paid $3 for a Dr. Pepper. All the teachers also do a big food order from a company that ships to The Bush and we get produce shipped from a farm in Oregon, so I don’t have to live off of canned food. The best thing about being right on the Bering Sea is all the fresh salmon.

Weather

The weather in Stebbins has been great! At the beginning of August when I first arrived in Alaska I spent several days in the Anchorage area and it was rainy and cold the entire time. I figured I might as well get used to it because this is the way it’s going to be for a while – it’s not. There are days that are cold and rainy, but they haven’t lasted more than a few days and most of September has been very sunny and warm. By warm I mean in the 60s, which is what I consider the perfect temperature.

Light

When I first arrived in Alaska the sun would set around 1 a.m. and would rise around 6 a.m. It took some getting used to, but I found that I could get so much done in one day. I didn’t get much sleep the first month, because I would be doing something and didn’t even realize that it was midnight. The light has not lasted as long as I would have hoped and every night we get less and less light. Right now we have normal days, the sunsets around 9:30 pm and rises around 8:30 a.m. That just means we are slowly heading to the long dark winter. I want to experience everything Alaska has to offer so I am looking forward to experiencing the dark cold winter.

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Villages in The Bush

The Bering Strait School District consists of 15 schools that stretch along the Bering Strait, not including Nome. I have been to four villages in the Bush so far and everyone has been different and unique. They are all small, remote villages with their own unique beauty.

Stebbins

Stebbins is located on St. Michael Island. It is considered an island because it is surrounded by water on three sides and a river cuts it off from the main land on the fourth side. There are only two villages on this island Stebbins and St. Michael. The landscape is made up of tundra so there are no trees, just little bushes and a lot of water. There are some amazing sunsets and sunrises here in Stebbins. I get to watch the sunrise every morning from my classroom and I get to watch the sunset every evening from my bedroom window. I love living so close to the ocean.

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St. Michael

Mt. Michael is the only other town on the island and the only town we have regular access to. It is a little smaller than Stebbins but it has a larger store, so we often make trips to the store in St. Michael. It is only 10 miles from Stebbins so its landscape is similar.

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Unalakleet

The district office is in Unalakleet so I spent my first three days in The Bush sleeping in the school for new teacher training. We travel to Unalakleet a few times during the school year for training. Most flights to Anchorage go through Unalakleet because they have a larger airport, with a paved runway. It is a larger village with tundra and a hill with several windmills on it.

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White Mountain

White Mountain is a smaller village located near Nome. It is about half the size of Stebbins. It isn’t surrounded by water like Stebbins, but there are pine trees. I went to White Mountain for a cross country meet and the kids were amazed by the trees because there aren’t any in Stebbins. The course they ran was beautiful because it went through the massive forest of pine trees.

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Koyuk

Koyuk is by far the prettiest village I have seen. It actually ranks up there in the top ten prettiest places I have ever seen. It is located north of Stebbins, near Nome. I went to Koyuk for a cross country meet. We arrived early Saturday morning, right as the sun was rising. We walked the course as the sun slow rose in the sky. There was a little fog that rolled across the tundra and the water was so still it looked like glass. Koyuk has the water, the trees, and the mountains in the distance – it is a strikingly beautiful area.

The Bush is a beautiful and mysterious place to live. I am so glad I moved up here! Although I am very isolated I work with some amazing people that I am so thankful to have in my life and I live in a stunning part of the world that not many people get to see. There are some challenges that I have faced here and I have had to make some lifestyle adjustments, but I am so thankful to be here.