Mobile!

Woohoo! I got a four wheeler and I am mobile! I have only ridden it a few times because I really want a helmet before I actually ride it. I've gone into town once and just down the dirt road a mile or so. I will feel much better with a helmet. Not that I think I am going to crash or anything but it is comfortable knowing I am safer with a helmet protecting my noggin! And I know my mama will be happier too with a helmet on my head. I bought a 2005 Polaris Sportsman 500 from a woman at school. I didn't want to buy one from a stranger and have it blow up on me or break down a week later. The woman's husband works on wheelers too so if I need help with anything he will help me out. Awesome deal! I am pretty excited to be able to go to the store or the beach when I want. I love independence. 

Back and forth and exhausted

Well I am a month into school and I am still exhausted every day. I have too many kids in my little classroom. I literally have no extra room if more kids come like they usually do in October and November. My cubbies are full and so are my tables and there is no room to even add a table. I'm crossing my fingers that no more come! Even with so many kids they still are very well behaved. Much much better than last years kids. There are a couple of movers and shakers that I am still trying to wrangle in and calm down. There is an overly aggressive little boy that tends to fight a lot and has been sent home a few times this year because he actually rips skin off other kids. Yikes!! The majority of my kids are great listeners and have adjusted well to kindergarten expectations. I am constantly moving though. I don't even have a minute to pee these days! My feet are always sore because I never sit down. Someone always needs help with something and I am running around trying to get everyone situated all day long. I miss my little class from last year. I guess it is true, my first class will always be my favorite, even though they were crazy. 

Besides school I am loving the Nome life once again. The snow has already started falling and the mountains are covered and beautifully white. The kids love staring at the snow so I have been closing the blinds in our room so they are more focused on our work. I am still living outside of town and I am definitely getting bored with that. There is a loose bear out by my apartment that has not only destroyed our dumpster but also broken a car window and tipped over other property causing a ruckus. I am scared to take the garbage out with a 7 foot grizzly lurking around. The police thought it would be a great idea to shoot it with a handgun. Dumb. Now there is a slightly wounded and pissed off bear lurking around. I think it is time I move back to town. First foxes, then wolves, now bears? Time for me to get back to civilization where only dogs roam the streets. But where to live? That is the question. I don't have anyone to move into town with so I will be by myself. And finding a place for me AND olive is proving much harder than one would think. She's a 10 lbs cat, why is that such a big deal? People have 100 lbs dogs here! The last thing I need is to be mauled by a bear but I need to bring olive with me wherever I go. I am searching! Hopefully I can find a little place to call my own and then I won't have to move anymore. Living outside of town with these roommates is really driving me crazy. They are just too putsy for me to handle. It shouldn't take 90 minutes to get ready for school in the morning! But apparently it does. Without transportation of my own I am trapped waiting for them each morning to get ready to go to school and I cannot come in and work during the weekend unless they come in. I strongly dislike relying on people! I gotta get out before I smack them both upside the head. 

Oh, and I also met a wonderful young eskimo guy :) haha details about that later 

Polar plunge!

And then my camera fell in the water so I don't actually have any of me in the water, BUT I did swim!

Berry picking trip

I went out berry picking for the first time in Nome. I actually drove out to Teller to pick berries. Mile 57.5 and mile 62 have great berries! It just takes a few hours to get there! I picked salmonberries for about an hour and got a gallon sized freezer bag full. I think I am going to try and make some jelly from them but I am not quite sure yet. I don't know what else I would do with them so we will see! Shortly after finishing berry picking I drove into teller and saw a musk ox just prancing around in the street very close to where I had been picking. This beastly animal was all alone, which is very odd for musk ox. Usually there is a herd, so this one must be lost. 

 I also saw a lot of dry fish hanging in the breeze on the beach and thought it would make a great picture. Apparently this is perfectly safe and you don't get sick from eating this fish. Just shoo the flies away, peal the skin off, and munch away on the dried meat. It seems unsanitary and like something that would make you very sick, but everyone does it! 

 This is one of the coolest rocks that you see on the drive to Teller. This group of rocks is formed to the shape of a house. When you are driving up to it you would think it is a small camp, but it is just rock. The natives say that if you drive up slowly at night when it is dark you will see the little creatures that live in the house. Supposedly they have bright little eyes that you can see in the night. 

Pilgrim Hot Springs here we come!

 This is the road we have to drive down to get to the hot springs...

 Obviously it has been raining...

 And the road is pretty flooded.

 The hot tub!

 Abandoned site of a church and orphanage

 Abandoned church