Damon Hargraves

When living in the Bush you have to do most of your shopping in Anchorage or Fairbanks. This is substantially better than when my parents taught in the Bush . When my mom and dad were in Barrow they had to order groceries a year at a time, and they were sent all the way from Seattle. Yesterday, Heidi and I went to a Fred Meyer in Anchorage that specializes in shopping for the Bush . We spent two and a half hours filling up four carts with everything that we will need for the next couple of months. Food, cleaning supplies, shower curtain, and everything else that is needed when moving into a new place. After we found all that we needed, and $1000 later (the receipt was over six feet long), a really nice lady named Tiny took over, and we will have our groceries waiting for us when we arrive in Stebbins. Down the road when we need more groceries, Fred's will take our orders over the phone and mail them out. I already know that we forgot to buy shaving cream. Above is a picture of Hei

Heidi and I made it. We're here in Wasilla. We arrived late last Saturday, after making it across the border, and after saying hi to all our friends in Tok. We had a great trip, saw lots of country, and we managed it without even a flat tire. The last couple of days have been spent resting up, and eating all of Mom's home cooking. The night we arrived home, Heidi and I had a king crab feast waiting for us, with fresh rhubarb (from the garden) pie for dessert. This morning my dad, my brother, my nephew, and I went fishing on the Little Susitna River. The river flows very close to my parent's house, but we fished it further down, closer to the ocean. We caught six great size silver salmon. I caught a twelve pounder. Right now my mom is baking one up for dinner. (Slayton with one of his catches) (Dad, Slayton, Darin, and me showing off our haul)

We are still on the road. Heidi and I are in Prince George, B.C. and will be leaving shortly. I just wanted to make a quick update. We had an awesome time in Oregon with our friends Tay and Jaimie. They will be getting married soon, and it was great to see them, and see that they are doing so well. Below is a picture of us on the Oregon coast. Neffy and Reilly had fun playing on the beach. Two boxers together was almost out of control, but fun to watch. Here they are resting, after a long day. Reilly is on the left, and Neffy on the right. We expect to be in Tok, Alaska on Saturday, and to my parents house in Wasilla, Alaska on Sunday.

I am currently sitting at an Arby's in Bozeman, Montana (who knew that an Arby's would have wireless?). Heidi and I are treating ourselves to some warm food. Hummus, tortilla, Vienna sausage, and tuna salad can only take you so far. Arby's roast beef with curly fries and special sauce is really tasting good right now. Today marks one week on the road. Upon leaving Springfield we made a circle through Missouri visiting family and friends. We left the state on HWY 29 North out of Kansas City. We took 29 all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We then hopped on HWY 90 are following it all the way to Washington. Along the way we've taken the liberty to make many stops and see lots of sights. This has included The Corn Palace, Wall Drug, The Bad Lands, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, The Crazy Horse Monument, Yellowstone, and more. We're having a great trip so far, with no problems yet. We'll keep you posted and put some more pictures up when possible. This pict

Heidi and I have had a great couple of years working in the Springfield Public School system. There are some really exciting things happening in the district right now, and Heidi and I are sad that we will be missing out. Boyd Elementary , where Heidi taught, is becoming a PYP school , and Glendale , where I was the Site Tech, is putting together some great new labs including a new language lab and a new Apple media lab. Of course, most of all we will be missing the relationships that have developed over the years with the people that we work with. It has been our pleasure!