Damon's Data & Heidi's Highlights

Summer Recap

2009-08-02T17:14:00.015-08:00

We've had a great summer, spending part of our time in Alaska and part of our time in Missouri. We've played with friends and family, worked on the house, and vacationed.

Vacation to South Carolina

Working in the backyard - things were a little out of hand

Celebrating Damon's birthday on our new dining room furniture!

Kayaking at the family reunion in Branson

Cheering on the Springfield Cardinals

Studying at the kitchen table - Damon spent lots of time here

Feasting on crab and shrimp in Wasilla

Now we'll start shopping, packing, and shipping, and soon head north to Unalakleet.

More Winter Fun

2009-04-19T08:58:00.019-08:00

Yes, it's still winter in Unalakleet, Alaska. Snow isn't melting, but we're enjoying the sunny days.

We spent a weekend camping with some friends at a cabin that's along the Iditarod trail, about 35 miles outside of town.

Damon and Ryan gathered firewood

We all spent time cutting it.

The cozy cabin

A beautiful sunset ski

Back country skiing

The 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes spent a day of celebration at Ayuu's Hill. A spot about 8 miles up river.

Sledding

Picnicking

Ice fishing

Towing

Darroll and Savanah came over Easter, we had a great visit.

They brought the Easter ham along with other exciting groceries.

Damon and I participated in the community ski picnic. We skied a few miles outside of town, grilled hot dogs, drank hot chocolate, and then skied home.

Unalakleet Blizzard

2009-02-27T14:25:00.002-09:00

The weather in Unalakleet is a little crazy right now.

Christmas 2008

2009-02-07T17:25:00.021-09:00

Our Christmas break was busy as usual. We spent the first week in Wasilla, enjoying time with family.

Christmas Eve at Darin and Julie's:

Christmas morning:

We flew to Missouri the day after Christmas for more family fun time:

The ultimate Christmas: a princess dress, and a new tricycle

Big Smith Concert in Springfield on New Year's Eve

We got the things in our storage unit moved into our house, and we were able to spend one night camped out in the floor.

Recent Celebrations

2008-11-28T13:29:00.012-09:00

We had a progressive dinner for Thanksgiving this year. Appetizers at our house, dinner at the Nasset's, dessert at the Woodhead's, and games at the Howard's...a fun day.

Damon and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on November 22nd. We fixed a nice dinner and dessert for ourselves.

Notice my present - the crystal candlesticks!!

Adrianna's 'black and white' birthday party

Pizza party

And our Halloween celebration...

Our superintendent being himself with Damon being him

Winter is Here

2008-11-22T12:20:00.005-09:00

Temperatures have already been as low as 30 below zero, the ocean is frozen, we have around 6 hours of sunlight, and we won't see the ground again until May.

Winter-Time
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

Darin's Visit

2008-10-26T13:20:00.007-08:00

Damon's brother, Darin, came for a visit last weekend to refinish the Covenant Church gym floor. He worked hard for 4 days, and what a difference he made. Thanks Darin!

Mom and Memackie's Visit to Alaska

2008-10-04T09:56:00.012-08:00

Damon and I were fortunate to have my mom and grandma come visit at the beginning of September. We treated them to some true Alaskan adventure.

Boating up the Unalakleet River

These were the fish Memackie caught with her first 2 casts.

These were the fish that my mom and Damon caught with their first casts.

We hiked up to the top of Army Hill for a nice view of the village and some berry picking.

Getting around town on the four-wheeler

Picnicing up river on a sand bar. We enjoyed looking at bear and moose tracks.

Mom, Memackie, and I flew into Anchorage and took a tour down to Seward. We went on a day cruise where we were able to see this glacier calving.

More pretty Seward scenery

It was a wonderful visit, and I don't think it could have been more perfect. Damon and I were so thankful that they came.

Snow in Unalakleet

2008-10-02T13:09:00.001-08:00

Goodbye ground, see you in the Spring.

Back in Unalakleet

2008-09-10T21:17:00.010-08:00

We've been enjoying the beautiful fall weather on the tundra:

Good fishing

Colors changing

Beautiful sky

Damon went on a bear hunt. He didn't shoot a bear, but he shot some nice pictures.

Summertime

2008-08-17T09:38:00.023-08:00

The best way to sum up the past 2 months is through pictures:

First stop Wasilla, AK, where we spent time with Damon's family.

Picnicing and hiking with friends at Hatcher's Pass.

We kept ourselves busy. Damon built a tool shed for his dad, and took a trip to Kodiak. I took a knitting class, and made a scarf and dish cloth.

Kodiak, AK

A highlight of the summer was our trip to Hong Kong and Japan.

View of Hong Kong

Incense burners in a temple

Gates to a Shinto temple in Kyoto, Japan

Golden temple in Kyoto

Dinner in our ryokan in Kanazawa, Japan

Bamboo forest in Kyoto

Taking a drink from a fountain of wisdom in Kyoto

Kanazawa Garden

Japanese lantern in Kanazawa Garden

Sake kegs outside the gates of a buddhist temple

A highlight of the trip was visiting the family that Damon stayed with when he was an exchange student to Kanayama, Japan. We stayed with Tony (far left), from Ketchikan, AK, and his family.

After we returned to the states, we headed down to Missouri to visit family and friends. While we were down there we decided to buy this house!

Needless to say, it was a productive (and expensive) summer! We're back in Unalakleet now where fall is in full swing. Upon our return we moved in to new teacher housing - brand new buildings, furniture, and appliances! It's fabulous! I'll post pictures soon.

Hank & Mike Visit Unalakleet

2008-05-31T22:32:00.001-08:00

Heidi and I were happy to host some more family this week. Heidi's dad Mike and grandpa Henry came up with the serious goal of trout fishing. All the river ice is gone now and most of the snow is melted; school is out so I guess we can officially say summer is here. We all leave tomorrow for Anchorage, and we have had a wonderful time these last few days.

Here I am baking some fresh trout and grayling for an afternoon snack. Henry thought I was a pretty good guide.

Henry, Mike, and Heidi all pulled in trout at the same time several times today. This happened quite a bit actually. The trout were really biting today.

Along with boating on the river, we also had a chance to ride with our friends Jeff and Talon Erickson out on the ocean on a seal hunt. We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather, and on this trip we saw lots of seals, but didn't get any. It would have been Talon's first seal, sorry Talon better luck next time.

We also had the opportunity to see the results of a successful hunt. A family that we know down the street worked together to process the meat.

Here are some more pictures for earlier in the week.

It really looks like something interesting is happening in this last picture, just not sure what.

Darin and Slayton visit Unalakleet

2008-05-31T22:09:00.001-08:00

My brother Darin and nephew Slayton came to visit just a few weeks ago. It was great to have them here, and they were celebrated as our first family members to visit us in Unalakleet.

Even though it's winter, we of course did some serious fishing. Ice fishing for trout on the river proved to be just as successful for them as it was for Heidi and I last Spring. My friend Henry took us up the river to his secret spot.

As well as fishing, we also did a bit of hunting. We were on the lookout for bear and grouse, but Slayton's sharp eye found a rabbit hiding in the willows.

With permission from our church, we stayed at the Covenant Church Bible Camp. While there, we chopped wood and helped out in other ways to prepare the camp for summer. We were very impressed with the camp and Slayton thinks he might like to come back in for the summer camp.

Here's a picture of Slayton riding an old John Deere, which was rusting away at an abandoned potato farm near Bible Camp. I'm sure he's making is Granddad proud.

Heidi and I were happy to have them visit and I hope they had as much fun as we did. I think they did, and we are already planning their next visit. Fall silver salmon fishing?

Caribou Hunt

2008-04-24T14:26:00.011-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Damon's recent Caribou Hunt. He rode up to Koyuk with an elder from Unalakleet, and in Koyuk he met up with friends, Dave and Patty. They spent a couple of cold nights out on the trail, but the caribou meat and the stories he can now tell made it well worth it.

Moose sighting.

Living it up in a snow shelter.

An old abandoned gold mine.

Success.

Old Woman Cabin

2008-04-16T21:58:00.011-08:00

Recently, we took a snow machine trip about 35 miles up river with some friends - Dan and Adrianna, Conrad, Jasmine, and baby Carter. Our destination was Old Woman Cabin, a government owned cabin on the Iditarod Trail.

We stayed for the afternoon, and had a picnic lunch of chili and musk ox hot dogs.

Winter Activities

2008-03-15T09:58:00.011-08:00

In mid February Damon went to the ASTE conference in Anchorage, and I was able to go in with him for the weekend. It was the week before the Iditarod started so the Fur Rendezvous was just beginning. We were able to see the parade and the winner of the Running of the Reindeer (similar to the running of the bulls in Spain).

Damon has also been busy covering the Iditarod with student broadcasters. He broadcasted at the start in Anchorage, half-way through the race in Unalakleet, and at the end of the race in Nome.

Below is a picture of the student broadcast team watching for the first musher to come into Unalakleet, Jeff King. They have a live link to internet out on the river thanks to the satellite on skis.

Jeff King coming into town

About 30 minutes later, Lance Mackey, winner of Iditarod 2008, came into Unalakleet.

Damon has been busy traveling around the state following Iditarod, so I've been finding things to keep myself occupied - like sledding with teacher friends, Karis and Adrianna.

My Birthday

2008-02-20T20:11:00.007-09:00

It's such a treat to receive fresh flowers out in the bush! Thanks Dad, they are beautiful! Damon had the school choir serenade me in class, and we had all of our neighbors over to share cake. It was a very happy birthday.

We've had some gorgeous winter days lately so we've been able to spend quite a bit of time outside. We took a snow machine ride up part of the Iditarod trail. We stopped about 20 miles out and had cocoa.

We've also been skiing quite a bit. Damon is trying out a new sport with our friend's dog, Aipaq (pronounced iPuck)...skijoring. Yes, it looks as though it could be dangerous, but fortunately for Damon, Aipaq is not afraid to take frequent breaks.

Christmas Cruise

2008-02-09T15:01:00.000-09:00

Heidi's family had a reunion this Christmas on a cruise ship. We were able to visit with family, relax by the pool, snorkel, dive, and soak up the much needed sunshine. Here are a few pictures.

Trip to Diomede

2007-11-26T00:52:00.000-09:00

The pictures have been up for a few days, but just in case you haven't seen them yet GO HERE FOR PICTURES.

The pictures were taken during my trip to Diomede. Diomede is a tiny island out in the Bering Sea. Below is an interactive map for you to play with. Zooming out will give you more of an idea of where I was exactly. Notice that there are actually two islands. The bigger island "Big Diomede" is part of Russia. The international dateline runs between the two islands. From Little Diomede I could literally see into the future by looking across the dateline. Pretty cool.

View Larger Map

Life on a River (winter version)

2007-11-25T23:45:00.000-09:00

Alright, so it's been a little while since I last posted. Make me feel guilty, geez. In my own defense, it's been difficult to update because of extremely slow internet. Unalakleet has direct flights to Anchorage, the BSSD district office, and a grocery store with fresh produce, but somehow decent internet speeds aren't exactly a village forte. We had much faster internet in Stebbins. All complaining aside, Heidi and I are having a lot of fun. Our Thanksgiving break was relaxing, filled with lots of fun with friends, and we even managed a few outings.

Heidi and I went snowshoeing through a tunnel of willows.

I went icefishing with a friend, Henry, from church. I caught several trout, a grayling, and a whitefish (that's what they call it). I ate some pan fried trout for dinner tonight. You can't beat fresh trout and cornmeal. Yum!

Life on a river

2007-09-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

One of the great benefits to being in Unalakleet is the proximity to the Unalakleet river. Off-shoots of the river run about a block and a half away from our apartment, so we have very easy access. Good thing too, because we just purchased a boat. It's a flat bottom Lund, with a Yamaha 40hp Jet. A perfect setup for this area.

The boat was very clean, when we got it, but someone left a Henry Weinhard's cream soda root beer in the back next too the motor. Heidi and I had a little ceremony before our first ride and I christened the boat with the bottle of cream soda.

Roughing it in Unalakleet

2007-09-03T15:20:00.001-08:00

If you didn't already know, Heidi and I have moved from Stebbins toUnalakleet. We are still in the Bering Strait School District, and justabout 70 miles up the coast from Stebbins. Practically neighbors.

Heidiand I miss Stebbins a lot, but are really enjoying life here inUnalakleet. There have been lots of opportunities to go fishing, berrypicking, and exploring. For some reason there are a lot more roadsaround Unalakleet, which makes it easier to get around right now. Lateron, when it snows, it won't matter because we'll have a snowmachine.Right now though, we are enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

Above: Heidi catching her first salmon of the season.

Above: A picture of Unalakleet from a nearby mountain.
Below: Heidi's class picking berries during the first week of school. They picked berries and then made jam to take home to their families.

Above: Heidi and I have been babysitting a friend's dog. His name is Aipaq, which means "friend."
Below: Unalakleet silhouetted against a sunset. I took this pic returning from a fishing trip.

Southeast Missouri Technology Conference

2007-07-31T06:05:00.000-08:00

Heidi and I will be in Cape Girardeau for just a few more days, and then we will be heading back to Alaska. We are here in Cape because I will be presenting a session on blogging in the classroom tomorrow at the Southeast Regional Professional Development Center's third annual Southeast Missouri Technology Conference, Educating Educators Electronically. What a fun way to end the summer. It's been a very busy summer to say the least. Here are some pictures that highlight some of what we've been up to over the last few months.

Success!!!

2007-07-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

My friend Luc and I successfully ran the Joker's Wild Half Marathon in St. Louis. It was a good event, but really hot with temperatures reaching over 90 degrees. My time was 2:22.

Above: My buddy Luc and I looking excited before the race.

Below: This picture was taken right before I crossed the finish line 13.1 miles later. It felt great to cross that line. What a sense of accomplishment.

I'm already starting to look for my next race, but want something a little cooler. Suggestions anyone?

Walk on Beach Around Bluff

2007-05-19T18:15:00.000-08:00