Damon Hargraves

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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: Unalakl...

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.