We've Been on Break!

Ashley

We took a break last week, thoroughly enjoying our Spring Break in a few different ways. Something that's pretty big around here are the various winter races that pass through our village. First, we had the Iron Dog run through, the last couple of weeks of February. Then, we had a couple of bikers from the ITI stay at the school. They ended up being the first and second place winners of the race, so it was neat that the kids and staff got to talk to them for a bit, and hear about the race in person. Most of the ITI racers who passed through spent a night in our school gym, mostly over spring break. Of course, the most exciting race we got to witness for the first time, was the Iditarod. This year, mushers traveled the Northern route, which meant Kaltag was mile 629, out of the total 975 miles of the trail. Our school pays for a subscription to the Iditarod GPS tracker, which meant from the start of the race, the students and staff were checking the stats and progress of all the mushers every day, and trying to project when they would start showing up in our village.

The path through town

The Fire Hall, a base station

The Iditarod team of volunteers and veterinarians showed up a couple of days before the leading musher, and it was neat seeing all the straw, dog food, and racing supplies being delivered at the tribal hall. We got to speak with some of them, learning about the race, and all the planning and judging that goes into it. It was rather thrilling, when on Saturday afternoon, Travis Beals, the leading musher at the time, was seen crossing the frozen river, headed for the banks of Kaltag. A lot of us gathered at the base, poised with our cameras, ready to welcome him and his team.

ITI Biker Leaving Kaltag

Our view of incoming mushers

Travis Beals Arrival

Happy, hardworking dogs

Headed towards check-in

Bristol Bay First Fish Award

Vet check for the team

Our subtly excited crew

Moving on to next checkpoint

Each team that passed through had the option of resting in Kaltag, or pressing on after check-in. All dogs were mandatorily checked by the onsite vet team, and some dogs had to stay behind, due to the state of their health. We were sad to read about the three dogs who died throughout the race, and having met some of the mushers, I can only imagine how hard they took it. Watching the mushers feed and care for their dogs was endearing, reflecting the close relationship between them. I was particularly excited for Jessie Holmes to pass through, as he was a favorite among my students. He was the second to arrive in Kaltag, and we were sure to be on the bank as witness. We actually saw him coming across the river from our dining room window, which served as a great gateway visual for us for any racers coming in. (Picture above) Jessie was very kind and down-to earth, willing to talk to anyone, and answer our questions about dog care, the race in general, and even sharing his strategy moving forward. He was also gracious enough to give Avery his autograph, after he was done feeding his dogs.

Arrival of Jessie Holmes

Waving hello

Preparing to bed down

Chow time!

Enjoying some shut eye

Jessie Holmes

Avery and Holmes

Holmes had told us the musher he was watching most closely was Dallas Seavey, the "most brilliant musher he knew." And sure enough, Seavey ending up taking first place, with a rather significant lead over second place. Jessie ended up claiming third, about 6 hours behind Seavey's time. All in all, it was a fun experience, one of which I'm glad we were able to be a small part.

During the midst of the racing, we celebrated Philip's 40th birthday. Birthdays out here have sort of been a challenge, since it limits how "big" you can make them. Without a store to run to, or places to eat out, or things to do beyond hiking or hunting, and a time difference of 3 or 4 hours to everyone we know, we're pretty much celebrating them quietly in our home, with the Facetime calls to some of our family. Fortunately, Philip and I have never cared for celebrating much loudly, and our homemade meal of burgers and fries, with a home-baked apple-brandied apricot pie was very satisfying. Of course, the kids enjoyed utilizing the birthday decorations that were sent by Brenda, Philip's mom. The kids and I always enjoy embellishing with the party favors that usually annoy Philip, since he would prefer a clean household. We're still working on that balance. :)

Decorators with humor

The Bushman is 40 now!

Keeping an eye on mushers

For the majority of the remainder of our spring break, Philip and I found ourselves in Anchorage, participating in a professional development opportunity to develop culturally relevant math questions. Our efforts will contribute to a district resource that all teachers will be able to use, in an attempt to bridge curricular mathematical standards with village-specific skills and scenarios. Although I was dreading spending my spring break engrossed in work, it turned out to be a rather enjoyable experience, brainstorming with a small team of 7, and exercising some of my rusty math skills. We didn't get to see much of Anchorage (only as far as we could walk), but the mountainous backdrop of the Chugach Range was a beautiful offset to the lovely, "city snow." I was also excited to find several piles of moose poop around our training building. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of them.

Fun flight window views

Our hotel courtyard

Walking to training

27 degrees feels warm!

City sidewalks

The rolls tasted the same!

This was the second city visit that Philip and I have taken since moving to Kaltag in October. Both times, the visit to Fairbanks and this Anchorage trip, we enjoyed the luxury of being able to have some official, "date nights," where someone else did all the cooking, and we were able to have some quiet, uninterrupted conversation. It's always encouraging that even after long stretches of stressful unpredictability, we remain on the same page. Our conversations remain ongoing, never out of touch for long. However, we've also reflected that as much as we enjoy those city perks, it doesn't take long before we are eager to go back to the quiet. We do not miss sounds of the city, or the entrenched commericialism that abounds within it. It solidifies for us the goal of having a house in the countryside of somewhere, that although it will be accessible by road, it will still preserve the quiet sounds of nature that we love. It's also notable how much Philip and I love working together. We always joked back in Texas, that if we could find a way to earn a living that had us working side by side, it would be perfect. And that's exactly what we have here. Even in the training, the other educators and the presenter were both amazed and amused by the fact that the "Phlash" team preferred working in the same group. More than once, the presenter was leaning in to our conversation, as we philosophically talked about the various concepts and mathematical problems presented. Something Philip and I do every morning over coffee, or pretty much any other time we have free time to talk.

These marriage checks are good to have, to keep in balance the strengths we share as a couple, along with the doubts and insecurities that daily stressors can agitate. I'm still so glad we chose to do this, and I'm learning so much. Spring break ended up culminating in a good combination of events that have supplied the necessary energy for this last quarter of the school year. And so begins the final countdown of the first school year in Kaltag...

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Of course, I chose to end this post with monumental moment in our family of six...the official beginning of the firstborn leaving the nest. We found out the Friday, right before spring break, that Jadyn was accepted to her number one choice of the University of Vermont. She got the news through her online account, and at the time, Philip and I were still at school, wrapping up end of quarter to-dos. He and I were both in my classroom, when Avery, Emily and Jadyn came bounding into the room, the excitement notably visible on their faces. Jadyn told us of her acceptance, and then proceeded to tell us of the full-ride Presidential Scholarship she had been offered. That one took a minute to sink in, because of course, Philip and I had been discussing how we were going to be able to afford her tuition, should she get in. The pride and joy on Jadyn's face is what brought me to tears, because believe it or not, this amazing girl (now woman) has more doubts about herself than confidence. I know she's wondered about her abilities, and has probably assumed that her parents' opinions are biased in her favor. This was a major step for her in affirming what she's capable of. She did the application all by herself. She wrote her essay all on her own (I don't even know what she wrote.). She chose to apply to U of V all on her own, outside anything Philip and I ever done ourselves or talked about with her. She gets to own 100% of this milestone, and for that, I am so thankful. Also, fortunately for us, Emily had the presence of mind to get it all on camera. I was so full of joy to see the authentic pride and happiness that Jadyn's sisters had for her accomplishment. It was one of those moments where you think you might have gotten something right in the parenting department.