Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone! It has been an interesting week as it usually is, with trying lots of new things and birthday fun! So this week was the last week of summercise session one, which was more relieving then I could have ever imagined! I really enjoy making the classes and the kids really love being in them but I am ready to do something new and fun with the kids.  So on Monday with the gardening class I had the great idea to make these grow cards... they are made with recycled newspaper and blended to a creamy mix with water then dried out with flower seeds to make a bookmark for growing later whenever they want.  It truly was a great idea but to do something like that in a short amount of time it was really hard to do! So they needed to be done overnight and then the girls picked them up on the last day with their books and plants.  Their plants grew to be so big they were all so excited! In the basketball class we played games and the boys really liked playing and we even handed out little awards to them.  In base sports we played Eskimo kickball which is just as dangerous as Eskimo softball but honestly the kids really love it! And I think that they really like watching me make a fool of myself trying to play with them.... But for my ego they were laughing because they were having a great time! On Tuesday aka pool day the kids really liked playing around and we had a safety day, so we taught them about the saying Reach, Throw, Row, Don't Go! We had them practice pretending to be on a boat and simulate what to do in an emergency which really helped because they all fish and hunt out here for a living so they are on boats all the time! On Wednesday, the office surprised me and made a birthday cake of Angel food with whipped cream and strawberries and a fruit plate on the side singing happy birthday! Then later in the day all the kids surprised me and sang happy birthday and I was the lucky person to receive  over a 100 hugs from kids all day long! It was so great! At the end of summercise we held a performance show with all the kids in the dance and gymnastics classes performing their routines and the 5&6 yo performed the banana song which was the cutest thing watching them sing.  I was able to get back to the office and skype with my amazing family and finally open my birthday gift that I have had sitting on my nightstand since I arrived in Nome back in May! It is a really pretty necklace with my initial on it and some diamonds on the clasp. I love it and am trying to take care of it by not taking it to places that I have potential to lose it. On Thursday, last day of summercise it became known as Olympics Day to the kids! In the pool we did a Olympic game stations and in Jammin' Gym Time they did Olympic games and races.  All the kids had a blast! We truly are the best summercise interns ever! On Friday we had our evaluation day with our supervisors and a meeting for the plan for the next week at Tom Gray's Camp. 
That night all the interns and some local friends of our drove out to Council for the weekend.  The drive was two hours, but the scenery was great! Once we got there at around midnight (but don't worry it was still light out because the sun never sets) we boated across the river to the cabin that we were staying at.  Many people made it in that night and we hung out until about 5am. I know it was a little crazy but playing card and bag toss with the sun never going down you really tend to lose track of time.  Some others that were having more fun with adult beverages stayed up until about 9am then went to sleep.  So when I woke up around 10am I helped get breakfast ready and at the same time learned how to play cribbage! I really love that game now.  After breakfast I wanted to walk about the two roads of Council, AK to see what other sites were out there. I found a grave site from the early 1900s and it was sad but so pretty at the same time.  As I walked back to the cabin I found the views of all the mountains to be breathtaking!  Once I was back at the cabin some of the girls wanted to go for a hike up the mountain which to some of the locals is known as Blueberry Mountain but most people just call it Council Mountain. It was a really hard hike in regular athletic shoes but much worth it once I made it to the top.  Just imagine a 360 view around of all these mountain tops some with snow and all the valleys in between.  It was a sight! Sometimes I wish that my camera could take pictures just a I see things because I feel that sometimes they just can't seem to get it right.  While on this hike we wanted to make sure that we were protected from bears so we had a local go with us that carried a gun.  Back at the cabin later that day we made some caribou burgers and fish that was caught fresh in the river that morning! Most delicious fish that I have ever had! But after the hike I felt a little sick and apparently the weather doesn't really like my nose, so with the end of a nosebleed I took a nap so that I wouldn't have to miss the rest of the weekend.  After an hour I woke up and had some snacks and that night I played bag toss outside along with skip-bo and uno with some of the other girls.  Outside there were some kids ages 16-20 that wanted to come and join our party at the campsite, and that really annoyed me because they were acting like idiots and couldn't hold down any drinks and that isn't cool. So I mostly stayed inside and then around 11pm in a separate area back behind the cabin Becca, Alex, and I went into the sauna to be refreshed and to get a little clean before bed.  After the sauna I went back inside to continue to play cards and then I tried to head to bed.  All the kids that kept drinking all night would come up stairs and pull on our legs to get us to wake up and drink with them but by 5am they finally passed out. Thank God! I was so tired of hearing them!  So this camping was not of the normal kind of how my family usually does it back home. The cabin was a two story 'house' well it was really two rooms downstairs was the living and kitchen and upstairs was just a giant room with about 10 or so beds and plenty of floor space. The bathroom was outside in the outhouse and no running water, so no showers! On Sunday after I woke up, we made breakfast and then walked around the town again.  When I got back to the cabin, everyone helped clean it up and then pack our stuff.  Before we left town we went to the river to fish. I was able to cast a line twice but since I don't have a fishing license I needed to be careful about not getting caught.  After a few hours we went back to the cabin to get ready to leave back to Nome.  Truck was loaded and three trips across the river it was finally time to drive back.  Another two hour drive but it was so much fun talking with another intern named Alex. We have became partners in crime and it's great!
On the way back to Nome, we stopped by the last train to nowhere and took some really great pictures! Now back in Nome, we went to a movie that night to see The Hangover 2, which was really funny. On this fourth of July everyone was sure to bundle up because it's in the low forties and rainy but that didn't stop the parade or our bar-b-que on the Nome River.  It was really great to meet some other great Texans that were also not enjoying the cold! Now that I have time to sit and reflect about my short time here I have really been so blessed to be up here and seeing this really incredible place.  I only have 5 shorts weeks left and I really do want to make the most of it every time I can!

The Musk Ox in the area with the babies. Such a prehistoric animal.

Salmon Lake on the way to Council. So pretty!

Our lovely bathroom for the weekend! Believe it or not but this is one of the nicest ones that I have seen up here in AK.

The Bear rug that was formerly alive! The head was about 3x bigger then mine. It was a 9 1/2 foot bear!

Always need protection on a hike from the wild bears!

At the top of the mountain and the winds were blowing so hard that my wind breaker almost became a parachute!

A view of Council, AK from the top of Council Mountain.

My Caribou burger. It is much tastier then regular beef and leaner too!

The upstream picture from fishing trip.

The river around the bend it was so beautiful in person.

Me next to a Bush Plane still trying to swat a mosquito!

A far away view of Council Mountain and the river.

A last view of Council before we left.

On the drive back.

It's July and there is still snow on the ground!

Salmon Lake

The Last Train to Nowhere

As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.  ~Emmanuel


Peace & Love 
Megan