I talked to Tom yesterday morning. He arrived in Bethel at 8:30 PM Alaska time. He was greeted at the airport by the refuge staff. They gave him a tour of the town. I asked him what his first impression of Bethel was. He said it was a like giant Kakagon Slough. He was amazed at all the boats he saw.
I caught him at 6:30 AM before he was leaving for his first day at the YK Refuge. He mentioned that they were packing up the plane for a 16 day stint at duck camp. Not sure if Tom is going or not yet. Stay tuned for more details. ( you can check out more photos at http://www.lksd.org/sped/photos.html courtesy of the school district)
Share on Facebook
Tom’s Ready
Originally uploaded by Andrea Pokrzywinski.
Tom convinced me that we have to have a snow machine to travel in the winter. There are numerous trails to villages in the winter when the ground freezes. I bet it will be handy for ice fishing too!
Share on Facebook
The Delta Discovery is the local paper in Bethel. It great to see that they are online too. Browsing thru the site you can find out more about the town and businesses. There is a recent article that announce the break up of the Kuskokwim river on May 3rd. One of the residence took hom a couple thousand dollars for guessing the right day you can read more here.
Several folks who have lived in Alaska have mentioned that we have to read the police reports.
Share on Facebook
Steller’s jay 7759
Originally uploaded by Yukon White Light.
One of the exciting things to look forward to is the bird life in Alaska. The Yukon delta is one a of the richest ares in Alaska for nesting waterfowl and shore birds. We will also get to see new birds like this Stellar’s Jay. Here are some links to entice others to visit and help us plan for new birding experiences.
Share on Facebook
We’ve been investigating the educational programs available in Bethel as the move get’s closer. The Lower Kuskokwim School District has a great web site that describes the district. The site also has links to the schools in the outlying villages. Reading these sites has given us more of an idea what the area is like.
The Alaska Teacher Placement Web Site has a lot of great information. Especially the link to rural shopping tips. The Alaska Department of Education is in Juneau.
Share on Facebook
Here is a shot of the dining room in our new house. You can get a sense of the neighborhood from the view. There are a few trees in the yard. But we have been told that grass does not grow and we will not have to bring a lawn mower. Tom likes that idea 
.
Share on Facebook
We just got pictures of the house we will rent in Bethel. Here is the kitchen. You can just make out the river and mountains from the kitchen window. The ice went out on the river last week.
Share on Facebook
Moravian Book Store, Bethel
Originally uploaded by Gruscana.
Just in case you were wondering were the Moravian Book Store is in Bethel. I found a photo on flickr pointing it out. The city was named Bethel by the Moravian Missionaries who settled in the area in the 1884. The village was originally called Mumtrekhlogamute, or Smoke house people. The main economy in the region is fishing and subsistence hunting. Bethel is largest village in western Alaska with 6,000 people. The ninth largest city in Alaska.
Share on Facebook
Cama’iÂ
Uploaded on April 2, 2007
by iconolith
Bethel is host to the Cama’ i Dance Festival. 85% of the population in the region is Yupik.
I searched for resource sites that would provide us with some credible information about the Yup’ik.
Share on Facebook
Bethel, Alaska
Originally uploaded by junestag.
Here is an aerial photo I found on my first photo search of Bethel. I think this is just a partial view.
Share on Facebook
