The tundra thaws
Tom and I grabbed a cup of coffee from Bethel Beans and headed up to the Yukon on Saturday. We were flying the CAP plane and looking for ice jams and flooding on the river. The ice was flowing on all but one section of river and the only jam was on a split bend with the other section flowing. It looks like the tundra is finally thawing.
Look Close, there are over a dozen Moose
May 12 and the barges are on the river. We are all hoping that when the first load of petroleum comes up the river the gas prices will drop below $5.50/gallon. I
You never know who you will meet on the streets of Bethel. This is one of the pilots for YK Delta with his family. They look like they are out for a Sunday drive. At $3/person, I wonder if the kids get to ride for half price?
Alligator acres is known for spring flooding. Many houses in Bethel are designed to stay dry in a normal spring flood. However the cars do not have these same designs and transportation needs are altered for a few days each year. This young girl is taking advantage of these flooding and charging $3.00 a ride to your house. Lucky for us we are on a high sand bar.
This the corner by our house.
The
The water went over the sea wall for about 30 hours. Bethel missed most of the severe flooding. But there are many villages still recovering.
The birds are back and the river has broke!
Nolan is now constantly amused by flies and birds.
The river broke up in Bethel about 10:00 AM Saturday. There is a huge ice jam moving down the river. I’ll get out and take some pictures this afternoon.
Spring has brought a sense of celebration to the delta. Last weekend we watched students from all of our villages present a dramatic musical celebrating 50 years of statehood for Alaska. It was fascinating to hear them recap all of the changes that have taken place in 50 years. Stay tuned because this performance will be on public television.
A few artist and volunteers who helped make this show possible gathered at my house after the show to celebrate and relax after the performance. We have been pretty reclusive this winter so it was nice to have people over.
This Friday has brought more social activity. We were invited to a cardamom party. Each person brought a dish made of cardamom. Yum. We met a lot of new folks that work at YKHC (the health Corporation). Tom joined the fun and played Guitar Hero/Rock Band. He even sang.
Then Tania invited us to a Jamaican party on Saturday. Mostly YKHC folks and it was fun to explain that we didn’t work for health care. We were novelties. But it was funny to hear this crew introducing each other because they worked in different departments and didn’t know each other either. We did know a few folks and meet more of the adventurous soles that live in Bethel.
Tom just returned from a flight to Kalskag. He was looking for ice jams and flooding along the Kuskokwim. Each year residents along the river try to predict the scale that spring break up flooding will bring each village. When the river breaks it forms Ice jams that act as dams and contain the melt water from upstream. So far there are just a few cracks open and some shoreline melting. But the residents upstream are moving their valuables to high ground and making sure there is food and emergency gear in their boats.
