Denali Road Lottery - September 2019

As I dip my toes back into the world of blogging, I thought recapping some of our adventures over the last two years might be a good place to start. It is doubtful that these adventures will end up being in any sort of chronological order, because let's be honest - organization has never been a strength of mine. I'll try my best to label the posts with dates though to provide a little bit of context to our adventures.

In the summer of 2019 (Annika was 1.5 at the time) we found out we'd won a ticket for the Denali Road Lottery. Cody and I were so excited! You see, personal vehicles aren't allowed in Denali National Park. Generally, you have to book a tour on one of the park buses if you want to see the entirety of the park. The exception is the Denali Road Lottery that happens each year. In order to qualify to drive your car into the park you have to enter a lottery ($25ish per ticket) and hope for the best. Miraculously, we won the first year we entered, which we are told doesn't happen very often. The park assigned us a single day in September that we were allowed to drive the park road.

The second week of September we packed up our Jeep for a long weekend spent in Healy, AK (the town right outside the park). We booked the best little AirBnb (here's the link!). It was a secluded cabin probably 15-minutes outside the park. We really loved the location because the front porch hung right off the mountainside and we could sit out there and drink coffee while staring out onto the most beautiful scenery. They also had a great grilling area and lots of flat play space for small children (Annika pictured below running around behind the cabin).

The day that we drove the park was a little crazy, but in a good way. It can take 10+ hours roundtrip to drive all the way to Wonder Lake (mile 85), which is the final stop on the Denali Park Road. With a toddler in tow, we didn't even entertain the idea that we'd make it that far. Our goal was to make it to Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66 of the park road. Driving 60 (or 80) miles might not sound that far, but you have to consider the condition of the park road. The Denali Park Road isn't like your typical road. It's extremely primitive. There are no road markers, traffic signs, or even any pavement. The roads are roughly graveled (in some places VERY rough) and often only one lane through mountain passes. At one point, we actually traveled a section of road that was one lane, covered in orange cones, and had a handmade sign asking us to "stop, get out of the car, and make sure you don't see any oncoming traffic before proceeding." Turns out that particular stretch of road collapsed the following winter.

We succeeded in making it to the visitor's center at Eielson. It was a bit of a long day for Annika, but lots of stops and playing at the different campgrounds was helpful. Eielson was gorgeous and we are so glad we made it that far. It took us just over eight hours roundtrip. Unlike many visitors to Denali, we didn't really see much wildlife along the drive. We did see a couple of moose, but they were pretty distant. We weren't hugely concerned though because after years in the bush, we'd seen more wildlife than most people will in a lifetime.

One other cool thing about the trip was our dinner at 49th State Brewing Company. The brewery has a great location in Anchorage too, but we just adored the one in Healy. It was much more rustic and the outdoor seating was great. They also had a decent vegetarian menu, which is a huge bonus for me. Our favorite part was the bus though. I was a big fan of the Into The Wild book and movie in my younger days, and they happen to have the movie set replica of the bus at the brewery in Healy. Cody and I loved exploring the bus and taking pictures in front of it. I'd definitely recommend hitting up the restaurant and seeing the bus if you're headed to the park.

Currently listening to...Woodland - The Paper Kites 

July Travels

July was another whirlwind month of travel. Cody and I were apart while he visited family in Illinois and Florida. During that time, I was road-tripping back from Virginia to Illinois and enjoying a week of rest and relaxation at my mom's house. While back in Illinois at my mom's house, we still managed to get into some shenanigans. Early in July we hosted a 4th of July party at her house, and we convinced the dogs to pose for adorable photos in their patriotic outfits. Then, later in that same week we drove to Milwaukee for Summerfest. At Summerfest, we got to see Tom Petty, Christ Stapleton, and a bunch of other awesome musicians perform.

About mid-month I headed up to Michigan to stay with my dad and his family. The first week that we were there my dad and I took a spontaneous trip up to Beaver Island. Cody and I lived in Beaver Island for a couple of years and I taught at the school there, so it was a blast to spend time visiting friends and former students. The gorgeous, Bahama-like beaches and weather didn't hurt either.

After our trip to Beaver Island, dad and I headed back to SW Michigan (where he lives), and Cody flew into Grand Rapids the next day. Reunited with Cody, we both then had a blast spending a few weeks in Michigan. My dad's house is on the beach, so we swam every single day. We also hiked Mt.Baldhead, watched sunset at Oval Beach, enjoyed a visit from my college bestie, and a million other fun things. I was sad when July came to a close and Cody and I had to leave.

Now that we are officially into August the countdown to heading back to Alaska has begun. We leave to go back to our village in less than a week. While we are both super excited, it is also bittersweet. This summer has been such a blast. We've spent so much quality time with family, and we've also had non-stop adventures. This school year should bring about some big changes for our family though, which I am pretty excited about, so I will be happy to get settled back in at our little village home.

Your turn...What fun things did you do in July?
Currently listening to... Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton 

June Travels

The month of June was hectic and fun for the Middleton family. We arrived back in the lower 48 during the last few days of May, and tried to get a little bit of r&r at my mom's house in Illinois before we started traveling all over. However, the "rest" part of our trip didn't last long, mostly because my mom and I started getting wild ideas to go places about two days after Cody and I landed in the state. We ended up hiking two different state parks in the first week of being there. We first went to Kankakee River State Park, which is only 30ish minutes from my mom's house, so we packed up the dogs and took them on a nice hike around the river. The second state park was a little further, but also super cool. We spent a day hiking at Starved Rock State Park, which I hadn't been to since I was a kid. It was gorgeous!

The next week I drove Cody down to his hometown in southern Illinois and I stayed there to visit for a few days. I actually went to college close to where Cody grew up, so it was a blast to drive around campus and check out some of my old favorite hangouts. It was also really nice to see Cody's family because I hadn't seen them in a year and a half.

From there, I headed back to my mom's for a few days (and finally got some of that much needed r&r) before jetting off to my dad's house in Michigan. I spent Father's Day in Michigan and my grandfather, who is 84, drove up to MI and spent the weekend with us too. It  was so special to get to spend a long weekend with two of my favorite guys. We spent a wonderful weekend living the lake life - floating, swimming, watching sunset from the boat. It was great.

My dad and I took a road trip to Virginia after Father's Day, where he then left me at my sister's house for 10 days. My sister and her family live near DC, and I really love going to visit them. She has three girls (17, 9, and 5), so we had a BLAST playing and hanging out all week. We did a ton of fun stuff, but my two favorite adventures were hiking in Shenandoah National Park and spending a beach day at Lake Anna State Park. The Blue Ridge Mountains were amazing. I fell instantly in love and stood in awe of them as we hiked.  It was a truly incredible trip!

At the end of my 10 days in Virginia I headed back to Illinois, which is where I am now. It's been a crazy, adventure-filled trip, so far. The adventure is far from over though. I still have a trip to Milwaukee for a concert this week, my oldest sister's wedding this weekend, a weekend trip to Beaver Island (where Cody and I used to live) next week, another trip to SW Michigan, and an end-of-summer cookout with my Illinois family. Somehow, I am going to pack all of that in before August 15th. Wish me luck!

Your turn...How is your summer going?
Currently listening to...Hurray for the Riff Raff - Blue Ridge Mountains 

Traveling Back to the Lower 48

Summer has officially begun for those of us who teach for Lake and Peninsula School District. Before it officially started though, we had a few things to do. The first week of summer vacation we spent in the village. Cody and I spent quite a bit of time with our friends, and I even got the opportunity to learn to paddle board. One of my good friends, Sue, has a paddle board in the village and she offered to teach me one afternoon. I went over to her house and tested it out on Loon Lake, which is the lake behind the school and my house. I was pretty wobbly at first, but it was such a blast. How many people can say they've had the opportunity to learn to paddle board while living in rural Alaska? Probably not many!

At the end of the week, I was sad to see our little village disappear in the distance as we flew away, but we were also a bit spoiled with gifts and well wishes before we left. We had quite a few people call or stop by to "visit" to tell us they'd miss us and to have a good summer. I was also gifted a beautiful beaded bracelet from a student and her mother, and then our good friends Al and Sue gave us amazing glass floats.

Even though I was sad to leave the village, I was also filled with excitement because I knew I'd soon be seeing my family and I hadn't seen them in ten months. Before heading all the way to the Lower 48 we first stopped in Anchorage for a few days. Cody and I both had doctor's appointments and the dogs needed health certificates from the vet in order for Alaska Air to let them fly (this has to be done for all dogs on commercial flights and it has to be done no more than 10 days prior to the flight date).

Our trip to Anchorage ended up being pretty fun too because we got out and did some exploring. My favorite place we went was Flattop Mountain. Flattop is a very popular hike in the Anchorage-area and I've been wanting to try it out for awhile. The trail is a little steep, but the views are fantastic and it's relatively short. Cody and I were up there on a very windy, clear day. The temperatures were a little chilly that high up, especially considering it was late May, but it was still totally worth it.

Finally, after nearly a week in Anchorage, we boarded a red eye flight bound for Chicago. This was our first big, commercial flight with the dogs and I was a mess dealing with them in the airport. TSA made us take them out of the cages in order to "check" them, plus the act of just not being able to see them for the duration of the 6-hour flight was stressful (for them and me I'm sure). However, they arrived in one piece and I'm sure they're infinitely happy that they don't have to board another airplane for at least another 10-11 weeks. Solid ground is their best friend at the moment.

After all the excitement, we are now all just relaxing in the Midwest. We have plans to visit Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Florida, and possibly Missouri this summer, so it's going to be a busy trip. I'm so excited for a summer of fun and adventures, and I know that Cody and the dogs are ready for it too. I will still be posting this summer and covering some of our adventures, in the Lower 48, and then I'll be back again in August with posts about the new school year and our lives back in our little bush Alaskan village.

Your turn...Any big plans this summer? Tell me about them! 
Currently listening to...Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco 

Basketball

Basketball is life for students in rural Alaska. Our village is no different in this respect. Basketball is one of the few sports that our students can play year round because all it requires is access to an indoor court (and conveniently all of our schools have one of those). Our village does have an outdoor court - one with wooden planking for a court floor, a fishing net in place of a standard hoop net, and endless ocean views - but it is really only in use during the summer months. The rest of the year, the school basketball court is king.

In our district, there are only two schools that are big enough to compete in regular 5-on-5 basketball tournaments. The rest of our small schools, including Pilot Point, compete in 3-on-3 tournaments instead. This year, I volunteered to be our schools basketball coach. Our team was tiny, with only one student allowed to travel, but we still practiced hard and flew to two separate tournaments this season. We were paired up with Port Heiden, a neighboring tiny school, in order to have enough players to compete. Our schools played together for over ten games this season (all packed into two short tournaments trips).

Our first tournament was in January and took us to Nondalton, one of the far northern schools in our district. Nondalton was large compared to Pilot Point and it felt a bit like stepping into a completely different district. There were many teachers at their school, a huge student store stocked with goodies (pizza, big pretzels, soda, etc). It was also a huge change in scenery. Nondalton was full of trees, big lakes, and huge mountains. We stayed there and played basketball games for three days. The student that I took with me had a blast, but I could also tell he was a bit overwhelmed. At our school all of the students are related in some way. Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by other boys and girls his own age who weren't related to him. It was fun to see him come out of his shell and make so many friends.

Our second tournament was in Chignik Lake, which is even farther south on the peninsula than Pilot Point. By this time, we (my student and I) were much more comfortable with traveling for a tournament. We both knew exactly what to expect, which was good because this tournament was longer. Flying into Chignik Lake was spectacular, the views were unlike anything else I've experienced. The southern part of the Alaska Peninsula has to be some of the most spectacularly untouched wilderness in the world.

The tournament itself went smoothly. We played four games, but were unfortunately eliminated after that. Our elimination wasn't too surprising though, as our oldest student was only in 9th grade and our players were pretty small compared to the crews that some of the other schools had assembled. Regardless of the outcome, they played their hearts out and had a blast. I was also incredibly proud of my one player because he took home the Citizenship Award for good behavior!

I had a lot of fun at this tournament. The scenery itself was a selling point, but the people of this community were wonderful too. They really turned out to fill the stands for the evening games and it was fun to interact with them. We did have one slightly unnerving experience while traveling to the Lake though. By the second day, I was getting antsy for some fresh air and some of the teachers were eager to get out for a hike. Unfortunately, the locals there were uncomfortable with teachers exploring the area because of a tragedy that happened in our district a few years ago. It was requested of us that we only walk in close proximity to the school, so we didn't get to explore much, but I totally understood their reasoning. With their request in mind, we stayed close to the school, just exploring the beach that was nearby, and still got to enjoy the beauty of the area.

The weeks that we spent traveling for basketball will be weeks that I will never forget. I learned so much about the intense love of basketball that our students have, as well as so much about their individual cultures and homes. I'm so happy that I got the opportunity to coach this year and I hope that I get to continue to do it in the future.

Your turn...Have you ever coached a sport?
Currently listening to...Oceans & Streams - The Black Keys

**Some of the tournament/game photos were taken from the LPSD Facebook and Cutterlight Photography pages. Thank you to everyone who shared photos from the tournament!!** 

Flying to Pilot Point

Last Thursday, the day that we flew out to the village, started in a complete whirlwind.  Our first flight left Anchorage at 7:25am, which meant we had to leave our hotel at around 5:00am.  After stuffing ourselves into a taxi with suitcases, dog crates, and everything else, we finally departed for the airport.  (Note to self: traveling with dog crates is a HUGE hassle.) We flew with Penn Air, which was nice because they are much smaller airline and allowed us to be more lax with the dogs and security.

We boarded our Anchorage flight in a generally calm and timely fashion, and headed for King Salmon.  The flight lasted just over an hour and was uneventful, thankfully. We landed in King Salmon at around 8:30am and shortly after we were whisked away to the district office to meet the administrative staff and fill out paperwork - or at least that's what we thought we were going to be doing. We'd barely made it to the district office before Grant Aviation (our next airline transporters) called to say that bad weather was moving in and we needed to leave ASAP.

In true bush fashion though, it was a case of, "hurry up and wait." We arrived at the airport, which is really just a glorified Morton building, and were told that the pilot wasn't there yet, so we waited...and waited...and waited.  After all of that waiting, the airline then informed us they were going to make a trip to Chignik Lake first, before going to Pilot Point, and that we were going to leave at our regularly scheduled time of 2:00pm (it was about noon by this time). The nice woman working at the airport offered to babysit the dogs for us if we wanted to go out for lunch, so we quickly took her up on the offer and headed to Eddy's, which is one of the few places to go for a bite to eat in King Salmon.

Finally, after all of that waiting, the airline announced that we would be leaving soon. We took off for Pilot Point around 4:30pm.  After a long, slightly stressful day I was more than ready to make it to our new home. The flight to Pilot Point from King Salmon was short (about twenty minutes), but incredibly scenic.  We flew low over the tundra, getting the chance to see small lakes, rivers, mountains, ocean, and even a volcano.

We touched down in Pilot Point and were thrilled, and a little nervous, to be in our new place of residence.  We were welcomed wonderfully though, making the transition not feel quite as scary. There were a handful of our new students waiting to meet us at the airport, which was fun. After we helped the pilot unload the plane, a seasonal maintenance worker for the school drove us to see the school and our new house.

View of teacher housing and the school, from a distance. 

After a crazy, hectic, sometimes overwhelming day of travel, we were thrilled to be in our new village home.  It's been a non-stop adventure since we arrived last week (hence the lack of posting until now), but we've been completely loving it.

Your turn...What are some of your crazy travel stories?
Currently listening to...Big Jet Plane - Angus and Julia Stone

Moving to Alaska: Part Four

Location: Jasper National Park, AB to Dawson Creek, BC to Watson Lake, YT to Tok, AK to Anchorage, AK
Lodging: Comfort Inn, Ramada Inn, Young's Motel, Airbnb
Mileage:1,864 miles
Weather: 40-70°F, cloudy, rainy

The fourth and final installment of our road trip adventure involved driving through British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and Alaska. Cody and I drove this part of the trip two years ago, and it definitely felt like familiar territory.

After leaving Jasper National Park, we headed for Dawson Creek, BC. My goal for our time in Dawson Creek was to get a picture of the "Mile 0" sign that signifies the beginning of the famous Alaska highway. The last time we drove this route, I totally spaced out getting a picture and was disappointed.  Thankfully, this time I was successful (also thankful that Cody has a better memory than me)!

After Dawson Creek we hit up another tiny town with a fun tourist attraction. Watson Lake, YT is famous for their Sign Post Forest. The forest contains rows and rows and rows of signs from all over the world.  It was fun to walk about and pick out familiar locations.  We even found one from Petoskey, Michigan! They do allow you to hang your own sign, which we didn't get a chance to do. My goal for next time is to remember a sign or old license plate, so that we can leave our own mark on the forest.

From there, we meandered through the Yukon and eventually entered Alaska at the Tok, AK border point.  The roads on this section of the drive were atrocious.  Long stretches of the highway were unpaved, with huge chunks of gravel and mud. We actually ended up with a cracked windshield just outside of Tok, thanks to a semi flinging rocks up with his tires. The crack was little (thankfully) and we were able to seal it with a simple kit we found in Anchorage. Another thing to point out about this part of the trip was that it is extremely isolated. If you ever plan to make this drive carry extra gas and/or stop at every gas station on this stretch.  Better to be safe than sorry, especially since the cell service is non-existent for hours at a time.

Throughout our isolated drive we also had many close encounters with wildlife.  We continued to see bears, wolves, deer, and mountain goats.

Our most exciting in wildlife sighting (in my opinion) was our run-in with a huge herd of bison.  The herd had taken over the entire highway, which forced us to sit in the shoulder for many minutes. Bison are huge, so there was no way we were inserting ourselves into the middle of the herd. Thankfully, a semi came up on our side of the road and we were able to follow him through.

Finally, after fourteen days on the road, we reached Anchorage.  It was honestly a breath of fresh air to be back in civilization.  Anchorage is a large city with roughly 300,000 people living inside city limits.  We enjoyed many days of shopping, restaurants, unlimited wifi, and other normal amenities.

Now, it's on to our next leg of the move...Pilot Point, AK!

Your turn...Have you ever taken a big road trip? Where did you go?
Currently listening to...Blood Bank - Bon Iver