I started this blog on August 21, 2012, with the release of my first book, Titan Encounter. Most of those posts are now in what I call the “Early Blog.” I’m gradually updating their format and bringing them into this new journal. Back then the sole purpose of the blog was to promote my books, but gradually that changed.
That’s how it started but, over the years, I’ve mused about other things that are important to me, such as my family, my farm, rural life, and occasionally about politics and country. However, I try to limit the politics in this journal. If you want to know more about my political leaning go to The Conservative Alternative.
The trip from Eek was like a trip across the river Styx.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement. As I’ve mentioned before, there are no roads in the region of Alaska where I work. Travel in winter is by snowmobile, bush plane, or dog team. I had chartered a plane for five teachers (including me), the principal, two children, and a dog.
Read MoreA picture of me along with authors like Shakespeare, Poe, and Twain and book covers from Harry Potter and The Hunger Games alongside my book, Final Duty, brought a smile to my face.
Read MoreYesterday I flew back to the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Eek.
This will be my seventh year teaching in this remote Alaskan village. Getting to Eek starts with a flight to Anchorage, but that is only the beginning. From there you catch an Alaskan Airlines flight to Bethel, about 400 miles west of Anchorage on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one of the largest river deltas in the world.
Read MoreFriday was Spring Break here in Eek, Alaska!
Okay, actually we had Friday and the weekend off for a grand total of three days! We don’t celebrate many of the holidays, like Veteran’s or President’s Day, in the village schools so three days off is actually nice.
Read MoreThe temperature was -20 as we waited for the plane to arrive in Eek.
That was last Thursday. The plane arrived on time, thankfully, for the flight to Bethel, Alaska. I stayed the night in Bethel and then caught the morning flight to Anchorage and another plane to Seattle. My youngest son was at the airport to pick me up for the hour and a half drive home. It was a long trip, but thankfully, I arrived home safely late on Friday.
Read MoreLast year my wife and I were preparing to haul the trash out to the village dump when one of our friends said they had seen bear tracks at the dump. So warned, we drove the ATV out to the dump with a trailer full of trash keeping our eyes open for any movement.
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