Jump to content

Alaska bound!

orangecat92
 Share

Recommended Posts

orangecat92

orangecat92 306

Posted
Posted

Will be teaching in a village, off the road system.  Big milestone today, bought a duffle bag.  I remember from my national guard days how much stuff you can squeeze into one of those suckers. 

I am allowed two suitcases and one carry-on.  Suitcases are allowed to weigh 50 pounds.  The duffle bag is one of those.  I am told Amazon Prime will be my friend for groceries.  I plan to stuff that duffle to the 50 pound limit with clothes and then fill a 2nd suitcase with food.   The flight to the hub- Dillingham-population 2400- is 11 and half hours.  I am toying with the idea of loading the carryon with ice and frozen steaks.  Alaska Airlines only allows the medical kind of ice.  

Here is the neat thing.  I am going up first-with our big dog, and then the wife will come up later, after the house sells with the little dog.  That way we learn from any mistakes I make traveling. 

Questions:

 

1. Anybody with any good advice about the food situation?

2.  Anybody have any experience hunting Caribou or Elk?  Any fat on those guys or is it all lean meat? ( I am told the village elders might invite me to go hunting.  Of course I will say yes)

3. Any good advice about brand of rubber boots?  I am told that is the one article of clothing that is necessary.  

 

thanks 

 

 

  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cheeseweasel

Cheeseweasel 26,438

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, orangecat92 said:

 

3. Any good advice about brand of rubber boots?  I am told that is the one article of clothing that is necessary.  

 

I've hunted in Maine for many years. My LL Bean "duck boots" are a life saver.

 

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/506697?page=footwear-llbean-boots

  

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matuka

Matuka 1,310

Posted
Posted

Dillingham actually has a pretty nice grocery store.  Of course it’s as expensive as all get out.  Expect to pay 2-3 times for dry goods what you pay in the lower 48.  Meat & dairy even more expensive.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
orangecat92

orangecat92 306

Posted
  • Author
Posted
6 hours ago, Matuka said:

Dillingham actually has a pretty nice grocery store.  Of course it’s as expensive as all get out.  Expect to pay 2-3 times for dry goods what you pay in the lower 48.  Meat & dairy even more expensive.

 

Yep, that is where the idea came from for the carryon of frozen beef with ice.  If I can get about 16 steaks in that carryon, we can eat steak almost once a week until we visit home in December.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
heso

heso 2,813

Posted
Posted

My uncle went to visit Dillingham for 3 weeks. That was ~20+ years ago. Ended up spending the rest of his life there working at the Dillingham hospital. I regret not making it up to visit him before he passed away last year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Matuka

Matuka 1,310

Posted
Posted

 Oh and there are moose in those parts, don't believe there are elk.  Caribou in spots, especially northward.  The dude that worked for the pilot of the float plane I've charted a few times used to go moose hunting every Fall.  A good moose will fill up a chest freezer, maybe more.

He would also have a keg of beer shipped from Anchorage every year, I think via the yearly barge from Anchorage.   My best friend and I did some damage to one one evening when we were socked in because of bad weather.  We tipped him well though.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
orangecat92

orangecat92 306

Posted
  • Author
Posted
21 hours ago, Nolacycling said:

Does the village/school system provide housing?

yes, subsidized.  We will pay $830 per month, utilities included, for a 2 bedroom furnished apartment, on campus.  Someone sent me pictures and I will walk about 60 yards to the building.   We will need to provide small appliances, utensils, TV, etc. I don't think we're going to have cable TV.  I hope not.    

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pearlandhorn

pearlandhorn 3,274

Posted
Posted

My wife has family in Girdwood and Seward.  They mainly get their source of protein from salmon and moose.  They grow most of their own vegetables.  Go hunting with locals.  Make sure you abide by the strict game laws in Alaska while hunting moose and caribou.  They will take your shit and throw you in jail if you violate the laws and you'll have to pay hefty fines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Macanudo

Macanudo 12,999

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, CheesePie said:

Regarding boots, everybody and their grandmother wear XTRATUF's in Alaska. The insulated pair are practically necessary in the winter but will not be so comfortable during summer.

 

https://www.xtratuf.com/

I had a great pair of Merrells with the insulation.   Those were super comfortable and never felt too clunky even though they were pretty damn big.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 years later...
JGrayDBU

JGrayDBU 342

Posted
Posted

update, this is orangecat92 with a new handle.  I am now a veteran of the bush and have found the 2nd highest paying school district that happens to also have the 2nd best school calendar in the state.  I leave DFW Monday July 25th-arrive in the village July 26th and am now the proud owner of a Bowie knife to fend off.....the dog.

After I got bit by a dog in early January, I realized it's all about perception and people in Northwest Alaska treat their dogs like dogs, instead of family members.  When I asked the tribe administrator how to get the dog's owner to help pay for a medical bill, because I got a tetanus shot at the local clinic, she told me the dog's owner was in prison.   The Bowie knife I bought will be good for sending a message to owners-control your dogs.  All I have to do is wear the knife on the belt and be prepared to discuss why I have the knife.  Chances of me having to actually use the knife are about 1 in a 1000, imo. 

Re: the calendar- Veteran teachers must report by August 1, and if I teach the lucrative 2-week summer school, I arrive in Texas by the end of May.  I was so ready to be back in Texas this year I turned down the summer school money, arriving at DFW May 11. 

I have conquered the food problem by using an old-fashioned strategy.  My luggage on the way up there is two totes of dry groceries I buy from Winco in the Fort Worth area.  I arrive in Anchorage, mail the dry groceries to my final destination, buy two more totes in Anchorage, buy frozen and refrigerated groceries to put in the motel fridge and freezer that will become luggage to get to the final destination near Kotzebue.  I also tried something strange the most recent time,  buying fresh produce in Anchorage and mailing it to the village.  It worked!  The only caveat is I must buy items that have not been cut up or peeled.  The peeled carrots were bad.  My goal is to pick items that have roots.  

About 5 totes of food lasts the entire fall semester, so I do not have to have any shipped groceries.  Shipped groceries cost quite a bit of money for shipping except for Target and Amazon.  Target is reducing the selection of groceries they will ship.  Ex. I had no problem getting glass jars of Pace last fall, but that is no longer an option. 

My personal record low temperature is -44, but that is only walking to school, about 5 minutes.  In that temp, only extras I wore were below the waist long johns, and normal for Alaska boots.  Above the waist I wore 2-3 shirts, a hoodie, and a heavy coat.  On my head I wore a super heavy hat that I can barely see through and ski gloves.  Hands are the one area that I need something on all of the way through May 10th.  When I left the area May 10 it was 28 degrees...above 0! No coat necessary. 

I fly to Texas to visit the wife in December and re-load on the grocery strategy.  My children are adults on their own, but the dog is gone.  She had to be put down the summer of 2019.  

Ice fishing is fun, but pickleball is more fun.  Our record was probably 2 hours of pickleball in one evening.  Always play in the gym.  

Saved more money for retirement the first year in this new place than the previous x amount of years combined.  At least 5 years. 

For the boots, I wore the standard Muck mid-size for the warmer southwestern area and was told I needed to buy the Arctic tall version for the great northwest.  We must have had a dry year, because I did not need to wear the Arctic Mucks at all last year.  I wore them one day to try to break them in, and got away with wearing the mid-size boots all year long.  

Housing is much more difficult to work with in the great northwest.  As a newbie, I had to work my way through the snow every time it snowed heavily during the school year.  I would wake up to a snowfall, and try to walk unsuccessfully through the snow, fall through the snow and low crawl for about 20 yards or so. We only had about five days with snow that heavy.  

I got lucky in that the outgoing principal allowed me to move apartments before the end of the school year in May.  When I arrive back on July 26, I get to walk into all of my stuff in totes in the new much improved apartment.  All I have to do is unpack.  

I think I coined the phrase "These years up here are like dog years"..One year in the great northwest is like 7 any place else, including the southwestern part of the state.  When I expressed the opinion that it was like 2 years in one to my outgoing principal she said "No, I've aged 15 years".  She quit because the district office was stressing her out.  We are breaking in 2 new administrators, one principal and one asst. principal.  In my 21 years in education, I have never broken in 2 new administrators at one time in August.  During the middle of the year, yes, but not at the beginning of the year.

I am ready to go back and 60 degrees is very alluring right now.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MonkeyDoughnut

MonkeyDoughnut 10,329

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, JGrayDBU said:

update, this is orangecat92 with a new handle.  I am now a veteran of the bush and have found the 2nd highest paying school district that happens to also have the 2nd best school calendar in the state.  I leave DFW Monday July 25th-arrive in the village July 26th and am now the proud owner of a Bowie knife to fend off.....the dog.

After I got bit by a dog in early January, I realized it's all about perception and people in Northwest Alaska treat their dogs like dogs, instead of family members.  When I asked the tribe administrator how to get the dog's owner to help pay for a medical bill, because I got a tetanus shot at the local clinic, she told me the dog's owner was in prison.   The Bowie knife I bought will be good for sending a message to owners-control your dogs.  All I have to do is wear the knife on the belt and be prepared to discuss why I have the knife.  Chances of me having to actually use the knife are about 1 in a 1000, imo. 

Re: the calendar- Veteran teachers must report by August 1, and if I teach the lucrative 2-week summer school, I arrive in Texas by the end of May.  I was so ready to be back in Texas this year I turned down the summer school money, arriving at DFW May 11. 

I have conquered the food problem by using an old-fashioned strategy.  My luggage on the way up there is two totes of dry groceries I buy from Winco in the Fort Worth area.  I arrive in Anchorage, mail the dry groceries to my final destination, buy two more totes in Anchorage, buy frozen and refrigerated groceries to put in the motel fridge and freezer that will become luggage to get to the final destination near Kotzebue.  I also tried something strange the most recent time,  buying fresh produce in Anchorage and mailing it to the village.  It worked!  The only caveat is I must buy items that have not been cut up or peeled.  The peeled carrots were bad.  My goal is to pick items that have roots.  

About 5 totes of food lasts the entire fall semester, so I do not have to have any shipped groceries.  Shipped groceries cost quite a bit of money for shipping except for Target and Amazon.  Target is reducing the selection of groceries they will ship.  Ex. I had no problem getting glass jars of Pace last fall, but that is no longer an option. 

My personal record low temperature is -44, but that is only walking to school, about 5 minutes.  In that temp, only extras I wore were below the waist long johns, and normal for Alaska boots.  Above the waist I wore 2-3 shirts, a hoodie, and a heavy coat.  On my head I wore a super heavy hat that I can barely see through and ski gloves.  Hands are the one area that I need something on all of the way through May 10th.  When I left the area May 10 it was 28 degrees...above 0! No coat necessary. 

I fly to Texas to visit the wife in December and re-load on the grocery strategy.  My children are adults on their own, but the dog is gone.  She had to be put down the summer of 2019.  

Ice fishing is fun, but pickleball is more fun.  Our record was probably 2 hours of pickleball in one evening.  Always play in the gym.  

Saved more money for retirement the first year in this new place than the previous x amount of years combined.  At least 5 years. 

For the boots, I wore the standard Muck mid-size for the warmer southwestern area and was told I needed to buy the Arctic tall version for the great northwest.  We must have had a dry year, because I did not need to wear the Arctic Mucks at all last year.  I wore them one day to try to break them in, and got away with wearing the mid-size boots all year long.  

Housing is much more difficult to work with in the great northwest.  As a newbie, I had to work my way through the snow every time it snowed heavily during the school year.  I would wake up to a snowfall, and try to walk unsuccessfully through the snow, fall through the snow and low crawl for about 20 yards or so. We only had about five days with snow that heavy.  

I got lucky in that the outgoing principal allowed me to move apartments before the end of the school year in May.  When I arrive back on July 26, I get to walk into all of my stuff in totes in the new much improved apartment.  All I have to do is unpack.  

I think I coined the phrase "These years up here are like dog years"..One year in the great northwest is like 7 any place else, including the southwestern part of the state.  When I expressed the opinion that it was like 2 years in one to my outgoing principal she said "No, I've aged 15 years".  She quit because the district office was stressing her out.  We are breaking in 2 new administrators, one principal and one asst. principal.  In my 21 years in education, I have never broken in 2 new administrators at one time in August.  During the middle of the year, yes, but not at the beginning of the year.

I am ready to go back and 60 degrees is very alluring right now.

Going to need to see picks on the living and school arrangement... at this point picturing "The Revenant" but with kids and vicious dog(s).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Burt

Burt 4,089

Posted
Posted

We lived in Barrow from 1998-2000 after I got out of the AF. I worked for the NWS and my wife got a job with the North Slope Burrough school district. There were a lot of teachers up there from our neck of the woods (Ark-La-Tex) because they could make 2 1/2 to 3 times what they'd make back home. 

We were lucky in that we could make a "bush order" from grocery stores in Anchorage and the government would reimburse us for the shipping. 

Winters were LONG, but the 84 straight days of sun in the summer were amazing! Playing softball in snow flurries in the middle of July is probably something I'll never get to do again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JGrayDBU

JGrayDBU 342

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Burt said:

We lived in Barrow from 1998-2000 after I got out of the AF. I worked for the NWS and my wife got a job with the North Slope Burrough school district. There were a lot of teachers up there from our neck of the woods (Ark-La-Tex) because they could make 2 1/2 to 3 times what they'd make back home. 

We were lucky in that we could make a "bush order" from grocery stores in Anchorage and the government would reimburse us for the shipping. 

Winters were LONG, but the 84 straight days of sun in the summer were amazing! Playing softball in snow flurries in the middle of July is probably something I'll never get to do again. 

That is interesting, as the North Slope District is the competition that pays about the same as my district.  As I prepared to leave the Southwest Region and go north for the big $ I realized I was hearing stories about the oil money being a super-strong influence on the parents In N. Slope, which meant school was viewed as not necessary, and of course the many days in a row with 0 sunlight.  Those two factors influenced me to choose the Northwest district.  The pay is not 2 1/2 times as much, but it is definitely higher than Texas.  I became proficient at bush orders from Anchorage in the Southwest region, but shipping was not reimbursed.  The shipping charge from Anchorage to southwest region was $1.28 per pound in addition to the $35 charge to get the groceries from the grocery store to the airport in Anchorage.  The charge to get groceries to my current village is about $2.08 per pound + the charge to get the groceries to the airport in Anchorage.   

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JGrayDBU

JGrayDBU 342

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

Do you still ship/carry steaks, or has the hunting situation sorted that out?

I scrutinize the local Kroger's ad and if something stands out, I take it with me, because I get on the non-stop AA flight from DFW to Anchorage, and then high-tail it to a motel in Anchorage that provides freezer space.  That evening is reserved for grocery shopping.  I get up the next morning and get on an Alaska Airlines flight to Kotzebue, and then from Kotzebue I get on the Air Taxi to my final destination, Selawik.  

In January 22, I came back from Texas with a few steaks and ate my last one in April.

For the majority of the steaks, I shop at Fred Meyer in Anchorage, the same company as Kroger's.

One year at Christmas a colleague had a friend in Anchorage when Fred Meyer had the entire 7 pound tenderloin on sale, for $10.99 a pound, so I sent a check with my colleague, and she brought it back for me.  I butchered the tenderloin to make bacon-wrapped filets.  That made me a believer of tenderloin.  It was lean, except for the bacon and the taste was just right. 

Caribou is the local animal hunted in the Arctic area and I was served a piece of that.  Yuck! Serious gamey smell, not for me.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JGrayDBU

JGrayDBU 342

Posted
Posted

hmmm, ad looks good in Anchorage, 80/20 ground beef and Kroger ice cream at lower 48 prices. Petite sirloin steaks low enough to keep me from even making the phone call to the butcher in Eagle River.  I will do a pick up order at multiple grocery stores, just in case there are more people like me.  Who am I kidding, I'm an outlier for sure.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
After irth

After irth 1,243

Posted
Posted
On 7/16/2022 at 10:22 PM, JGrayDBU said:

update, this is orangecat92 with a new handle.  I am now a veteran of the bush and have found the 2nd highest paying school district that happens to also have the 2nd best school calendar in the state.  I leave DFW Monday July 25th-arrive in the village July 26th and am now the proud owner of a Bowie knife to fend off.....the dog.

After I got bit by a dog in early January, I realized it's all about perception and people in Northwest Alaska treat their dogs like dogs, instead of family members.  When I asked the tribe administrator how to get the dog's owner to help pay for a medical bill, because I got a tetanus shot at the local clinic, she told me the dog's owner was in prison.   The Bowie knife I bought will be good for sending a message to owners-control your dogs.  All I have to do is wear the knife on the belt and be prepared to discuss why I have the knife.  Chances of me having to actually use the knife are about 1 in a 1000, imo. 

Re: the calendar- Veteran teachers must report by August 1, and if I teach the lucrative 2-week summer school, I arrive in Texas by the end of May.  I was so ready to be back in Texas this year I turned down the summer school money, arriving at DFW May 11. 

I have conquered the food problem by using an old-fashioned strategy.  My luggage on the way up there is two totes of dry groceries I buy from Winco in the Fort Worth area.  I arrive in Anchorage, mail the dry groceries to my final destination, buy two more totes in Anchorage, buy frozen and refrigerated groceries to put in the motel fridge and freezer that will become luggage to get to the final destination near Kotzebue.  I also tried something strange the most recent time,  buying fresh produce in Anchorage and mailing it to the village.  It worked!  The only caveat is I must buy items that have not been cut up or peeled.  The peeled carrots were bad.  My goal is to pick items that have roots.  

About 5 totes of food lasts the entire fall semester, so I do not have to have any shipped groceries.  Shipped groceries cost quite a bit of money for shipping except for Target and Amazon.  Target is reducing the selection of groceries they will ship.  Ex. I had no problem getting glass jars of Pace last fall, but that is no longer an option. 

My personal record low temperature is -44, but that is only walking to school, about 5 minutes.  In that temp, only extras I wore were below the waist long johns, and normal for Alaska boots.  Above the waist I wore 2-3 shirts, a hoodie, and a heavy coat.  On my head I wore a super heavy hat that I can barely see through and ski gloves.  Hands are the one area that I need something on all of the way through May 10th.  When I left the area May 10 it was 28 degrees...above 0! No coat necessary. 

I fly to Texas to visit the wife in December and re-load on the grocery strategy.  My children are adults on their own, but the dog is gone.  She had to be put down the summer of 2019.  

Ice fishing is fun, but pickleball is more fun.  Our record was probably 2 hours of pickleball in one evening.  Always play in the gym.  

Saved more money for retirement the first year in this new place than the previous x amount of years combined.  At least 5 years. 

For the boots, I wore the standard Muck mid-size for the warmer southwestern area and was told I needed to buy the Arctic tall version for the great northwest.  We must have had a dry year, because I did not need to wear the Arctic Mucks at all last year.  I wore them one day to try to break them in, and got away with wearing the mid-size boots all year long.  

Housing is much more difficult to work with in the great northwest.  As a newbie, I had to work my way through the snow every time it snowed heavily during the school year.  I would wake up to a snowfall, and try to walk unsuccessfully through the snow, fall through the snow and low crawl for about 20 yards or so. We only had about five days with snow that heavy.  

I got lucky in that the outgoing principal allowed me to move apartments before the end of the school year in May.  When I arrive back on July 26, I get to walk into all of my stuff in totes in the new much improved apartment.  All I have to do is unpack.  

I think I coined the phrase "These years up here are like dog years"..One year in the great northwest is like 7 any place else, including the southwestern part of the state.  When I expressed the opinion that it was like 2 years in one to my outgoing principal she said "No, I've aged 15 years".  She quit because the district office was stressing her out.  We are breaking in 2 new administrators, one principal and one asst. principal.  In my 21 years in education, I have never broken in 2 new administrators at one time in August.  During the middle of the year, yes, but not at the beginning of the year.

I am ready to go back and 60 degrees is very alluring right now.

You have a wife?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...