Lurking Nanook in the Snow

Do you see anything lurking in the snow? Look closely before scrolling down...

Now try again.... See it? There. Yep. You've found it.

Here, I zoomed in for you.

Okay, so here's the story. On Sunday night, my friends Melissa, Chad, and Mike came over for dinner and a movie. Then we (including Quya) decided to go look for polar bears -- safely in Chad's car, that is. We drove a long way on the road that leads to the fish camp, which looks like a frozen ghost town (pictures forthcoming), and eventually leads to Point Barrow. We stopped when we saw a police car at the fish camp; he was shining a bright light across the road towards the ice. We slowed down and saw a beautiful polar bear. Not only that, the Northern Lights were glimmering in the background. But it doesn't stop there. Shooting stars were streaking across the sky.

Needless to say, we were in awe.

Eventually, we struck up a conversation with the cop. He said, "I'd advise you to stay in the car."

Duly noted.

He then added, "However, polar bears can open cars up like a beer can."

The bear pawed at some ice and then lay down for a bit.

We drove around more, looking for other bears. The cop told us that there were a total of nine bears (three males, two or three females, some cubs) wandering around in the area. These bears had been roaming through the dumpsters at the tribal college, Ilisagvik, and gnawing on some leftover whale bones left out at the fish camp. Too close to town, so the cops have been attempting to scare them away from town.

Side note: When I went to the college's Web site today, this notification popped up:

Back to Sunday's story.

We drove around some more, looking for a mama bear and some baby bears. None to be found.

At least we got to see this male bear though and only fifty yards away. 

Photo Credit: Chad!

Unfortunately, when we returned to this male bear, two men were out there, ready to hunt it. One was on a snow machine and the other on foot with gun in hand. The snow machine inched along, making every effort to be as soundless as possible.

We left when we saw the hunters.

Next day at school, one of my students said, "Somebody got a bear last night."

School Trip - Part 1 (Anchorage Zoo)

Seven students, my principal, and I are currently on the school trip, which is taken every year as a reward for students with good attendance and good behavior. This year, we are doing several things, which I will share with you as the trip unfolds, time-permitting. So far, we spent a few days in Anchorage for shopping where the students were able to go to Old Navy, Wal-Mart, GAP, and other places. Most bought clothing for themselves, although some chose to spend their money on video games and movies. Regardless, Anchorage certainly has a lot more clothing-shopping options than Nome and especially more than Diomede. It was cute to see the girls all pick out purses, shoes, and make-up. The students also went to H2Oasis, an indoor water park, which they loved. It's not very often that native Alaskan kids get to play in the water in the villages - too dangerous and cold.

We also visited the Anchorage Zoo. It was rather chilly, but it was great for the student to see the animals up close.

When the students saw the seals, they instantly knew what kind of seals they were: ring seals. The student you see above jokingly said to everyone, "Anybody hungry?" It cracked me up because seal is certainly a favorite food of Diomeders.

Although we've seen polar bears near the trash dump by the school, we were amazed to see these bears up close. They were lazy and sleepy, and understandably so. I turned to one of my students and said, "I bet we're the only people here that have eaten polar bear before." I'm pretty sure that's a safe bet too.

 Moose.

 Wolverine.

 "Arctic" turkey. Well, just a white turkey. I had never seen one before.

 Magpie.

 The students had never seen so many of these animals before!

 Check out the claws on this grizzly!

 How cute is this otter!

The wolves were rather frightening -- pacing back and forth in their individual cages.

polar bears, snowmachining, quinoa

 Finally! A polar bear. He was beautiful, and he was exploring the village garbage dump. Not quite as picturesque as a polar bear nuzzling cubs or standing on hind legs, but still amazing nonetheless.

We think this is the trash bag from the school kitchen. Leftover salmon. The bear's got good taste.

I watched him at a safe distance, as you can tell.

 Two of our lovely eighth-graders.

 Icicles on our house.

 This is the snow drift next to our house.

 Snowmachining on the strait!!! Heck Yeahhh!!!!

 

A couple of the students snowmachining. I love watching the dogs chase snowmachines. I want a dog so badly!

Roommate & I, right before snowmachining. I kind of felt like Randy from A Christmas Story. It was "I can't move my arms now!" kind of weather. Never was I more glad to have my polar bear and beaver fur ruff. Keeps my head nice & toasty.

Adrienne and I are attempting to do the Eastern Orthodox fast for this semester, which means we are Vegan and oil-less on Wednesdays and Fridays and then for the months of March and April. It's going to be hard, especially in Alaska. On Wednesday we had quinoa (keen-wah) for dinner, and it was yummy. 

polar ice

 His head.

 The first layer of ice has arrived...

I wonder how many layers of ice and snow we'll have before spring.

the first time I ever saw a polar bear

I ordered a new coat made -- one that is made for arctic temperatures. I don't think my Columbia coat will cut it. My new one has a faux-fur ruff, but I hope to eventually buy a polar bear fur ruff and switch it out. It'd be expensive...anywhere from $150 to $300, but how often does a person get a chance to have real polar bear fur on their coat?

This picture was taken at the Philadelphia Zoo. It's the only time I've ever seen a polar bear. I'm in the middle. You can see my excitement compared to that of my sister and my brother. Is this foreshadowing? An overabundance of enthusiasm for arctic animals?

the first polar bear sighting in Unalakleet