Picture-Pa-Looza V

We had a couple of free hours, so we decided to run up to Lake Aleknagik. As you can see by the link, Aleknagik is a Yupik word meaning "wrong way home". I have to say, however, what a way to go :

And that is just one of the many smaller lakes surrounding Aleknagik proper. Screw Minnesota. THIS is the land of lakes. Now THIS is a lake : 

Oh. My. God. What beauty thou hast wrought here. The camera can scarcely do it justice. But then the quasi-religious experience was shattered by man :

That. 

Was. 

AWESOME !! 

I have never seen a float plane land before. This one was here to grab supplies to take to a hunting party, staying God-knows-where around here. Just when I was almost fully in the throes of an aviation geek-gasm, the smaller of the two took off :

OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod!!!! 

That was so freaking cool ! The only possible way for that to have been any better was for it to have been a P-51D Mustang on floats. Ok, but just so you know : yes, the water was even more of a deep, rich blue than in the pictures. It was pure liquid indigo. Once you got to the shoreline, you could see the bottom a good 100 feet or more out. I have no doubt you could probably see to the bottom a good piece out in those planes.

Ok, Santa : Change of plans. Screw Apple. One boat, about 40 HP motor and a trailer if you please.

This will give you an idea of where we were.
It will give you an idea of the size of Wood-Tikchik, too.

Sadly, some people are as stupid with bears as
they are walking around the mall. 

I don't know what it is, but it sure looked weird.

I can't wait for another sunny day to run up to Lake Aleknagik again. That was so much pure, undistilled awesome it was beyond belief.

Funny

I'm trying to decide which is funnier :

1. Trying to look all 'ghetto' and 'gansta' in Dillingham, Alaska

--  OR --

2. Trying to look all 'ghetto' and 'gansta' in Dillingham, Alaska while bottoming out your new, lowered "Gangsta" Ford Mustang on the many potholes.

I'm leaning towards # 2, especially when you add in the gut-wrenching sounds of metal being scraped and torn asunder from said Mustang. And trust me : I wasn't the only one laughing. The locals - both driving by and walking - were laughing at this idiot, too.

A Ford Mustang is about the most useless form of transportation in Dillingham under the best conditions here. There is about 3/4 of a mile of decent road where you could let that car run. The rest is low-speed corners and potholes.

I guess stupid thrives in every corner of the world.

Photo-Pa-Looza IV

The truck has been a real blessing, enabling us to explore more and newer frontiers. These pictures are a direct result of that freedom.

Think of this as the equivalent of Mad Creek, except it rises
and falls about 12 feet, twice a day. At low tide this is mostly
just mud. 

Ok, let this be proof we really are in Dillingham. :-)

Looking down on Dillingham (part of it) from the hills surrounding it.

Telephoto lenses are amazing tools. They let you take great
pictures from a respectful distance and keeps you out of harm's way.

I would say this is probably the last pay phone in America, except...

It's not a pay phone. It's just a regular phone. Go figure. 

Now that is a fishing boat. 

Photo-Pa-Looza III

We had some very kind, generous teachers loaned us their vehicle for a few weeks until we move into town. That enabled us to do a little more exploring, covering more ground than we could on foot. So we took advantage of the opportunity to go down and finally see Bristol Bay proper. 

The pictures can hardly capture the true beauty of it. Strangely, the water looks almost exactly like the Mississippi, just more of it. Well, I guess that would back up my theory that I always lived in Alaska, I just didn't know it. Maybe I should start referring to Iowa as the Alaska suburbs. :-)

These are pieces of art done by the Elementary children of Dillingham. They are hanging in the entryway to the Elementary school building. They were done under the guidance of an artist, but my understanding is the kids did all the heavy lifting themselves. I have been to the Art Institute of Chicago's museum, and I have to tell you: I saw a lot worse there. I was just floored when they told me the kids did these pieces.

One of the many fishing vessels you will see out on the bay on any given day.

We got buzzed by both, man and nature. Both equally curious. 

Views of the local fish cannery

This is our new chariot, which got us to the bay. It is a 1987 Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup. It can go from 0 - 60... eventually. Actually, it's a darn sturdy little beast. What with all the dings, dents, and rust it has a fine coat of urban camouflage that fits right in Dillingham. Maybe it's just us, but we seemed to have picked up the locals are not trusting you if you have a new car, or one without... ummmm... a few battle scars.

It seems the locals - already a friendly, helpful bunch - became even more so in the past couple of days of driving it. Looks like they are starting to accept us as one of their own. :-)