The Hoover Dam from the top. This is the river side.
This is me and Avery and my best friends two oldest kids at the Hoover Dam.
Ok, so...lots of people have emailed me and asked me questions and I am finally going to try and answer some of them.
What's the weather like? The day we got here was really nice...about 80degress and sunny. Then it was cold (60's) and rainy for about 10 days. Then we got about two days of nice weather, 80 and sunny. Then it would be cold and rainy for about 10 days. Then we had about 3 days of nice weather, then 10 more days cold and rainy. It has been really nice (high 70's and sunny) for about a week, then today it cooled off and started to rain. Everyone says that aug/sept is the rainy season so we'll see. There were a couple of days that the wind blew really hard, but not too many. there is usually a breeze though.
When do you start school? Yesterday was the first day. We had 4 contract days for the entire staff the week before and teacher new to the district had 3 days the week before that.
Can you put a brick in your toilet? Actually, no. the toilet has a water efficienct, high pressure flusher in the tank. When you lift the lid on the back of the toilet all you see is a tank, no water.
Can I come visit? Absolutely, YES! PLEASE! I would love to have anyone who wants to come. I would be more than happy to lend out my sleeper sofa to anyone who wants to venture to Bethel. If you prefer, there are lots of hotels and bed and breakfasts all over the city.
Is it what you expected? Yes, it really is. Although I commented that it was very different, it is what I was expecting. I had done so much research and talked to so many people who lived here before I left that I knew exactly what I was getting my self into.
What is the scenery like? Bethel is in the middle of the tundra and a part of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It is very flat, sandy, and treeless.
How about that midnight sun? It's wild! When we first got here, the sun officially set about about 1am, but it didnt really get dark untill about 2am. The official sunrise was about 5am, but it started to get light at about 4am. so there was only about 2 hours of true night, but even then it wasnt REALLY dark. I have yet to see the moon at night. I've seen it during the day once, but that's it. Back in July the sun was rising and setting about 3 minutes later/earlier...which meant a loss of about 7 minutes everyday. THAT'S HUGE! In Ohio, we lose about 30-45 seconds a day, maybe a minute. one thing that really got to us about the sun is that it all looks the same. the sun at noon and the sun at midnight...it looked the same. I never knew what time it was. Avery and I would be hangin around thinkin it was about 6 or 7 in the evening and we would look at the clock and it would read 10 or 11 at night. I had to start wearing a watch at all times. No way you can guesstimate the time here. Nowadays, the it is dark at midnight and still dark til about 6am.
How much is gas? $4.97! enough said!
Do I have daily internet access? Yes
How was Vegas? In case some of you don't know...I spent about two weeks visiting friends and family in Vegas before coming to Bethel. Vegas was good. It was good to see everyone, but mostly it was HOTHOTHOT. It was 114 degrees that last couple days I was there. We visited Hoover dam and my sandles were literally melting to the sidewalk.
How are you and Avery handling the change? We are handling it fine...really good actually. Like I said, I had done alot of research and we had talked about it alot. We knew what to expect. We are settled in quite nice. It's really the people who have made us feel right at home. everyone is sooooooo wonderful here.
How is Avery adjusting? He's good. He has made some friends right away and we've kept ourselves busy. He seems to really like it here too.
No taxes, right? sort of...there are no state sales taxes, but Bethel has a city sales tax of 5%. As far as income tax...I'm not sure yet...I havent got paid, but I do not think there are any income taxes besides federal. I'll let you know more about that when I get paid. We only get paid once a month here! wow! that'll be a change.
ok, that's it for now. take care all.
I had to post a pic of Taboo because I know how much you all miss him! He is doing good too. He's happier now that we have our own place. He's so funny. He talks all the time. He's very demanding!
Well, we just finished up with open house at school. We get the day off tomorrow! Yay! For day weekend!
So, this is our apt. It's a duplex. There's another apt attached to it on the right. Our side is a small two bedroom. It's nice and clean with new carpet, appliances and cabinets. We're pretty happy with it and my landlord has been wonderfully helpful. Notice the sidewalk is made from old wood pallets, then it just drops off into the sand. It makes me feel like I'm living in a cottage on the beach, but I'm sure I wont feel that way in a couple months.
This is my backyard. This is the view out of Avery's bedroom window. Just open tundra.
This is the side yard. This is the view out of the living room window. more tundra. We looked at an apt. in that gray building. It was a two story with the bedrooms and bathrooms downstairs and the living, dining and kitchen upstairs. It was very spacious, but expensive. Three of the other new teachers share that apt. and we hang out there sometimes. Even though it is not painted and looks like it is in disrepair...it is actually quite nice on the inside. that saying, "you cant judge a book by it's cover" is oh-so-true here in Bethel.
This is the barge as it is first turning upriver into Bethel. The small orange boat up ahead is the "pilot" boat. It guides the barge up the river and into Bethel port. The small white boat in front of the barge is the tugboat that tugs the barge.
A closer look at the tugboat pulling the barge. You can see the chains that connect the two. Click on the picture to make it bigger.
A side view of the entire barge. My truck and all of our stuff was in one of those metal crates. You can see how high the crates are stacked and how much heavy machinery, trucks, houses, etc are all stacked on top.
This pic shows a man standing on the barge to give you an idea of scale.
Here are two men standing on the barge to give you another perspective on scale. This barge services many cities in "bush" Alaska, so not all of that stuff is for Bethel. This was a happy day for us. It was the day the truck and all of our stuff arrived in Bethel. Pots and pans, sheets and blankets, plates and bowls, towels and washclothes...you never know how much you miss that stuff until you go without it for awhile.
Here's another tugboat pushing the barge from behind.
A pic of the whole barge as it goes past.
One of the barge and Avery. In this pic you can get a glimpse of how beautiful the Kuskokwim River is. And how BIG!
This is the barge docked at the port and preparing to be unloaded. You can see the huge crane that will unload the barge. My understanding is that items for Bethel are unloaded and then items that need shipped out are loaded. The barge originally started in Seattle (that's where I put my truck on), it stops at many cities along the panhandle, then has a major stop in Anchorage, then heads West and North, around to Bethel and all the way to Nome.
These two pics are both of Main str. Standing in the same spot, the pic above is of main str going Northwest. If you walked up the road two blocks and took a right, you'd be at our house. The yellow building on the left is a church and the red building on the right is the family clinic. The pic below is of main str facing Southeast. You might notice that the intersection actually has street signs and a stop sign. Most streets do not have street signs and many do not have stop signs. You might also notice that the road is paved at the intersection and beyond. there are a few paved roads in Bethel and this section of main is one of them. 
This is Avery's school, Kilbuck Elementary. Home of the Wildcats. It is a 3-6 school. Avery's teacher is Mr. Johnson. Avery seems to like school and is making friends. There are 4 sixth grade classes. The students may or may not switch teachers throughout the day depending on their personal level in each subject area. The Yu'pik Immersion school for 3-6 grade is also housed in this building.
This is BRHS. Bethel Regional High School. Home of the Warriors. Half the building was redone last year and the other half (my half) will be redone this summer. So, next year I'll have a brand new classroom. The school over all is quite nice and I hear we have the best gym around. Bethel holds many of the regional sporting events at the school. When students are in town for events they sleep at the school in the classrooms! Apparently, we are th biggest bed and breakfast in Bethel! Overall I had a really good week and, so far, my students seem to be really great. I hope to have a great year! I will be coaching the 8th grade robotics team...that'll be fun!
If you added up all the dirt that my truck has had on it since I've owned it, it wouldn't be this dirty. You all know how clean I keep my truck. It is so dirty that Avery walked right past it the other day because he didnt even recognize it! Terrible! 
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