Our second blizzard is in full swing! It started during the school day yesterday. In the morning the temperature was –21. Carmen’s thermometer didn’t go any lower than that. During the day we kept peeking outside to har far we could see and everything was pretty much white. Well after about 20 feet anyway. By the time Tom came to walk me home it was scary. We wrapped up with everything we had and Tom was smart enough to have his goggles with him. We pushed the outside door and stepped outside into the whitest white I have ever seen. I could see nothing – not one structure anywhere. Tom had his goggles and could see a few feet ahead. We turned to the right at the bottom of the steps and I hung onto his arm and he sort of drugged me along. Now I would never think of this, but Tom had keep track of the number of steps to the turn down toward the teacher housing. So, he knew about where to turn left. Me, I would be out on the lake somewhere trudging toward nothingness. I could not keep my eyes open for more than a second. The whirling snow and ice was bitter cold and hard hitting. I looked up several times to see where we were – but I don’t know why because there was nothing but white. Tom, however, had those goggles and after we made the turn he could see an occassional partial outline of whatever house we were nearest. Again he knew about how far to go and before long we were at the corner of our house – where Tom religiously shovels a snow path every day. So even though it was filling up once again – we could see the beginning of the path beside our house. So, I will say that I was pretty glad to get home and could not have done it without Tom. I would’ve had to stay at school overnight. I remember thinking when we we trudging along in that white, white space that we could easily go the wrong way and end up in a snow bank somewhere and really no one would know. Till after the storm. It wasn’t like you could see anything or hear anything over the noise of the wind. I don’t know how these people do it up here – practice maybe. All in all it was an experience I will certainly count as an exciting one No school today – the blizzard continues and it is too bad for people, especially kids, to be outside. The wind is whirling and has been for over 24 hours now, and it is still snowing. We went out earlier to walk the dog and took a few photos – very hard to hold the camera still but we got a couple of good ones. I just hope all the kids are warm in the village.
One photo shows me in the snow on our porch – you can hardly see me. One shows me in the blizzard early this morning. I only pulled my scarf down for the photo – just for a second. I took the one of Tom walking Rox. Notice Roxy’s little footies.

The photo above shows about 20 Chevak residents plus two of our teachers taking a trip out into the wild blue yonder - nothing but white ahead of them. All this week our neighbor Carmen has been planning on going on a three day trip to Mountain City (or something like that) near St. Mary's where she used to teach. Lots of folks were traveling to this small village of 600 to dance. So Carmen has had a few concerns about the weather and such and what food to take, etc. She came over last night to borrow Tom's insulated wind pants and my heavy rainproof poncho. We also packed her some chocolate bars. We just love Carmen. She's always fixing us good stuff to eat and visiting for tea and talking with Tom about the 4-wheeler and other snow business. She was born and raised in the Wrangell Mountains and actually worked as a guide for years before she became a teacher. Last night after she left, I finally realized that she was going to go by snowmobile for over a hundred miles in possibly snowy weather. Oh my gosh! This morning Tom got some photos of the group before they left.
That is Carmen wrapped up and waving. I understand it was quite exciting. Two teachers went, Maretta, our first grade teacher who has been in Chevak for nine years, and Carmen. I don't think there are any others here who could keep up with the Cup'iks snowmobiles. The photos Tom took will relay some of the excitement. Tom and I have decided that this summer we are picking out two snowmobiles and having them shipped in. We're going to do it.

The library is closed this week and next for testing. I go to the rooms for the library class and no other classes can sign up to come in. We have gotten soooo much work done - including the inventory!!! This would never swing in Georgia - but I can't help but be appreciative. I do open before school every morning so the middle schoolers and high schoolers can exchange books. I am posting a couple of photos just outside our front door of the snow drifts. That's me climbing over one and that's is Tom out there on the lake behind one. The snow is really beautiful and white and soft - there's just so much of it.

I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to write. Sorry to those of you who check every once in a while to see what’s here. I’m going to do better.

I think the most interesting thing that has happened is that we had our first blizzard. Everything I thought I knew about blizzards came true and there was more! I believe it was last week early – maybe even Sunday. You see I have no idea of the day - because the blizzard just took over everything. It started with a snowfall and then the winds came – maybe 45 mile an hour winds. I don’t really know, Tom is the one to check out the weather online and find out that stuff. But Stan Atchak told me the winds were 45 mph. The thing is those winds didn’t stop for almost three days. Don’t think I am exaggerating here. The snow or ice particles, whatever, swirled around and around, fast, biting, non relenting. The house was shaking so Tom and I got up in the middle of the night just to watch out the window. The wind was blowing the snow into drifts. It was like the sands of the dessert – how they make new dunes – well, this was exactly like that – only snow. I wanted to open the window just a tad to listen – but no way was that window coming open – the moment we just started to crack it the wind caught it and it was all we could do to get it shut tight again. On the way to school on Monday, I could not see two feet in front of me. I had to keep my head pointing down and had to just hang on poor Tom’s arm. The drifts had come during the night – huge drifts. You couldn’t even tell where they were (remember it is pitch dark when we go to school in the morning). So we’d just step forward and then way down – my feet going at least a foot down and then the boot almost catching before I pulled it up. Then we had to change the direction to find a firmer place to walk – someplace the snow had blown away from and not to. We had to walk fast – fighting the wind and swirling snow at the same time. I remember thinking, “Where are we, how much further, what if we blow over and get lost in a snow bank and no one notices us till it is too late.” Tom is so strong, he just kept holding me and pulling me forward. When we got to school – of course things were crazy. So many people late, parents bringing in their kids on snow machines, people in large amounts of snowgear, goggles – they were prepared. The talk all day was of the weather. Of course, no planes could even think about landing and therefore no mail.

Tom brought me lunch and came in covered with ice particles – the fur on his parker was frozen solid with ice and snow – just from that short walk to school. That afternoon, Stewart came in to see if I wanted to ride home on his snowmobile. I said “Thanks but I want to do this.” What was I thinking? Maybe I thought I would be cheating if I road the snowmobile home – maybe I thought well this is what I came up here for – to experience something different. Who knows! After all other people were walking home. Tom and I wrapped up good and decided to go across the lake because of the huge snowdrifts on our regular path through housing. Of course it was almost dark and the snow and ice were still swirling with high winds – although somewhat slower than the morning winds. When we were about 100 feet from the school and about to step out onto the frozen lake to cross over, we realized we could not see the teacher housing much less our house. The snow drifts we had plowed through to get to the lake made us not want to return to go the other direction. Tom said, “Keep moving. Head toward that light.” So we kept moving heading toward this light – which was flickering on and off depending on how much snow was swirling. (Remember the lawyer who took the shortcut across the lake…) We kept moving and finally got to the other side of the lake where the light was (the light of course was a porch light on one of the teacher houses). We then had to plow through more drifts to get up on land – snow drifts very high – some so high we had to go around them. When we reached solid land, we realized we were at the first house in the row of teacher housing – our house is the last house. Tom wanted to go back out on the lake and traverse the rest of the journey home. I said no way – I was following porches and steps all the way home. And that’s what we did – go up and down steps and over porches all the way down to our house. The porches and steps were covered with mounds of fresh snow and ice too – but I could actually tell where I was – on steps, porch or ground. When we got in and got all our wet snow caked clothes off, I just fell on the couch exhausted. Tom said “That was fun!”

The next day on the way to school was similar experience – but by then we had “been there, done that”. Tom brought over a bag of sleeping stuff, a change of clothing and some toiletries. We decided the next blizzard we have we’ll just sleep at school. By that afternoon the winds were gone, the snow had stopped falling, and everything was absolutely white and beautiful. It all seems like a dream now.

Oh, Roxie’s bathroom trips lasted around 15 seconds during the storm. She did not like the swirling snow and ice at all.

I will have to admit – it was a truly exciting blizzard. Just glad Tom was there to help me through it.