Today might have been one of the best since my time in Alaska (and there have been many). My students were great this morning and got quite a bit done. Then, this afternoon, I was able to leave Pilot Point to get out to the “big city” a.k.a King Salmon! The plane came for me in the afternoon, and when they pulled onto the airstrip, I was a little nervous. When I say plane, I don’t mean a giant plane that holds dozens of people. I mean to say that this was a plane that holds 6 people, including the pilot. It was tiny to say the least.
I’ll back-track for a minute just to add in that village planes don’t come on a schedule quite like they do anywhere else in the world. My dad laughed when I told him this morning that I would be calling the pilot. Yeah, Pat and I are now on a first name basis. Out here in the bush, you get a general estimate as to what time the plane will arrive. Then you try to get to the airstrip around that time. However, if they get weather in any other village or if anyone else is late to getting to their airstrip, it can push back their arrival time. Or, like today, the pilot can make great time and even show up early. It’s all a guessing game really. But if you don’t get a warning from the radio or if you don’t hear them buzz the school, usually you’ll get a phone call. Or if you’re lucky and your village has a V.P.S.O, they’ll give you a heads up to say a plane came in. Luckily for me, Kasie was getting picked up right before me, so when they were about to take off, she shot me a quick text. From then, I knew that the plane would make it to me in about 20 minutes.
So there I sat as the 6 seater landed on the strip and pulled around to meet me. Out from the co-pilot seat jumped Kasie, proclaiming “today you get to cross an item of your bucket list” and then she proceeded to point to the newly empty co-pilot seat (she knew that this was one of the things on my Alaskan bucket list). I couldn’t contain my excitement and I was definitely grinning from ear to ear, and my nerves were at a minimum. While this was the smallest plane I’ve been on and only my third little plane, I’ve gotten used to them already. My superintendent said it best when he told me “it’s safer than driving on any NJ highway”. He was right, and these pilots truly know what they are doing. If for any reason I feel unsafe though, I do have the right to say no to getting on a plane. Whether I’m the only one getting picked up or if the plane is full, I can choose to refuse getting on. This is really a reassuring thing, because sometimes the pilots can push their limits when it comes to weather conditions or other factors. However, the weather was great today and Pat is an excellent pilot, so I knew I was in good hands:)
I got my stuff loaded on the plane and then the pilot climbed in before me. After he was in, I was able to hop in. Well not hop so much as to climb on the wing of the plane and in through a tiny window-door. From there I had to awkwardly get my long legs in the door while trying not to push any of the buttons. It was a process to say the least. Pat buckled me in and showed me how to close the door, then Kasie took some pictures to record the occasion and off we went! It was truly a beautiful ride, and the view was so much better knowing that I was in the front seat. The tundra is turning beautiful colors with the fall, and I got some great pictures of all the lakes and twisty rivers. About 40-45 minutes later, we’d made it to King Salmon! That’s when I realized that getting out was much more awkward than getting in. But I survived and got out without breaking anything so that’s a plus! I’d say this weekend away is off to a pretty great start:)
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