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| A morning beach walk:) |
Every once in awhile, there are days that stand out and really help you grasp the reality of where you are in life. There are also days that come to a close and you look back on the events of the day and wonder how you possibly participated in or accomplished all the things you’re now thinking about. Today was the perfect example of one of those days for me. As I walked three miles home from “Fish Camp” tonight with Caitlin and Emily, I found myself asking the two of them if they had ever in their lives pictured themselves living where we do and having a day like we had today. I was potentially having some cold-induced epiphany about life, but at least they humored me. Before I get too far off track, let me rewind a bit and touch on the events of this wonderful Wednesday.
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| Tazimna Falls (The silver box in the bottom left is where we came out at the bottom) |
As usual, my day started with a cup of coffee and a book, which if we’re being honest, makes today awesome in itself. I was greeted by a bright moon and a sky full of constellations on my walk to the car, and hoped that the lack of clouds would make for a beautiful sunrise. Once school started, the rest of the teachers felt the same way, and we decided it would be fun to take the students down to the beach. I had two of my little kiddos with me and was nervous about if they’d be alright with the trip, but they let us bundle them up and take them on an adventure. We got down to the beach and were rewarded with yet another incredible sight. We even got the kids to stand still long enough to snap a picture of them; it is one that I will keep for years to come.
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| Don't leave him in charge! |
The rest of my morning was a bit stressful because during my short breaks, I had to try to plan a last minute trip to Anchorage for the upcoming weekend. After trying to be stubborn and hold off until winter break, I finally broke down and scheduled an appointment to see a doctor about pain I have been having in one of my legs/hips (Side note: Mom and Dad- I’m going to Anchorage this weekend...I’ll text ya when I fly!). On the bright side, Caitlin has also been pushing off some appointments and she decided it would be cost efficient to plan her trip at the same time so we can split costs of rentals. Once our appointments were scheduled and we had flights, a rental car, and our Airbnb booked, we were able to get excited about going to restaurants and doing some non-online shopping. Though it will be a short trip, I think we both will benefit from being able to recharge during a weekend in town.
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| Climbing down into darkness... |
Thankfully, all of our plans were set before we had to get ready for an after school adventure to Tazimna Falls. Not only does this site have a stunning waterfall, but it is also the home of the Tazimna Hydroelectric plant; this plant supplies the electric power for Nondalton, Iliamna, and Newhalen. Though I have visited the falls a number of times, I had never been on a tour of the plant and was looking forward to it. A parent boated Caitlin, Emily, and I across the lake where we were picked up and taken down to Tazimna. It wasn’t a school trip, so not all of the students came, but we did have nine students and some parents join us. We started off in the control room and then headed down an elevator that reminded me of something you would see in a mine. Needless to say, I screamed and grabbed onto the shoulder of the dad in front of me (good thing he’s friendly!) when the elevator jolted to a start and took us 120 feet underground. We got to see what the pipes look like and hear about the current project the workers are completing. Just when I thought it was wrapping up, we were all led to a ladder that would take us another 20 feet lower, into a dark tunnel.
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| Tazimna Falls from below |
As if someone flipped a switch, Caitlin, Emily and I simultaneously went into “Mom" modes. Caitlin and I surrounded the kids and tried to offer a hand of support as they climbed down while Emily made sure to get pictures of the kids as the descended into the darkness. The parents of the kids laughed about this and politely teased us the whole time, but they also didn’t stop us from being overprotective. I had a proud moment when one of my more cautious students looked down, exclaimed “This will be the scariest and coolest thing I’ve ever done!”, and then after a couple of false starts, bravely made his way down. Once we all made it the bottom, it was explained to us that the tunnel we were in is usually filled to the top with water, but was currently empty for maintenance purposes. This is what allowed us to continue down the tunnel where we then got to exit onto a rocky area at the bottom of the waterall. We were able to walk around, carefully, and take in the sight of the waterfall from a whole new perspective. It was breathtaking and I am so grateful that we were invited to go on this tour.
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| Smiling but really crying inside knowing how close they are to the edge... |
After we had all made it back through the tunnel and up the ladder, we were then invited to skip the elevator ride and instead climb up the 120 feet on a few more ladders. Many of the kids, and even Emily took them up on this offer, while I took one look up and chose to hop back on the elevator with the rest of the group. We were then able to take a peak at the falls from the top, and I was sure to hold onto the coats or hands of any students who wanted to get near the edge (My sister and brother-in-law can attest to this, as I was the same way when they visited last spring). Though it felt like we had been there for hours, we were headed back to Nondalton a little over an hour after we got there. The wind had really picked up which caused the lake to become very choppy, so the ladies and I decided to get dropped off on our side of fish camp and then walk home.
When we got to our side, we all bundled up with our normal outer layers and set off for home. In the beginning, we were walking against the wind and I felt like we would be walking forever, but that quickly changed as the wind calmed down. At one point we stopped as we walked over a frozen stream and it was so clear that we could see the water moving below the already thick ice. After awhile, one of the students offered to take us back on their honda, but we turned down the offer because it felt nice to be out in the fresh air. By the time we made it home I had taken off my hat, mittens, buff (face protection), and even had my coat unzipped. During this walk home, I had my millionth reflection about how amazing it is that the events of this day were completely normal to us.
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| The cold start of our walk home! |
As I sit here writing this, it is only just after 8:00, and I’m in normal school night mode of drinking a cup of tea and getting ready to curl up with my book. My Wednesday started and ended on a seemingly routine note, and that is what makes it so much more incredible to me. The things that happened today could have happened yesterday and could happen tomorrow. I am constantly and continuously offered beautiful sights, memorable experiences, and new stories to tell. Today was just one of those days in which I realized that this is not just a vacation and that these adventures are my daily life. That statement, that realization, overwhelms me with feelings of gratitude and awe. This Wednesday was a good one because this life is a great one.
If you want to learn more about the Tazimna Hydroelectric Plant, take a look at the following:
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