Monday, October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween!




Today was the costume parade at school! Trace had a Halloween party and gained 5 pounds! He is so cute! We came home after school and carved pumpkins. He said, Mom you are an awesome pumpkin maker! We also cooked the seeds for Lars, they are his favorite. The girls came home with a thousand friends and I painted four of their faces like "KISS". They looked great! The others were the band-aides! Saije was a grandma in boots and a ski mask. Why, we are still not sure! But we still love her. Lars drove Trace around and got about 10 pds of candy. They do alot of baked goods here because they are still a safe town. Just like the good o'l days. He is going to gain 5 more pds. by the end of the night! When the girls came home their pillow cases were 3/4 full. I have located the MOTHER LOAD! Look out pds, here I come!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Hair , Hair and more Hair!

Congrats Lowell on your awesome new job! I always loved Sundance. We love you! Today I made some Foccacia bread. The kids like it alot better than regular bread dough. I finnaly found something that they will eat! Today I got 3 calls for haircuts. I also did a highlight! Everyone is so happy to have someone who does hair in town! I also had 2 of Lars' students come over and gave them sewing lessons. One is making a quilt and the other is making a pillow. I am begining to get busy! I'll probably have to start making appts. to see my own family!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Carnival, Crab tails and Babysitting



Today is the Halloween Carnival. Elyse and Neisha are incharge of the sponge throwing booth and selling raffle tickest for the PSP player. Trace chickened out throwing the sponges at the principal. So I took upon myself to SOAK him pretty good! Saije is incharge of the dart throwing booth Trace threw 8 darts and hit 6 balloons! Man he needs to get a booth for knofe throwing! Yikes! While we were at the carnival Lars saw a crab boat come in and ran home, got on his rain gear and headed for the docks. When the crabs come in off the conveyer belts they crack the legs off and throw the rest into a huge pile. What you have left are crab tails! You clean 'em you get them for free! And that is alot of meat. He came home with 20 pds. of meat. Now you have to spray them and pull off any sick stuff hanging and throw them in a pot of boiling water for 20 min. then crack open the shell and theres the meat. Cool them or dip them in egg and canned milk then roll in flour and deep fry. I like them in garlic butter myself. I felt like I did when I cleaned the damn clams! It took four hours to clean the crab tails. Next time I'm only letting Lars bring home 10! And not in pds! We gave some away to the neighbors we had so many! I'd mail some home to Idaho and Utah if they had same day! After all that I ended up tending one of my Head Start kids. Cute kids and they play so good together. Saije also had a babysitting job. They had "Ducks Unlimited" in town. They auctioned off recliners, pictures, guns and alot more cool stuff.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Elyse you can fly!



Elyse left for Perryville with the Volleyball team today. Neisha didn't get to go, she gets to go next weekend to Sand Point. They lost to 4 teams at the tournament, and won one game which is there biggest rival, Sandpoint! They had a good flight each way. Elyse can fly! Lars got back his x-rays and they found nothing wrong. Thank goodness. He had a little infection from his big night out in the hills which should be taken care of by the antibiotics. We just need to watch his temp. Tonight I had another customer for a haircut! The news is spreading fast that I cut hair. Tonight is also the HS costume dance. I had to sew two dresses for Saije and a friend. They were Dead Bridesmaides warmed over! Her friend was a country girl w/a gun. Neisha and her freinds were boy's and the otherba cheerleader. EEK!They had an awesome dance. Lars let the girls take the fog machine and strobe light for some awesome effects! Elyse you missed out!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Trace is Spiderman?





Class went great. We don't have class tomorrow so we sent home all the fun things the kids made. Holy! They all needed a grocery sack to get it home! I did go over board! Well their parents can't say that we didn't do any hands on activities. Still no test results for Lars. Hopefully they will come in tomorrow. Marilyn did send a bunch of fun things in the mail. One being Traces Spiderman costume. He played in it all afternoon. He would run down the hall and slide on his knees until he was all the way in the frontroom. He is so cute! He's Spiderman! The girls all had to try on the mask and stike a pose. Crazy sisters!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Crafts

Head Start went alot better today. The kids ask me when can we do another craft? They have been doing great. If they stay on the task then for gym time, if it's sunny; we get to go out side. So today we walked the boardwalk. We made it about a half a mile and the wind kicked up so it was a short walk. We made black cats today. Most of them ended up looking like a Calico Cat. Lars is hanging in there and the girls are getting ready for the Halloween Carnival. Saije has been in charge of alot of the decorations. They love her ideas and she is so artsy I can see why. Elyse and Neisha have a volleyball game in Perryville. They fly out at 9:00am this Friday. Scary! They are bummed that they will miss the carnival that they helped plan. Trace can't wait until the carnival. All he wants is to dress up like Spiderman!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Lars getting X-Rays

Today Lars had a long day. He couldn't walk and ended up at the Dr.'s getting x-rays. When he went in they didn't know what to tell him. He told them that his wife wanted x-rays. They took some pictures and put him on an antibiotic. They think he has an infection in the ankle. He definately has something. His ankle is the size of a softball and no matter what he does, Ice or wraps, no change. He can't even fit his foot in a shoe, he has to wear slippers. Lucky! They had to send the pictures to Anchorage and have them read. They should be back on Wed. I hope that they come back with good news. Our bodies keep getting older everyday, why? Smile.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Teaching, what a challenge.

Today went great! Except I planned way to much for us to do. We made speghetti spider webs. The kids loved it. They thought the noodles felt awesome! I even had a good time. One day down 3 to go.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Bird Hunting

Lars and Muck took off in the suburban looking for Ptarmigan. They didn't see any birds but got some daddy time in. They came back little blue but hungry. We ate speghetti and meatballs, the only way to have speghetti W/Meatballs! Tomorrow I get to be the lead teacher for Headstart. I am so nervous. My lesson plans look like we are in High School. I think I am trying to get to much achieved. Well see how it goes. Over and Out!

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Snow in King Cove


We got woke up this morning with a ringing doorbell and a boy so full of excitement it about made me crazy! It was the neighbor asking if Trace could come out and play in the SNOW! Holy! Yes it snowed in King Cove! Trace was singing christmas songs while he got dressed in his snow gear. Now I know why you have to wear snow gear on an airplane! There wasn't enough for a snowman, but enough for a good snowball fight! The wind picked up later this afternoon and blew it almost all away. The girls were in tears! First KC, now snow in KC. They will get over it someday. Lars and his buddy Paul took off and hunted Ptarmigan. No luck! One day they will get into them and we will be eating good! I got invited over to a ladies house to visit. She invited me in and we had tea and Crab Tails. She is a very nice lady. Her husband came home about 1 1/2 later and then it was time for me to go home. She gave me a ride and thanked me for coming over. They love to visit around here. And so do I, I fit right in!

Friday, October 21, 2005

Snow Gear on an Airplane?

Well the winds died down late last night but are still at about 40 miles per hr. Saije never did get to get on the plane to Sandpoint, Ak. The weather is the shits. It is funny to see a Basketball team all dressed up in snow gear to go play ball. One of the rules are: You must dress in snow gear, including gloves and snowboots; incase of a crash. Saije was crying and I was sick to my stomach about her leaving. Luckily they never got out of KC. Lars and I went dancing at a wedding anniversary party. Lars fell in love with me all over again! Poor Lars had to just sway back and fourth, thanks to those damn ankles of his. He is still one the ice. We stayed up until 3 in the morning. Lars and I still can't get used to the time change. The kids have no problem, they are like the energizer bunny. They keep going and going! Well we are OUT!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Hurricane in King Cove, AK.

It was the craziest night for weather that I have ever seen. We had 115 mile and hour winds, true hurricane weather. If you were to look at it on the radar you could see the hurricane eye directly over King Cove. As it passed over us it was sunny for about a half hour and calm. As soon as it passed over it was back up to 115 hr winds again! After school I had to go and get some milk and eggs. You have to drive along the lagoon that takes you over a bridge to the other side of the bay. The winds were from the northwest and hitting the suburban broadside. The waves were coming over the road and the water was at such a force that it came through the door cracks and got us soaked. We almost rolled because the suburban sits so high. Thank goodness it is a big heavy beast. The wind blew over 2 Peter Pan Vans. A four wheeler was rolling end over end down the boardwalk. Yikes! The stories I get to tell! We all survived and none of our gear was damaged. We are supposed to get another storm on Sunday. I hope I am able to get pictures.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Picture Day

Today Saije came home from practice to inform me that the team is going to Sandpoint. They leave on Saturday. Sleep at the school on cots and play 3 games like they did in KC. Then they come home on Sunday. She is growing up so fast. She is traveling without her mommy! I might get to go, it depends how many parents want to go. Well I wish them luck! Go get 'em Rookies! Today we all got our pictures taken. They give you a deal if you pay for at least 2 kids and the rest are free! After paying 37.00 bucks for each packet I'd be broke if I had to pay for all 4. Trace did the half smile he said. Neisha tried to get him to show his teeth and that just wasn't and option. He is getting a mind of his own! Help! That's all I need is 2 Lars' in the home! We'll put there mug on the blog once we get them. Keep it real!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Alaska Day

Well Trace and I got to sleep in and hang out together! Thank goodness for Alaska Day. It's a holiday for the Head start and buisnesses to take a day off. The rest of the school was in session. We listened to music, played puzzles, and scoured the house. Actually I scoured while he played Scooby Doo on the computer. We made Halibut for dinner and watched COach Carter while Trace ran up and down the hall doing ladders. Trace is quite an athlete. If he gets to grow up here he should get plenty of practice. That's all there is to do.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Crush?

Today Trace went and played at one of his friends house. They moved here when we did. She is so in love with Trace. All she wants to do is tell Trace she loves him. Whe got over that after about a week. I have to work on Mondays and he is only in school from 8:00 to 11:30. The little gal invited Trace to come over and play, It has worked out ok. Trace is used to getting hugs and kisses from his sisters so he has adjusted pretty well. On my way home from getting Trade we stopped by the Humpy Hole and Trace calls it, and watched 3 old guys pull out Silver after Silver. They had Trace hoopin and hollerin every time the realed in a fish. It is going to be a stormy night so button down the hatches!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Ah Sunday's

Sunday morning, over cast, smell of recent rain, and long winding roads with Volcanos on every side. We drove for an hour enjoying the peace and quite. Came upon a deep lake that spilled it beauty on the rocks below. The season is changing, the colors so bright. I wish that laying on the canyon floor was possible. We came home and baked bread. I love the smell of homes that have just baked bread. I hate what it does to my body! King Crab season started today. I can't wait till we get to go buy some down at the docks. Yea! Lars hasn't been able to leave his recliner since the 3 on 3. He is still wrapped up in ice. It sucks gettin old.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

3 on 3 Basketball Tournament

Well the CPR class was the best I've ever been to. I have had to recertify 5 times and the info was so much more up to date and the hands on and the video was just as informative. The 8 to 3 was hard but the staff from the school kept everyone entertained. When we got home we found out that the 3 on 3 Basketball tournament was tonight at 7:00 and I wanted to play. Lars was really soar, but he did it for me. We had cody on our team. He is off Saijes 7th grade team and can hit 3 pointers, but is only 5 ft. nothing. Cute kid and played well. As for Lars he didn't make it to the 2nd game of the double elimination. I had one on one with Kim my neighbor, and her nephew Johnny (the one Neisha is infactuated with) kept Cody buisy so I had to do all the running and making baskets. Poor Lars kept Charles the 22 year old, 7ft giant at the top of the key talking about fishing. He had to come home and have me wrap both his ankles in ice and make him his mommies casserole! Well we didn't win, but at least Lars and I got to go out on a date!

Friday, October 14, 2005

Basketball or Die

Thank goodness it's Friday! We played a couple games at the gym and Trace got to play one on one with his friend Gary. Gary is 5 and has played since he was born and if we could prove it I could garentee that he played in the womb! Trace did great! He even made Gary cry because Trace was giving him a run for his money! Well Lars played alot better that wed. night and I remember what he told me on my 2nd night. You are going to be so soar that you may never want to play again. Well he is hurting and I hope that he hasn't injured anything. In the morning we have CPR class at 8:00am til 3:00, YUCK! So we are going to bed early, Later!

Thursday, October 13, 2005

The fishing season is about over

Saije is trying to keep her chin up and make new friends. She is awesome and I hope that we can get her through this. After school Lars took off and went looking for Silvers. No fish in sight! He said that there were nets everywhere but no fish. Our fish supply is very low. No way will it last through the winter. Speaking of winter, we woke up to snow in our mountains. It didn't last long but winter is truly upon us.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Struggles in KC

Today came and went. With the exception of Saije. She is really struggling to fit in. She is starting to go down hill and fast. Her teachers have come to us with concern. We have sat down with her and she has come to the conclusion that she hates it here in King Cove. She has a huge fear of the bears and a boy that has raped a girl in the school. We are going to try and get her through this fear. I have told her that she should feel safe in the school even if this boy is in the same class as her. Which he isn't, thankgoodness. Both her mom and dad are in the school and are there for her at any given moment. She has also been getting in with a bad group of girls. Ones that the parents are not involved in there lives. We are getting her to meet and hang out with some nicer girls of the teachers. I am hoping that this will help. It is hard when you can't make friends as easy as she had in Midway. This is going to be one of the biggest challenges we will face, making sure that our children won't suffer for the American $. Please say your prayers for our little Birdie. Lars and I went to the court and played 3 hard games back to back. I thought Lars was going to die out there on the court. He is out of shape. It took me a few times to get back in the game! The boys and girls were waiting for Lars to take over and before you knew it I was having to give him mouth to mouth! Just Kidding! He struggled but did good just getting out there and playin'. He said that he is up for the season, so we will see!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Lars' classroom evaluation

Lars had his first class room evaluation. He was pretty nervous but everything went great. The kids were the best they have been all year. They must not want to have him leave next year. Let's hope that's how they feel. He had a fun class activity while the principal was there. Everyone needed to bring 3 things that gave them a very special memory and put it in a bag. Lars brought a petrified piece of wood and a pheasant feather and a Breaver skull. The wood reminded him of when Jocelyn found it and the pheasant feather of when he shot the biggest pheastant ever, and the Beaver skull was found by Saije and we hiked up from our camp to a cool trappers cabin. Well Trace is flipping out, it's bed time and I am part of that ritual. Yes he still sleeps with his mom and dad and he is FIVE! I love reading him to sleep and all his funny questions, how could I have him anywhere else?

Monday, October 10, 2005

Picking Berries


Well Trace and I went to my class room until one today. We got ready to go home and one of his classmates and her mom stopped by. Saskia and Cathrine were on there way to go pick Cranberries and asked us to come along. I never knew that cranberries grew on the ground. Well they do and they are the size of the red berries that are poisonous and grow in bushes in grandpa Larsen's back yard. The ground cover is full of them. We are collecting them to let the kids do finger paint with the autumn berries. We have Salmonberries, Blueberries, and Cranberries. It should be alot of fun.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Andrew back on the rode again

Today was a relaxing day. Lars acctually went riding on the 4 wheeler. He did go with some guys and they just kind of explored and got to know the area a little better. They rode up to Mt. Dutton and had a great time and he was back plenty early. I love him so much and I hope that he gets to enjoy life for a very long time. As for the rest of us we stayed home and made Georgia Dawns chocolate chip cookies. They are good but Lars loves his momma's. After getting ready for bed Trace came up with a doozie of a question. Mom do you feed little baby like momma puppies feed there babies? That was an easy qestion to answer but Trace could handle it. He pulled the funniest face and turned red and screamed EEK! Can you blame the poor boy? Trace, I love ya boy!

Saturday, October 08, 2005

The Rookies Rock!


Saije had her second game at 11:00 and they got beat! 57 to 37. They let all the bench play and didn't didn't keep a good shooter and a rebounder in the first half. It was sad. The 7:00 game the Rookies beat the Eagles by 5 points. They did awesome. Everyone played and did awesome. Saije got better with every game. I am so proud of Styx! Lars and I let her go hang out with both teams after the game. They played games and danced. She is growing up too fast! Lars and I went over to a guys house that played the accordian. He's about 60 and his buddy that plays guitar is about 55. They love that polka music out here. The guy got winded after playing a song. We are always meeting new people. They call me and check in with me all the time. It's like I have relatives here.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Saije AKA- Styx


Well we made it to Friday. Boy Lars really needed some more down time. Saije played her first Basketball game. She did awesome! At first she was a little apprehensive, but towards the end of the game she Rocked! She didn't make any points but got some good passes. They call her STYX because of those long legs her momma passed down to her! They won there game 75 to 20. They played sandpoint and kicked some but. They have another game at 11:00 in the morning and another at 7:oo pm. She will get some serious ball handling time! She dosen't start but maybe tomorrow! Trace came home from the game and pucked all night! Here comes another bout with the flu. Hopefullly I won't get it. I had to wash everything including pillows. I hope they come out of it. I will probably have to rent a small boat and ore like crazy to get to Anchorage and buy some and hopefully make it back! Well I am out!

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Saije has got back?

Another early morning. This is my second day of CDA training. I am getting somemore college classes under my belt. It should take a year and half and I will get a good pay raise. I think that I will just get my early childhood endorsment while I am at it. Saije got her Jersey today. It is a XL! She is a XS! Go figure. No one is small around here so that figures. I have to have her wear it with both legs in one. Kind of like a skirt! Well all is going good and we can't wait till Friday!

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Face to face with those who care

Today we all went to school. Lars had a tough day. kids hanging on him and not being able to handle the pain in his arms. He is still very bruised and soar. All the adults critisized him carefully and lovingly. One asked if his backside felt like his but was up between his shoulder blades. Believe me it probably wouldn't hurt. (smile) Lars is still eating sugar like crazy and even into the night. Trace and I went to the gym and played Basketball. It felt good to get some anxioty out. Lars was a little too soar to play. He is getting his rest caught up and getting back to himself. Saije has her first game on Friday. She is so nervous. She gets her uniform tomorrow. The other girls are still practicing volleyball. There games should be starting soon.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

The day after

Today Lars stayed home and recovered. I had the Dr. come over and take a look at him when he was safely at room temp. He showered and never stopped shaking. I tried to get some sleep and only ended up watching him sleep. When I finally did get some sleep he paced the floors. What an experience to live through. We are so glad that he did. The girls were so afraid that the bears had hurt Lars. I never told Trace what was going on. He had slept through all of it and only to wake to the tears of joy that he had returned home safely. Lars has spent many hours talking with his family. It is amazing what things bring us closer together. You just hope that you never forget. I went to work while Lars slept the day away and ate like crazy. He kept asking for sugar. He hates sugar and has since he was a small boy. It was hard going to school knowing that I will have to be reminded about the horrible incident again and again. But I had to do it some time. So many people were concerned. It is good to know that people care.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Davey Crockett in King Cove?


It was a beautiful Sunday morning in King Cove, Alaska. I had some chores to do so I got quickly to them because I wanted to go down to Belkofski Bay in the afternoon to see the sights and fish for silver salmon coming from the ocean up into the various rivers that snake through the grassy flats and alders on the opposite side of round hill. I finished with the starter on the suburban at around 4:30 and decided I had enough time if I hurried. I knew that Paul D. and some others had gone down earlier on their four wheelers so I figured I could hook up with them on the beach and ride back with them after fishing. I rode from King Cove to the water tower and wound my way down to the air strip. At this point there are three different trails you can take to get to the beach. I had told Cherie that I was going to take the top trail because it seemed to be the fastest due to less swampy conditions. My ride down was uneventful I was enjoying the beautiful scenery of Mt. Dutton with it's snowy capped peak jutting high in the Alaska sky. I saw many large bear tracks in various areas but did not see any of the large bruins. When I reached the beach I noticed there were quite a few four wheeler tracks but no one was in sight. I decided to go down to the waterfall and checkthere for the others. It was low tide sothe going was easy as I wound my way down the beach with high grass on the left and lots of fresh bear tracks. I got to the waterfall and stopped to drink some water and take in the amazing scenery. From this spot you can view Indian Head, across the bay to Belkofski Villiage ( a ghost town) and up various canyons with unknown names. Everything is green and lush with a hint of fall in the air. I decided to stop for a few minuets and look into some tide pools for some star fish or trapped ocean fish that seem to get stuck in low tides. I was having a great afternoon, it was quiet and serene and perfect weather with an aromatic sea breeze blowing in from the pacific. I always like to go by myself and have been doing so for a good twenty years into the woods fishing, hunting and hiking. I thought at that point I would ride back to the river and see if any of the others had returned or left. On arriving there I noticed no one was there but there were several fish carcasses and sea gulls feeding on them. I knew that Paul and the others had been fishing there and had left. I pulled out my pole and quickly hooked a very large silver. These fish average 8 - 14 pds and fight very hard, they are the funnest fish that I have ever hooked. The fish was around ten pds and fought very hard until I landed it. I decided that he was a big enough fish and it was getting late so I packed up my few belongings and took off. I had a hard time finding the turnoff for the upper trail because I had never reached it from the beach and you have to navigate up the river a ways to find it. I tried but did not succeed and decided to take the middle trail which was right next to where I had caught my fish. I found the trail easily and began riding alon the beach in high grass. As I was riding some sand gave way and put me and my four wheeler on our side. No dig deal it was soft sand and I quickly had the bike back on four wheels and ready to go. I rode about mile up the bike trail when disaster struck. As I was heading through a deep hole the machine coughed, backfired and died right in the middle of the swamp. I worked feverishly trying to start it because of the thick swampy muck I was in. I pulled the air filter and spark plug and found a fouled plug. I quickly replaced it with a dry one and fired up the machine. I thought everything was cool until I tried to move forward and nothing happened. I looked down to make sure I was in gear and saw that I was in four wheel drive and all wheel were spinning. I had fallen ito one of the bottomless holes Alaska is famous for. I quickly jumped back into the cold muddy water and proceeded to push, pull, dig and yell at the four wheeler and my current bad luck. I didn't have a shovel so I took my shotgun apart and used the barrel for a makeshift pick and the stock for a shovel. The going was slow because of the heaviness and greasiness of the mud. I have never seen anything like it. This stuff pulls your four wheeler down and gets ahold of your boots and won't let go. At one point I had to lay down in the swamp to get my feet out and got soaked up to the waist. At this point things started looking grim. It was almost dark, and I was soaked. The lighter I brought was wet and the wind began to blow. Those of you who are not aquainted with King Cove wind need to know that it comes out of nowhere and blows 60 miles per hour with hurricane force gusts. In the one canyon the wind was clocked at one hundred fourty six miles per hour. To add insult to injury I noticeda bear down the small ravine about eighty yards away who was checking in on my progress. I abandoned my four wheeler and ran to the creek to unplug my shotgun barrel and throw the stock and action parts in the river to clean off the mud. I accomplished this just as the sun went down. I took a long look around and took stock of my situation. I had no food, I had no water, no way to make a fire and I was soaked and it was starting to snow. I quickly turned on the atv and set the idle high for light and proceeded to take off my shoes, socks and pants. I wrung them our standing in tall grass with snow blowing all around. After putting my clothes back on I had a panicked feeling and almost took off running thinking I cound just run back home. I had a force myself to be rational and think with a cool head because I was getting worried. I thought of different books that I have read about survival situations and decided that if I took off I had a one hundred percent chance of surviving the night. I went to my four wheeler and looked at my supplies. One knife, one fishing pole, a bunch of wet grass, a reel, seven shotgun shells and an empty smashed beer can and a camoflauge rain poncho I had thrown in at the last minuet just in case it rained a little on the way back. Things were looking worse. I remembered a story about a guy in a similar situation who had sung and paced most of the night to keep the bears away and keep from freezing to death so I began my solo singing and pacing all the while hoping like hell my wife would have someone coming back down the trail before I became bear meat. I kept up my ritual for about two aours talking to myself, singing and shivering my ass off. All of the sudden I saw lights on the hill above the airstrip a long way off. But it gave me hope because I figured that my friends were probably already looking for me. This is the way in King Cove, when someone needs help everyone drops everything and helps until things are right. They are some of the best people that I have ever met outside of my family. For the next two hours I watched in frustration as four wheelers cruised up and down the labarynth of trails that make up the Belkofski trailsystem. At night it's almost impossible to find certain trail. My trail was one such trail, I was situated in a low bowl and even though I flashed my lights many times my rescuers never saw me. The weather grew worse, it began to rain, hail, sleet and snow all at once with winds at sixty miles per hour with gusts. I had to give up on the light flashing gig and run up into the alders, rap myself in my poncho and fall down in the deep grass from the blizzard. I felt foolish, scared, worried and sick to my stomach for the worry I was causing my poor wife, family and friends. I saw a few lights come and go again but they were a long way off again and then they left. I knew they had gone to Lenards Harbor to look for me there which ment that I was capital F..... At this point I started saying to myself that I always scoffed at the people whogot in a situation like this in the wild. I talked to myself because of lack of current company and alway have. Trace, my son always catches me doing this and laughs about it. But I remember vivid memories I thought I had long forgotten. Mostly childhood memories riding horses and backpacking. I recalled one time when my dad ran ito a tree limb and cut his head so bad he had to have a bunch of stitches on his head after loosing alot of blood. He had to hike alot of miles back to the truck with a rag on his head which he would ring out periodically. Thinking of these things I decided that there was no way I was giving up. I had to survive the night because it damn sure looked like my spot in the weeds was home for the next eighteen hours. I propped my shotgun up on the stock so when I nodded off the barrel would fall down and hit me on the head thus waking me up and keeping me from going to sleep and freezing to death. I was so thirsty I could hardly stand it but feared drinking any of the water and besides the creek was past the light and there was a bear close, a rather large bear. The costal bears here are the largest in the world because of their protein rich diets and abundance of food. Most are ten feet tall and tend to stand on their back feet alot which makes them look monstrous. Their tracks are amazingly huge. They look like big foot. One of these days I'm going to place my hand print next to the tracks these bears make to give readers an idea of how big they really are. The locals are extremely cautious and respectful of the bears and all have had close encounters with them. One guy told me he shot at one to scare it and it turned around and casually covered a great distance right at him. He and his partmer took six shots to put him down. All shots connected in the vitals. After mulling over some of the precautions told to me and looking over my measly shot gun. I decided I would rather die from freezing to death than getting chewed on from the feet up by a grizzly. I dozed off and on listening to the howling wind and the bear or bears to the left of me, occasionally I could smell them. They were awful smelling like a sweet and rank smell of spoiled fish and re meat together. I began to think I may have cashed in my chips on this one. I started shivering uncontollably and came to the conclusion that the body does this to warm itself up. I quickly deducted this because I had never been cold enough to observe my body shaking like freaking crazy until it eventually warmed up. I was getting delirious and thinking of my arms and legs as extensions. They were awfully cold and I had to force myself to stand and move around. This seemed to take me an awful long time with so much pain I thought I may pass out. As soon as I had warmed myself up again it was time to wrap back up in pancho and find my spot in the grass. It seemed like it only took a few minuets to start shaking again and for an eternity I repeated the process looking for my bear friends who sounded like large dogs sniffing and snuffling at me to see if I was tasty. For the first time in the woods since I was seven I was scared shitless. This time there were real monsters right there. I began to say my goodbyes to my wife and kids, telling them how great my life had been with them and appologizing for my carelessness for leaeving them at this point in our lives. I didn't cry, I let this knowledge sink in and told myself that after countless stips in the mountains sometimes people catch one in the butt and sometimes they don't survive. I was greatly humbled by the power of the earth's powerfull forces which we have no control over. The wind was playing tricks on me now. I heard children's voices like my second grade class. And I could have swore there was a baby cry once. I fell asleep and a great warmth came over me. I felt so damn good, like sitting in a hot tub that is the perfect temp. after skiing all day. As I slept I had a good long conversation with my two daughters that live in St. George. We laughed and they told me jokes and held my hand and they smiled with big warm smiles at me. I woke myself up because of my laughter and noticed I couldn't feel my feet very well. I thought it kind of funny and giggled over the sensation. Soon I knew that if I didn't stand now I was a goner so I stood up and yelled in the wind that I wasn't going to give up. I wasn't going to freeze no matter what. I hell asleep numerous times and was awakened each time by my daughters telling me jokes. I finally woke up all the way all the sudden and looked at the sky. There was a small grey streak behind the clouds and it was raining lightly. The wind was blowing a steady twenty miles per hour. My four wheeler suddenly ran out of gas and the lights were quickly going dim. I looked around for brother bear and all I saw were tracks . It was steadily growing lighter and I knew I had to get up but my body wouldn't respond. I figured to hell with it I was going to walk out of here now that I could see, so after a couple of tries I stood up and damn near cried out because of pain. My legs and arms were cramped so tight that I couldn't staighten them and I'm sure I looked like a gimp trying to do some jumping jacks. Personally I didn't give a rat's ass what I looked like I was amaed that I was alive standing there. I pulled my pancho over my head and stuck out on wobbly legs thankful to be moving. I was so thirsty I was thinking that I was going to drink the swamp water regaurdless of how sick it may make me later. I was dehydrated and hypothermic big time. I could only climb short distances and stop for rests. I walked this way for about three miles through alders which are like willows but thicker and they are twelve feet tall. I'm here to tell you it sucked man, I got scared all over again because believe me you can feel eyes on you from out of those trees. I knew my night time compadres were tracking me. I got to a spot were the alders are really close together and decided I didn't want to go that way. I backtracked a small way and saw that I had no choice because of cliffs on both sides. I slipped my right hand glove off and started whistling and singing with my shotgun ready to rodk n roll. Walking through there was the hardest thing I've ever done but I had my little sojourn in the swamp overnight. As I topped the rise I saw a coast guard helicopter and it looked real cool. It didn't have landing gear just a big belly to land in the swamp. At that time I spotted a guy on a four wheeler below me, he was turning around and heading down the trail I was on. I started yelling and waving my arms and gun like a mad man. He spotted me even though I was covered with mud. He drove up to me and asked me if I was the missing school teacher, I told him yes and I was really glad to see him. My eyes watered up knowing that I was going to soon be home and my family wound not have to worry any more. I had left the house the the previous day and when Pat W.; the Aleut local hunter and trapper that found me rolled into our driveway it was 9:30 the next day. It took me 2 days to be able to use my arms . The were so wasted and I had horrible dreams. I was lucky and fortunate to have survived the hardest night of my life. I am thankful for a second chance and I can't wait to go riding again. But never by myself.......

Sunday, October 02, 2005

A long night in the Larsen home

Saije stayed at a friends last night and came home early this morning with the flu. I had a heck of a mess to clean up from Lars and Traces Birthday. All night long Elyse was pucking all over the place. I walked in the bathroom and Elyse's knees buckled and she hit the floor and landed on her back with her head up against the door. When I ibent over to help her and the puke was coming out of her mouth like an easy flowing fountain and she was OUT! It scared the crap out of me. I started asking her if she could hear me and then she came out of it and was slipping around asking for the phone. When she found the phone it was too late to rescue it, YUCK! Crazy huh? What a night. I threw her in the shower and then put her to bed. So when I finally got out of bed, I was already to get back in. Lars did some chores out side and cleaned to Burbon. Then he took off to the silver hole. After doing 2 huge stacks of dishes and 6 loads of laundry I was ready to call it a weekend. Lars left around 4:30pm. and I expected him back at 8:00. Well he didn't make it home so I made some phone calls and checked if anyone saw him on their ride. They said no, but there was still at group of fifteen out and they said to be patient until 10:30. That was when they were expected back. Well 10:30 rolled around and they called and told me that they never saw him and they were the last group out there. I started to call everyone that rode today and asked if they saw him and all answers were no. I began to panic and took off with a neighbor to see if Lars was walking or maybe we could see some head lights and find him, no luck. After and hour we came back and I called 911. The police then went out with spot lights and no luck. My neighbors Ernie N., Paul D., Jason M., Esiha D. all went out on their 4 wheelers and combed the hills. Each time they covered and area they would report to the Police and the Police would call me. Each time, no luck. It was about 2:00 in the morning and I had to make a decision who to call first. I was very scared about calling and worrying everone and Lars turning up 15 min. later. So I called CJ, Lars' brother. We talked and agreed that I will keep in touch with him and let him contact his family when the time came. I had to keep the phone line open to keep up with the police and I only have one line. Each phone call came and no good news. The police said that they are waiting for the third group out to report. If it was the same then they had to make an official Search and Rescue and call in the Cost Gaurd and State Troopers. They wanted to get in the air by daylight so we had to call by 5:00 am. The call came and still no good news. So all the bike riders returned home for rest and Went back out at 7:00 am. (Dawn is about 8:15 am.) This time the groups went out in shifts to a certain area and called in after walking every square mile. At 9:30 I got the call! A man named Pat W. found my husband! They said that after talking with Lars they would give me a report on his condition. The next call was great! He had no injuries, but suffered through an extreamly cold night with no water and no dry clothing. They were bringing him HOME! All through the night our children and I worried. Lars' family worried. My family worried. Alot of prayers were being made and I had my neighbor Marlene Y. and her daughter Miranda Y. stay with us all night. It was the longest night of my life. As my swollen eyes watched my husband come up the drive I was truly convinced that he was alive. I never thought that this would ever happen to me. My husband has rode by himself for years, but never again. He made our family a promise to never ride alone again. As he slowly walked towards me and said, I am so glad to be home! I am going to write his side of the story tomorrow after he recooperates.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

I want to party with you!

Well I woke up at 8:00 and cooked a potatoe salad, 2 cakes, some awesome baked beans, and BBQ roast for sandwiches. At 12:55 the first kid came and the party began. We played Farmer In The Dale, London Bridges Falling Down, and Duck Duck Goose. Trace got some great gifts. From guns to remote control monster trucks and gum. The party got over at 3:00 and Lars' began at 7:00. We had alot of people over and they all brought Aleut food that was great. We ate and ate and ate and ate! Lars got a very useful gift, A pancake cooker? I now get to make pancakes in a machine! At 9:00 everyone went over to Kim's house it was her birthday also. So more food and visiting! They love to party, eat and visit. Lars actually got his guitar out for the first time since we have been here. They all loved him. We wish that you all could have been here.