Allie and I were sent to observe and help teach at the school here in Saint Mary’s, and that has been going well, but today I wanted to take the chance to talk about the town where we’re staying. Saint Mary’s is a bush community, accessible only by the Yukon River or airplane. As the river is still largely frozen over, we flew in. I mentioned earlier that we were met by a school district employee who drove us, another teacher, the superintendent, and a couple school board members into town. It was great to get to come into town that way and to have such a friendly and informative board member as a tour guide.
St. Mary’s is a town of about 500 people, mostly Yupik, but there are about another 100 transient people like pilots that come and go for work. The town is situated on the higher bank of the Andreafski River, just upriver from where it joins the Yukon. We can’t see the liquid water in either river (though I’ve seen snowmobiles crossing the Andreafski several times), but apparently the Andreafski runs clear and the Yukon is quite silty. Both rivers are navigable in the summer, so there is a fair amount of barge traffic to supply the town when the rivers are melted.
Most of the snow has melted around town, leaving plenty of mud in its wake. It still gets cold enough at night that the mud mostly freezes, but it has been sunny and in the 40s during the day. This is the season that I’ve heard Alaskans refer to as “breakup.” In preparation for my time here, I bought my first pair of rubber boots at Fred Meyer’s in Fairbanks. That has turned out to be a very good choice! Between school and making supper on Tuesday and Wednesday Allie and I have been walking around exploring the town on foot. I haven’t gone out of my way to avoid stepping in mud and puddles on our walks, but if I were in my running shoes it would’ve been tricky to stay clean and dry!
On Tuesday we went on an expedition to find dish soap, paper towels and ground coffee (if at all possible). We wound up walking down towards the river and the AC Store. On Wednesday we went up behind the school and town to the hills. I am a bit disappointed that the sky wasn’t clear enough on Monday night to see the lunar eclipse here, but I’m thankful that the late afternoons have had nice walking weather. Below you can find a gallery of images. If you click on a thumbnail, it will open a larger image and a caption for that specific photo. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Next time I’ll have more information about the school and teaching.
—corrie—
St. Mary’s is a town of about 500 people, mostly Yupik, but there are about another 100 transient people like pilots that come and go for work. The town is situated on the higher bank of the Andreafski River, just upriver from where it joins the Yukon. We can’t see the liquid water in either river (though I’ve seen snowmobiles crossing the Andreafski several times), but apparently the Andreafski runs clear and the Yukon is quite silty. Both rivers are navigable in the summer, so there is a fair amount of barge traffic to supply the town when the rivers are melted.
Most of the snow has melted around town, leaving plenty of mud in its wake. It still gets cold enough at night that the mud mostly freezes, but it has been sunny and in the 40s during the day. This is the season that I’ve heard Alaskans refer to as “breakup.” In preparation for my time here, I bought my first pair of rubber boots at Fred Meyer’s in Fairbanks. That has turned out to be a very good choice! Between school and making supper on Tuesday and Wednesday Allie and I have been walking around exploring the town on foot. I haven’t gone out of my way to avoid stepping in mud and puddles on our walks, but if I were in my running shoes it would’ve been tricky to stay clean and dry!
On Tuesday we went on an expedition to find dish soap, paper towels and ground coffee (if at all possible). We wound up walking down towards the river and the AC Store. On Wednesday we went up behind the school and town to the hills. I am a bit disappointed that the sky wasn’t clear enough on Monday night to see the lunar eclipse here, but I’m thankful that the late afternoons have had nice walking weather. Below you can find a gallery of images. If you click on a thumbnail, it will open a larger image and a caption for that specific photo. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Next time I’ll have more information about the school and teaching.
—corrie—