On the shore of the Bering Sea: Hooper Bay, AK

Last week on Wednesday, all of the certified teachers flew from Alakanuk to Hooper Bay, AK for teacher in-service. We slept on the floors of classrooms Wednesday and Thursday night.

The Alakanauk Slough, right off the Yukon

 

The large building is the Alakanuk School; the dark green roof is my house.

Sammy visiting the pilot on the way.

Arriving in Hooper Bay, AK

The small dunes reminded me of Oregon

Hooper Airport was right next to the shore, so I asked if we could go there.

There were so many washed up starfish, shells, and even some sand dollars.

We were studying the brain-like intestines? Jellyfish are so fascinating!

Almost all of these are pictures taken from Sammy or my cellphones, but I'm glad it was still able to pick up the beautiful colors!

Sand shapes

Sammy and I

Sammy, Sarah, and I

Looking Northwest, the beach and sky were so blue!

We were all giddy to explore and play around on the beach. Although Alakanuk is close to the Bering Sea, there aren't really opportunities to go to a beautiful sandy shore like this one. One of my goals for once the river freezes up is to drive from Alakanuk out to the shore (about 10-15 miles away).

I love how the young and old never seem to tire of the splendor of the ocean. Also knowing that this water connects me all the way back to people in Washington is comforting. Although many miles separate us, there are times when I know we can look at the same moon, stars, or water that join us.

One of the many starfish on the shore.

 

 This was a sunrise over Hooper Bay while I was standing on the school porch. Out of the four sunrises I have seen there, I think it's quite common for them to have such beautiful sunrises where the brilliant red, orange, and pink tint the sky for over an hour.

Most people left on Friday to head back to Alakanuk, but since I am the Natural Helper Sponsor I flew to Chevak, AK. There was the Fall Natural Helpers Retreat Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so we made arrangements for 13 high school kids to leave Alakanuk and I (along with their male chaperone, Michael) flew from Hooper to Chevak to meet them.