The beginning of the RURE visit.

I can't believe my last post was in February. I guess I've been busy. :)

The big event was the visit of RURE's students from Juneau. It was a jam-packed week that had all the students wanting more.

They arrived Friday, March 20th. It was a half day for us and my mentor, Dennis Dunn, was visiting. He helped me thaw and cook two tenderloin roasts for our welcome feast. I had asked the community to make it a potluck, by contributing many local foods. Sadly only a couple of families did contribute. We got two kinds of agutaq, some beach greens, salt water boiled salmon, some dried salmon, and Kool-Aid. The school contributed the roasts and ice cream. The rest of the meal came from the Juneau folks--smoked salmon dip with crackers, fresh vegetables with hummus, smoked salmon and cod, and several types of cheese. All-in-all is was a great meal. The Juneau visitors were introduced to the community.

The boys spent their first night at the school because their host families were out of town. The host teacher, Janet, and the girls, Isabelle, Kayla, and Scout, stayed at my house. Janet took the bedroom and the girls slept on my two couches and recliner.

Ice Kids

All Aboard!

Saturday morning was relaxing. Then in the afternoon, we gathered everyone together, plus three Hondas and two wagons. First we headed to the end of the spit and the fish plant. The kids climbed on the piles of ice and explored the barge. I realized that I was not dressed properly for the weather and stopped by my house on the way back to town to put on warmer clothing.  Not everyone took the opportunity to dress warmer. Being the Alaska mother that I am, I also grabbed a huge section of fleece. This came in very handy in helping to keep students warm.

The rest of the afternoon was spent up at the dredge and mining town. The dredge was the first stop and we spent most of our time there. First everyone explored and climbed all over it and then they played a game of hide-n-seek in it. Outside, Shelby had shot a grouse on the way there and he decided to build a fire and clean and cook the grouse. He totally impressed Janet, our visiting teacher, and several students. Some of them even tried the cook grouse.

On the dredge.

Cleaning grouse.

Watching it cook.

Old mining truck.

Janet and I wandered around taking pictures. This mine was started in the 1940s. There is equipment from every decade left behind and becoming part of the scenery.

Devin and the younger kids.

Platinum Mine (town)

As the afternoon began to wane, everyone headed for the old mining town. Most of the buildings are boarded up, but the mess hall is collapsing and left open. It is a fun place to wander through and imagine it in its hay day.

The old mess hall.

Unopened relics.

At the end of the mess hall is an old wood fired commercial cook stove. It has been ransacked, but you can tell the people just left. There are unopened cans of food and commercial kitchen machinery left behind.

Just as we were getting ready to leave it began to rain. We knew it was time to head home. That evening the boys moved into their host homes and the girls were invited to a couple of homes for dinner. Janet and I had a quiet hour or two until the girls returned home and put on a movie.