What was supposed to be a quick day trip to the village of Atmautluak, turned into an overnight adventure! Atmau is my closest village to Bethel- 10 minute flight or 30 minute snowmobile ride. I only serve 5 students at this school- so I thought I would arrive before lunch and be on my way by 4:00- WRONG! The flight into Atmau should have been my first clue! Although I was on a large cargo plane FULL of mail and supplies- we hit the runway sideways. Once we finally made it to a stop, the landing strip was too icy to taxi all the way to the end where the waiting snowmobile sat. As I stepped off the plane, the pilot commented on the serious crosswinds! I quickly jumped on the waiting snowmobile that would deliver me to the school. As we drove across the frozen river my only thoughts were these: 1- I hope I have eyebrows when I arrive and 2- I hope I don't fly off the back of this thing going 6o mph because that ice will feel mighty hard when I hit!
The rest of my day was pretty uneventful- until I tried to leave- all flights were cancelled for the night due to wind gusts- looks like I would be staying for the night!
I was pleasantly surprised NOT to have to sleep on the school floor. The principal put me in a small apartment- complete with a bed, stove, running water, heat, and a flushing toilet!
Notice in the pictures the sign on the girls bathroom door, the school parking lot (full of snowmobiles) and the Montana natives ( Polson residents Bruce and Mary Alice). Talk about a small world-what are the odds that one of my village assignments would include two of Dan's former teachers from Polson High School!
The lesson learned from this journey is that you can never have enough food in your backpack!
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