So You Think You've Flown...

She took one look at the plane and passed out...

 Let us tell you about the experience of not just leaving remote Montana for even remoter Alaska, but from leaving remote Alaska, for village Alaska. Until you have done it, which we know some of you have, the experience is almost indescribable, but we will do our best. First of all we landed in big city Anchorage. All of the amenities of modern day life are available there. This includes, but is not limited to, restaurants, hospitals, doctors, cars, running water, toilets, pavement, other white people, grocery stores, banks, cell phones, stores, and civilization in general. You then deny yourself of all of those amenities and put your life into the hands of one man who flies a six-seater plane with not jet engines, but with a single propeller, to take you two hours away from all of that. It is about this time that you are thinking there is a possibility that you have made an error in your life decision, but you are too late.

All day you have been stressing about making it to your last flight on time and you have finally made it. However, when you get there your plane and pilot are not there. You wait around, on the runway, and wonder when your plane will arrive. Finally you hear something, your pilot has taken on an extra tour for the day. That would be great for you if you had a vehicle in Anchorage, but you don’t, so you sit on the runway for the next two hours to take your final flight out to the village. This wouldn’t be a terribly big deal, if you had gotten more than two hours of sleep the night before. Eventually your pilot comes and informs you that he is finally ready to go. As you help him gas up his plane you are still talking to him about payment. He wants cash or check and all you have is credit. Now you are holding up the whole flight to try to make payment, plus you have to pee, and since you are on the runway you either do it in front of all of the passengers or you try to hold it the entire flight. Fortunately, there is a toilet where you have to run your card. When everybody is finally ready to fly, two and a half hours late, you choose to sit beside the pilot for the flight. This wouldn’t be bad, but when you are already questioning the flyability of this plane, your pilot asks you to hold the door open on the way to take off. You are strong, you can do this, so with all of the strength you can muster you hold the door to the flying contraption open while you prepare for take off. Once again, this is not a big deal, mostly because you don’t know that your husband has leaned against his door in the back and it has opened an inch right before take off. Still not a big deal, until you are going through the mountains and snow is coming in the back of the plane. Just a heads up for any of you out there that are worried that Ben (and Lilly who is sitting on Ben’s lap) could possibly fall out of the plane, apparently this is not possible. This exact position happens again to Rachel three weeks later on her cross country flight to Kalskag and the pilot, instead of freaking out about it like Rachel did, calmly explains to her that with the pressure put on the plane from the wind resistance of flight the door can come open but will never fully open while in mid-flight. We are both now proof that open doors on planes should not worry you while in mid-flight.

Yup, that's a mountain in the clouds we're flying through!

You finally close the door right before take off and sit back and try to enjoy the two-hour flight to your new residence. However, as you get closer, you are told that the fog is getting too thick. For your Boeing 737 this is not a problem, but for your single propeller six-seater this is quickly becoming a disaster. As you land one village away from your destination your pilot informs you that you will try to make it the 10-minute flight to your village. As you take off you watch the fog engulf the small plane and your heart sinks as you pilot gives you the choice to either stay in Sleetmute or make the trip back to Anchorage with him. You decide to stay the night in Sleetmute because that is where your principal lives. You land in Sleetmute for the second time that day and walk to your principal’s house from there. She is excited to see you and sets you up in the school for the night. All of your stuff for the year is with you and you are stuck just a few miles away from where you could finally relax from the hazards of moving, but since you decided to live in village Alaska instead of even remote Alaska that dream is not going to come true today. You go to sleep hoping that the plane will be able to get back to you tomorrow, and if the plane does make it, that you will be able to make it on to your village as well.

Ah, the Kuskokwim River!  We're gettin' close!

You wake up late the next morning and still don’t want to move your body. It is still raining and you know that outside is going to be just as muddy as the day before. You finally drag your travel weary body off the floor and beginning looking for life elsewhere. Your principal has already made it to the school that morning and has breakfast ready for you. You are delighted, especially when she tells you that you can make some coffee to go with it. At that moment, however, the pilot from the day before buzzes the village to let you know that he has made it back. You quickly pack up all that you have and walk back to the airstrip. Your plane has landed and there are two more people with you today hoping to make it on with you as well. It is still rainy, but it is still worth the try. This time you get to sit in the back with the now muddy dog on your lap. The door still does not close fully but you are too tired to care. As you take off the two people in front of you offer you french fries from Anchorage. You know that french fries are going to be a luxury that you will not have for the next five months but you still say “no thank you” and hope that you make it alive to the next village. It is not a nice day, but at least it is clear and you are able to land on your own muddy airstrip which is pock-marked with puddles and has a nice big bump right in the middle of it. You find the only other white person there ready to pick you up and know that you have finally made it to your final resting place for the next year.

 
All in all, it was an experience. The flight was one of the smoothest we have ever been on, but one of the most hazardous as well. Our pilot was awesome and he is going to be our pilot in and out of the village until we move. There were some amazing sights and some life changing experiences. Any of you are welcome to come and spend time with us if you think you have what it takes to make it out.

Our first morning in Crooked Creek, Alaska!