The beginning of the Stony River saga

This pandemic has been really limiting my travel choices.  Do I want to walk left or right when I get to the sidewalk?  Do I pack a picnic lunch or wait until I get home to eat?  I fall asleep with dreams of where I'll go when I can go.  Will I walk the trails of Liechtenstein or take a steamboat down the Mississippi?  All these exciting options have made for a ho-hum summer of 

So, when I got a call in July asking if I'd teach in Stony River, after a brief consult with my family, I enthusiastically said yes, the caveat being that I can only stay for 6 weeks.  I will be there from Aug 6-Oct 1...getting there a little early due to a 2 week quarantine.  15 students in grades K-7 and another teacher.  

If you're trying to find it in a bigger area, orient yourself to Anchorage, Bethel and Red Devil in Alaska.

What to bring?  Last time I was visiting Stony River about 4 years ago, there was no store.  So food for 7 weeks.  I mailed 3 boxes of basics like crackers, yeast and flour, Mrs. Dash's seasonings, and Nido dried milk.  I put some other basics like peanut butter and jelly, oatmeal and tea into my checked bags to tide me over in case my other food didn't arrive.  

Then I placed an order with Instacart in Anchorage.  That was for ground beef, chicken, oranges, frozen veggies, cheese and eggs.  The Instacart guy did okay, but the large tip for putting the food in boxes and clearly labeling for the flight out was wasted because the food was taken out of reusable bags and handed off to the freight department of Lake and Pen Air.  

Pilot Barry of Lake and Pen Air loaded up and ready to go in Anchorage.

Disaster was averted when it was delivered on time so when I arrived on time this morning from Fairbanks (on Alaska Airlines) to Anchorage, the Lake and Pen crew helped me round up the various frozen, chilled and shelf items.  I was allowed 50# of luggage and the rest went $1/lb as excess baggage.  I ended up taking 174# of baggage that included my bedding, toiletries, pharmacy, clothes, outside clothes, amusements and food for 7 weeks.

A peek (peak) through the clouds on our way over Lake Clark National Park.  IFR flying today due to cloud cover (I follow river).

On maps, Stony River village looks to be on an island, fronted by the mighty Kuskokwim River with branches of the Stony River forming a triangle of land.  These are views from the plane and from the airstrip.

The sad moment when the plane flies away and there is no 4-wheeler around and it looks like rain.

We (the other teacher and I) located keys for the school and the apartment keys thanks to some welcoming residents, but alas, moving in was not to be.  More tomorrow.  BTW:  We are quarantining but we've already met half of the neighbor kids.  It's been a long summer (since March) I think.