I’m not sure how 4 months have already passed in Nome, but here we are already approaching summertime. I arrived here amidst winter, and it turned out to be one of the snowiest on record. We even got a total of 40 hours off work when the hospital was closed because the wind was blowing too much for road crews to keep up with the drifts. I’m not sure the sun even came out until March because of the clouds/dark! Even with all this winter weather, I fell in love with the place almost immediately, and everyone said “if you like it now, you will definitely enjoy it in the summer”. So after realizing that my original contract end date of May 3 was too early for me, I have decided to stay through fall.
It’s tough to write a quick post on everything that I’ve been lucky enough to experience, so I will mention some of the highlights. To start with, WORK has actually been a pleasure. I’ve never been a part of a tribal run Indian Health Service, so it has been interesting to learn all the differences between here vs working in the private sector as more of a “clinic money maker”. I have wonderful co-workers, a short walk to work, and get to have a variety of patients from outpatient to acute care to long term care. There are some cons to being federal as well, but that happens anywhere you go. Plus, back in Feb/March, we had some killer sunrises and sunsets that we can see from third floor of the hospital overlooking the Bering Sea (and the ice in the photo below).
Nome is a town of ~4,000 people, but the population swells during Iditarod week. The 1,000 mile sled dog race leaves Anchorage the first weekend of March, and the mushers finish in Nome ~9+ days later. Before coming here, I had never studied the Iditarod nor gave sled dogs a second thought. But during my first week, I learned 2 of my coworkers, Kamey and Val, are women that take out their dog team regularly. So I was really lucky and right away got to go out on a ride, learn to harness, understand relationships between dogs on the team, and start being on the runners myself. By the time Iditarod hit, I was able to give tourists rides, as this is how we are able to pay for dog food and house maintenance for the year. If I had to pick a favorite part so far, being immersed with the dogs and learning from my friends has been amazing. Where else would I be learning how to mush?!
The Bering Sea was all ice when I arrived, ranging a few miles out from shore and only 1-2 feet thick. Per the elders, the sea ice used to be 5-6 feet deep, but warming temperatures and changing weather patterns have softened it, and this year it broke up earlier than ever because of all the storms and above average temps. One 80 year old elder said he had never seen such a thing: the ice went out before the Iditarod mushers finished, meaning they had to basically finish on the main road in town instead of arriving on the ice. I also went out to check crab pots set in the ice back in February, and after only 1 time out on snow machines, the ice had gone, and many people lost their subsitence pots.
Nome itself is pretty flat right on the coast, and then behind us to the north are some bigger hills around 1,000ft altitude. Behind these opens up some valleys with larger mountains around 4,500ft. With all this open space, winter activities are plentiful, most enjoyable of which is snow machining. Any time someone offered me a drive or ride, I CERTAINLY took them up on it. We had 2 growing up, but that was just around the yard/woods behind home for sledding; here, it’s totally different. And besides riding on snow machines, I also finally learned to drive stick on my friend Kamey’s truck. Nome is a pretty good place to learn considering there is never traffic. Plus Kamey’s husband Curtis taught me how to use a wood lathe and I made my first bottle opener handle. Next up is an ulu (Native Alaskan rocking style knife).
The hills/mountains are a free for all in terms of hiking/skiing/snowboarding/snowmachining. There aren’t established trails, and you can ride/walk wherever you want. Right beyond town are some places that were very fun to hike, including Newton “mountain” and Monument rock. Alongside me during these day trips was a dog that has suspiciously become nearly my own… I always said I wanted a dog, but being a travel OT makes that hard. I resisted the thought of having a dog for logistical reasons, but it’s getting harder to imagine my life without Cord now. She is one of Kamey’s dogs at the dog lot, and at 5 years old she started having seizures, so she can’t run anymore. What makes Cord most happy she can no longer do, so she needs a good home. Her transition to a “house dog” was pretty seamless, considering there are some horrific stories of trying to bring sled dogs inside. She figured out textures like tile/hardwood/grated steps easily, she never had an accident inside, and after a month she finally learned how to sleep on a schedule. I don’t think she could ever go back now!
In April the temperatures were warming up to the high 30’s/low 40’s, and this meant trying to dig out my boss’s ATV to use in order to get out of town. Around this time, the plows started opening up the 3 roads going out of town mile by mile. After much effort to dig out the ATV from 3 feet of snow and solid ice, I was singin’ FREEDOM! To have a mode of transportation on my own accord even to get a bit out of town has been a game changer.
I’ll end this post with my favorite weekend to date while being here. Kamey and Curtis have a cabin at mile 67 of a road that ends in a native village called Council. Because of all the snow, some shoveling and maintenance warranted a trip out on snow machines. Kamey, Curtis, Marcy (optometrist friend), and I headed out on 3 machines after work. The ride follows the coast and ice for 2/3 and then turns north inland over some smaller mountains to their camp. At that time in April, the sun was setting about 1030 and so the 2.5 hour drive ended up being right during a stunning sunset. Over the weekend, we snow machined around camp, saw a large herd of musk ox, sled down the mountains on cardboard beer boxes, shoveled out an outhouse, built a firepit out of snow, pocket saw chopped down dead trees for firewood, and sunbathed in lawnchairs at 30 deg. What a dream this weekend was- if that wouldn’t convince you of the beauty of Nome, I’m not sure what would. There are even trees there (it’s very exciting as there are none near town)!!!
I could write heaps and heaps more on what I’ve been so lucky to experience here so far and the wonderful people I’ve met. Being in town all the time vs getting out on all the weekends like in NM has allowed me to have a strong sense of community here. There is never a shortage of things to learn and places to explore.
Back in early May I took 2 weeks off to travel around in southcentral AK- Kenai, Kodiak, and the interior. Being back in my Subaru and driving around is my happy place, and I could’ve stayed out doing that for months and months. So in the end, it’s a good thing I get to come back to a place like Nome. Until the next post on bopping around the south ~
Cool, I’m going to follow
You are a beautiful soul on the adventure of a lifetime! So glad you are living your dreams! GO SAMITA!!
Alexis I’m just seeing this!!! Miss you guys heaps!!! Thanks for reading
Wow I like this