Bethel Lesson 1: "There are no mountains. There are no trees. It's like being in a third world country in the U.S."

These encouraging words of wisdom were shared to my housemates and me as we waited for our flight from Portland to Seattle to leave the runway. Because of too much luggage, the plane was delayed giving us just enough time to learn that the young woman sitting by us was a nurse in Bethel. Judging by her tone and attitude, I have slight feeling that she was not granted her first choice of placements to work in Alaska.

Welcome to Bethel: Population 6080.

She wasn’t completely wrong, but to be fair there are parts of the town where you can see mountains in the distance (if it’s a clear day). There are also a few trees here and there - not many, but certainly more than needed to make the claim that there are none. And sure, our house sways in the heavy Bethel wind because it’s built on stilts for the snow and mud, there are only about 16 miles of road (one of which is paved), and on dry days there is dust and dirt everywhere, but it’s all part of what makes Bethel Bethel. It’s not your typical beauty, no, but in it’s own way, the flat tundra with the wild grass, berries and flowers holds an incredible wonder that I am certain is filled with adventures just waiting to be had.That or mud and mosquitoes... 

Chief Eddie Hoffman: the main road in town

The Bethel JV House

View of the back yard filled with tundra. 

Either way, it's certainly going to be an interesting year.