Memories of Nome

Just a few random memories from the trip to Nome, Alaska and a week at Camp Dexter.

A River of Fish: I was out gathering firewood, no trees but lots of shrubs to provide some wood, and walked down to the lower part of the stream. You've heard people say "it was so thick you could walk across" well I have never seem so many fish in such a small area. Swimming side by side, bumping, pushing against each other and fighting their way along. This was not a very deep stream so the top layer of fish were swimming half out of the water. Incredible sight.

Walking on the Tundra: We did a lot of hiking around the surrounding area exploring for as long as the light of day would allow. We saw gold dredges abandon to the elements. We came across a mine shaft and, had it not been for the fact we had a group of children with us, we probably would have explored it further. I remember the terrain was soft as we walked and filled with small flowers.

Bear Alert: We had been told a mother brown bear and her cubs had been seem near our camp. Anytime we were outside we would keep a careful watch. What I did not tell you about our camp was that we had no running water. We had volunteers who would bring us supplies along with drinking/cooking water. As for little things like washing our faces or brushing our teeth we relied on a nearby stream (a different smaller one than where I saw the fish). I remember we would take the girls down to the stream before bedtime so they could wash up. As they brushed their teeth we stood at a slightly higher point a few feet away and kept bear watch. Fortunately we had no problems.

The Helicopter and the Mystery Cargo: Towards the end of the week on a really foggy, overcast day we were out walking. We the noise of a helicopter just overhead. About that time the fog cleared briefly, most likely from the wind produced by the helicopter blades. What we saw was the helicopter with a very large cage suspending from a cable. Between the fog, the whoop, whoop of the helicopter, and at that time a somewhat remote location it was a very eerie experience. Never did find out for certain but I'm reasonably sure they were relocating a brown bear that was getting a little too close to the local area. If not your quess is as good as mine.

The cast and crew of Camp Dexter July 1984 outside Nome, Alaska.