The sun rose over the Kuskokwim River on a warmer than usual March day, creating a magnificent sight. White snow covered the river while dark clouds hovered above. The sun had only a narrow strip of horizon to shine bright. It then rose into the clouds never to be seen for the rest of the day.

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Bethel is a city of around 6,000 residents located approximately 100 miles downriver from Aniak and only accessible by plane, boat, or in the winter, the ice road.

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A group of us Aniakers packed in an SUV with all of our winter gear and headed down the ice road. Our final destination was Bethel, but our main reason for going was our high school girl’s and boy’s basketball teams were playing in a village called Akiachak. It was the regional finals and if either team won, they were going to the state basketball tournament in Anchorage.

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The ice road is like a normal paved highway in the states but a little bumpier. Area villages and other affiliates work together to mark the road and also help plow snow. Our highest speed while driving was 65 mph.

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We took a tour of the villages of Kalskag, the first village below Aniak. One part of the town is called Upper Kalskag, and the other, located a few miles down, is called Lower Kalskag. In its history, religion divided the town. Upper Kalskag is Catholic and Lower Kalskag is Russian Orthodox. However, both villages share the same school.

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Driving down the ice road reminded me of the prairies of the Great Plains in the winter. White and flat, with snow blowing across the road; the trees becoming less and less as we traveled further downriver.

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The ride down was filled with good, meaningful conversation among people from Michigan, Minnesota, and Idaho who somehow at one point found themselves living in the small Alaskan village of Aniak. I pondered this thought for awhile as we were driving. We talked about our lives back home and our lives in Alaska. Alaska is a tough place to live. I honestly think most people in that car had wished they were somewhere else in the world that was not Aniak, but we all stay for a mysterious reason unknown to us. Not a subject to be openly discussed. Keep it inside. Yet everyone knows and has the same feelings.

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We passed the villages of Tuluksak and Akiak before arriving at Akiachak two and one-half hours after we first started driving.

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The school building and surrounding area was bursting with activity. Basketball is big out in the villages of Alaska, and many people made the drive from surrounding villages to attend the games.

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It was nice to see the Aniak students there and many community members from Aniak. If I were to leave Aniak, this would be the hardest aspect to leave. The sense of community.

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The strangest feelings I had all day was when, just before the start of the game, the entire audience in the gymnasium rose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I overheard a lady behind me inquire, “In Yup’ik or in English?”

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There hung the American flag over the land and people who were overtaken first by the Russian Empire and then the Americans. Knowing the history of Alaska and the area, it was interesting to be involved in this situation. There was a giant poster underneath the flag with the Pledge of Allegiance in the Yup’ik language. During the recitation, I could hear both Yup’ik and English among the spectators.

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The basketball games were exciting with standing room only because the gymnasium was packed full.

 

Both Aniak Halfbreeds basketball teams won their games, so they each advance to the state finals.

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In the late afternoon, we drove another half hour to the big city of Bethel. Bethel is interesting. It is the major shipping hub of the Kuskokwim River. The city is not located on the road system but it has paved streets and stop signs.

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A city in the middle of the tundra. The tundra in the Bethel area is extremely wet, boggy, and anything on top of it sinks easily. I once heard a story of an entire tractor being swallowed by the tundra. It now rests beneath the surface. Bethel is an oasis in the middle of the never-ending flat landscape.  All of the structures such as houses and businesses are built up on stilts in case of flooding or sinking in to the tundra in general. They have an above-ground sewer system, and there are endless miles of pipe sprawling through the town.

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It was amazing to see a Subway, other restaurants, banks, lawyers, coffee shops, places to shop, a movie theater, and the only liquor store within 300 miles. Bethel has gone back and forth between allowing the sale of alcohol or not, and when the city did ban alcohol, the black market and smuggling of alcohol was so rampant that they chose to legalize it.

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We drove around the city for awhile and stopped to eat at Fili’s Pizza, the only restaurant in the city where diners are allowed to drink alcohol. Directly across the street from the pizza place was the alcohol abuse treatment center, an odd coincidence.

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As we sat around the table talking I was glad I could be a part of this trip with these special people. I will miss them greatly when either I or they leave Aniak.

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We stopped at the largest Alaska Commercial shopping center, which seems just like a Walmart Supercenter, except a little more expensive.

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Our final stop was the liquor store. Aniak is a “damp” village, meaning that no alcohol sales are allowed within the city but residents can bring alcohol in. So everyone loaded up on their favorite drinks, despite the wildly inflated prices.

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I stood outside the liquor store waiting for the other members of my crew, observing my surroundings. That area reminded me of Indian Reservations in the Lower 48. People walking, swaying, and stumbling without purpose. Rough looking characters outside of the liquor store. Mumbling. Ranting. Not knowing what they are doing. Some probably did not know what day it was, what time it was, where they were, or where they were going. People stumbling across the street babbling on their way to get their spirituous drinks. A sad sight. Preventable yet susceptible. A conundrum no one person can solve on their own.

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We made it home just after 10 p.m., a long 13-hour day. I was sad as we got back to Aniak. What if we kept driving? An escape. Maybe we would find a hidden road that would connect us to the rest of the world and we would not have to be so lonely, so isolated. Soon, the river will thaw, unfreeze. Trapping us again on the island that is Aniak.