Eating crabs

While we were in Nome, we tried some local treats. We all tried Musk Ox (yes, vegetarian Mentzer's ate Musk Ox). We decided before we went we wanted to experience Nome as it was meant to be. With Doug's girlfriend Dar being an Eskimo, it was easy to learn. We ate mucktuck (no idea how to spell it). Which is whale blubber, you eat raw but frozen. And one night we enjoyed something we love, crab legs.

Leaf's first encounter with crabs. He kept picking them up and saying crab. I was surprised, they hurt when you grab a hold of them.

Everest trying to help crack the shells and get the meat out. He liked cracking them, but decided he didn't like them.

Leaf snuggled up with Dar, since she was the best crab meat getter. He really seemed to like it. He sat like this for a while with his hand on his chin, chewing. We were all laughing.

Dar was feeding Leaf crab, so Leaf decided to feed her too. She was a good sport.

While Dar and I were shopping, she found a cute pair of polar bear slippers for Leaf. It only took the first day for them to see his obsession with shoes too. He loved the slippers and ended up falling asleep with them on. I think this picture was taken at 11 pm and I don't think we used a flash.

We also enjoyed Shura (again I have no idea how to spell it, it is an Inupiaq (one of the Eskimo languages) word. These are greens they enjoy in the "Spring" time. They eat them in the summer and then dip them in seal oil to preserve them for the winter. We did not get to try seal oil...next time. We have heard it is very strong, but most Eskimos love it.

It was great to see that even though some things have dramatically changed for Eskimos, some things have remained the same. They may drink coke and get clothing shipped in from WalMart, but they also look for bird eggs when the birds return, and go on seal and whale hunts. They go to fishing camp and dry fish to eat throughout the year, and they pick greens and preserve what they can. Dar doesn't speak fluent Inupiaq, but she knows a lot of words in her language. It seems they are a people, struggling to keep up with the modern world and yet, keep their roots. I think it is a little easier for them that Native Americans because they are still somewhat secluded. We loved learning about Native ways, thank you Dar for sharing all your knowledge with us. We can't wait to visit again.