The Village of Teller

Teller sits right at the edge of the water. We drove right up to the water and got out to look around. The sky was amazing!

 

It is hard to see all the ice floating in the water, but there was a lot. It was all flowing with the tide. It was really cool to watch. We were amazed at how much ice was still in the water in mid June.

The road coming into Teller. These are a few buildings, houses, sheds, etc.

We met an Alaskan Native who is a famous dog sled racer. His name is Joe, and he is on Doug's advisory board. He was fishing with his daughter when we drove by. We stopped to chat and watch him. He was trying to catch 50 pounds of fish for his sled dogs, before the tide went back out. He said 50 pounds of fish will feed the dogs for 2 days! You can see him in his boat, he has a long fishing net he is putting out. He lives directly across the street from the water.

Joe showed us his sled dogs, all 28. This is where they are in the summer and some of the winter. Notice how high the poles are....he said they get that much snow that the dogs can slip right off the poles, so they have to be at least 12 feet high. He also showed us the huge shed and kennel system he built for his dogs, as far as sled dogs go, these dogs have it made.

Joe uses the old fashion wooden sleds when he races. He built this one himself over 20 years ago, it has no metal parts. It is held together by thick ropes, that he waxes to keep it strong and from fraying. It was really neat to see.

Thanks to Joe for taking the time to show us around.

Notice how bundled up we ate. A bunch of neighborhood kids came over to see Joe's puppies, they were all in shorts and tank tops. Even the little ones who were about 2. It wasn't freezing outside, but it also was NOT shorts weather.

Road to Teller

Doug took us to the Eskimo village of Teller. I think it is the only village you can drive to. Brevig Mission is 6 miles across the water from Teller, so we could see it. In the winter the water is frozen so they snow machine from the villages, and in the summer they can take a boat, but they have to wait until the ice completely breaks up.

It was a beautiful day for a drive. We saw a lot of wildlife and some great scenery.

Reindeer on the side of the road. Everest was so excited to see reindeer. They are like caribou, but a little different, I think their legs are shorter and something with their antlers. It also has to do with migration, you see reindeer in the summer and caribou in the winter in the Nome area.

We stopped at a place in the river that the ice hadn't completely melted yet. Doug had a great time with Leaf. Teresa, did you notice? Go NC State.

Here is the ice, isn't it beautiful? It is glacial water so it has the beautiful blue in it. We played here for about an hour. While we were here, we heard and saw some of the ice calving-falling off into the water. It was loud.

This is the reason for the calving. It looked like it was raining under the ice. We thought it was chilly, but it was warm enough to melt the ice.

There was a ptarmigan in the bushes. Doug and Leaf sat/laid on the side of the road watching it for about 5 minutes. Everest got excited and ran up to see it and it flew away.

This is Teller from a distance. It is right at the edge of the water. It is so beautiful with the water and mountains in the background. Brevig Mission is directly across the water, it is hard to see in this picture.

Doug and Leaf checking out the views of Teller.

Doug let Leaf drive into Teller. He was so proud of himself. We were only going about 5 miles an hour and didn't see another car.

Thanks Doug for showing us Teller and around Nome, we had so much fun.