Offering a friend a ride turns into a midnight adventure. Original communication: November, 2015.
The sun sets on the horizon just opposite the school boat dock.
Four women and a dog
If you're hoping that the subject line implies that I finally did something "cool" like shoot a moose or something, then I'm sorry- this is not that post.
I've had several great cultural experiences the past few months but tonight wins.
Get off the grass
We were bringing my colleague and friend back to Akula, because she's a teacher on that side of the river and needed to be home for work the next day. Allow me to set the scene: it's raining. It's pitch black outside. And the temperature is in the low 20s.
Off we went into the night. There was no moon so we were relying on the components of this snazzy lantern that breaks apart into hand-held pieces. Brilliant. Mind you, when it's that dark- you can't see anything. We were literally (almost) driving blindly down the river.
Can you imagine what I'm about to say? Yep- we drove into a bank. A half frozen marsh of tundra is where the boat got stuck. Remember- it's cold and raining. We're four women and a dog and my city heart asks the dumb question of, " so.. what do we do?" My boss told me as politely as she could to get out and push.
There I went; I swung myself over the side of the boat into the half frozen grass on this river not knowing how the "ground" beneath me was about to feel.. thank heavens for Muck boots.
We pushed and pushed until the boat came free. We had resumed our cruise down the river when I commented to my friend that I had no clue how my boss could see where we were going, despite our best efforts to shine light on the water. Nikki responded with, "she has cat vision, obviously."
This is how you create memories
We eventually made it back to Akiuk, thankful for our safety. We got decently rained on and I couldn't help but laugh and insist on a selfie afterwards.
I texted Nikki when we arrived safely back in Akiuk and told her, "The whole time I was like... THIS. This is how you make memories."
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