Anchorage Trip: Part Four

Wednesday morning I awoke to three alarm clocks.  I have not traveled without the kids, who have been my natural alarm clocks for nearly six years now, so I was terrified of oversleeping and missing my plane.  Hence the setting of both the room alarm clock and both my cell phone (old + new) alarm clocks.  

{Polar bear on display at the Anchorage airport}

I cried in the shower.  I felt overwhelmed at all that I had to do, nervous about getting home to my boys and a bit lost starting the day by myself.  After a good cry, some texting with my {brilliant, kind, understanding} friend Kari, and a phone call with my {amazing, supportive, patient, loving} husband, I felt better.

I got ready for the day, packed up all my stuff, loaded the car, and ate breakfast at the hotel.  Then I departed for the airport only slightly nervous about dropping off the rental car.

I was nearly hit when I was trying to navigate the snowy roads that lead where I was going at the airport. It was hard to tell if I was in the correct lane, and as I slowed down to be sure, the car behind me had to slam on his brakes and honked. I felt so bad!  I rolled my window down, apologized and asked if I was in the right place to return my rental. The guy was so mad, but could tell I was desperate for help, so he begrudgingly told me which way to go.  

Sorry random Anchorage airport, man. 

And thanks for helping me!

By the time I returned my rental car and made my way to the Alaska Airlines desk to check my bags, I was feeling great.  I had plenty of time to make it through security, buy myself some lunch to eat while waiting in Bethel, and breathe for a little bit before my flight.

It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed perusing the stores at the airport, knowing it would be a long time before I saw rows of magazines, stacks of books, or tourist trinkets again.

My mom's friend Bev happened to be at the airport the same time as me, and we were able to sit and chat for a while before my plane came.  It was nice to see a friendly face and talk to someone before my long day of traveling began.

Soon it was time to board, and I was happy to have a window seat.

A little less than an hour later, (spent listening to my ipod and reading my book club book: The Husband's Secret) we landed in Bethel.

There I found my friend & neighbor Cyndy, who had spent part of her break in Fairbanks and was making her way back to Marshall as well.  Together we gathered our luggage and headed outside to find a ride from the Alaska Air terminal to the ERA building a few blocks away.

I had my backpack (which weighed nearly thirty pounds!) plus two huge bags of luggage, which I was pulling behind me, as I approached a van that said ERA on the side. I asked the driver if he was indeed headed to ERA and he explained that that was the pilot's van, not the shuttle van... but sure, he'd give me a ride. 

I was so grateful!

Thank you, Vince!

I had called ERA while I was waiting for my bags at Alaska Airlines to let them know I was in Bethel and to check my flight. Everything out of Bethel was on weather hold at that point.

When I arrived at the ERA terminal I checked my bags & was told, again, that all flights were on weather hold.

I began mentally preparing myself for the fact that I might, in fact, be spending the night in Bethel. And that I might not, actually, be seeing (and hugging!) my children that afternoon.

I even called two bed & breakfasts (that run at least $200/night) to see if they had availability.  And I had Bethel taxi contact info stored in my phone. I was prepared.

As I texted back and forth with Josh, he remained optimistic. Two ERA planes had come in at earlier points in the day, and he hoped that a third (mine) would also arrive as planned.

I managed to stay fairly positive, although, honestly, I thought I would end up having to face my fear of being weathered in Bethel.

These (& all previous pictures) were shot from the air on my flight from Anchorage to Bethel:

***

While waiting at ERA in Bethel I read, visited with Cyndy & some other women, and met this cutie & his grandma.  He broke his collar bone and was heading home from the doctor. He was so kind and had the  most expressive eyes. He reminded me so much of my boys.

He enjoyed taking pictures of everything, including me, with my camera. He was so sweet and helped to pass the time.

Time kept creeping by, and slowly they canceled nine flights, 

including one of Marshall's neighboring villages.

Before we knew it they called Marshall over the intercom.  I waited what felt like an eternity... were they calling us to meet our pilot or to cancel our flight?!?  It was like the end of Biggest Loser when they cut to commercial break. I was holding my breath.

Finally they said, "Meet your pilot at the back door," and I excitedly kicked off my boots, pulled my snow pants on over my jeans, re-tied my boots, layered on two pair of gloves and zipped on my huge down parka.  I was ready!

I was overjoyed to be on the plane (a caravan, a large 9-seater) and headed home to see my boys!!!

We had to wait our turn on the tarmac.

This is a picture of what our plane looked like.

And here are our two awesome pilots.  On the flight was just myself and Cyndy, along with a bunch of bypass (freight) food for the school.  (Which poor Josh had to unload from the plane, load onto the truck and then unload at the school once we got home!)

At first you could see a little bit of the ground, but only white above us.

But shortly after departing Bethel, we were in complete white-- I couldn't see anything above or below us.  It was scary, but our pilots seemed very competent and I had decided early on to put my faith in God. 

After that heartbreaking plane crash in St. Mary's, I resolved that when it's my time to go, it's my time to go. The fact is, I have to use airplanes to travel. There are no roads in or out of Marshall. There is no river access for more than six months of the year... Planes are my  mode of travel, and I have no control over whether we are going to crash or not.

So I did a lot of praying, a lot of breathing, and a lot of visualization on that quick thirty minute flight.  

Luckily as we neared Marshall, we regained sight of the ground.

And before I knew it, I could see the familiar mountains of home.

And our section of the Yukon River.

That big band of darkness (wild with trees) is what we call "the island".  

The dark spot in the (white, frozen) river is where the river is open. For some reason, it never froze there.  Bizarre!

It's crazy for me to imagine that I walked (with my three children) across that river, from the village to the island!  Now that I have seen the river flowing, I don't think I would set foot on it again... Frozen or not!

And there it is... Home sweet home.

Here is a photo of "upriver"...

And here is the old airport.

(see that tiny building on the lower right hand side?)

A close up of Marshall. To the left is "downtown" and to the right is "uptown." 

Can you spot the school? Large, aqua colored, toward the middle right?

Teacher housing is the two beige rectangles just to the right of it.

This picture encompasses the entire village.

We came in for a nice, easy landing, for which I was especially grateful.

And there, parked and waiting for me in the schools' white pick up truck, was Josh and the boys.

I flew off the plane and Josh met & hugged me.  Then I made my way to the truck where three bubbly little boys anxiously awaited me.  I hugged each of the twins first, then Wyatt made his way across the seat and into my arms. I cried. Oh, I was so happy to see my sweet bub.

Everyday since my arrival home (which has now been nearly a week) Wyatt has told me at some point, "I'm so happy that you're here. I'm so glad that you're home."  He missed his mama, and I missed him!

***

My next post will be about settling back into real life at home with three kids after an amazing girls getaway.

But before I close, I want to thank you.  I know I say it a lot, but I mean it. Your love, support & prayers mean the world to me. I truly feel that I have 100 cheerleaders behind me, rooting me on, pushing me forward, lifting me up.  Thank you for that.