With summer coming to an end in just a few short (and getting shorter) days, I wanted to take this moment, utilizing this cyber-venue, to offer an overview of my first two months in Nome.
I arrived here on July 10 and was immediately whisked away to a dream-like camp on Cape Nome.
It was a whirlwind first few days, but I couldn’t have asked for better weather, better hosts, and a better group of people to welcome me to my new home.
The weeks that followed my arrival were equally as whirlwind-ish, largely due to the surge of salmon that were flooding the waters of Norton Sound. My first ever story for KNOM was on the region’s strong chum runs, and along with reporting on salmon, I also went out fishing for them quite a few times.
Special mention needs to be made to the entire Schmidt family for helping us fill our freezer. Rosa taught myself and my fellow KNOM vols how to filet a salmon, Sam proved his unparalleled (#sorrymitch) ability to stand in cold water for long periods of time, hauling out over 35 salmon from a net we set in the Pilgrim River, their mother Lynette stood watch, offering encouragement and some sleeve-rolling when my own hands were too bloody to do so, and Ric has approved the use of the station’s car in support of our freezer-filling endeavors.
Aside from quite a salmon-focused summer, I’ve also checked off a few bucket-list items already, including driving to the end of the Kougarok Road:
I’ve hiked Nome’s nearest mountain more times than I can count on both hands, and sometimes, I was even lucky enough to do so with some canine companions:
Went to the shooting range. Shot multiple rounds off of multiple guns (shotgun included!) and went bird hunting:
And hosted my best friend and hiked the Seward Peninsula’s second tallest mountain, 3870 or “Grand Singatook”:
Needless to say, it’s been a pretty incredible last few months. Here’s hoping the snow sets in soon and winter activities can commence.
