Savoonga vs. Bickleton

Since giving birth to twins, a double stroller has been a necessity for me, if I want to have any freedom at all! Jacob has been taking the boys on his daily walk since they were a few months old...bundled up through the freezing winter in Grand Rapids, MI, sheltered by sun shades through the blazing Bellflower, CA summer. He even had to engineer a new way to attach the front wheel in Savoonga as the rough roads finally caused it to fall off prompting him to visit "Home Depot" (the dump) to find "replacement parts." The boys have weathered it all. In Bickleton, Jacob walks in the early AM, leaving me to push the boys in the afternoon. We have a perfect route that takes us out of the bustling city (ha, ha), down to a creek, up a hill, back down to the creek (the boys toss 3 rocks each...what a thing to look forward to...whatever works!), and back up a hill towards our home. Our only company is the sometimes many trucks that pass us to work on the windmills.

As I left the house yesterday, I noticed it was raining a bit...nothing a raincoat and stroller rain shield couldn't handle. The farther we went, the more the rain picked up. As the windmill workers passed me, I laughed to myself, thinking, after living in Savoonga, this hardly phases me...pride, I think. Well, by the end of the walk, any pride was nipped in the bud! The thunder began and the rain turned to good sized hail pelting my body. The boys thought it was a great adventure as they emerged bone dry from their protected stroller watching me wring out my pants before entering the house!

So today, off again. Cloudy, but no rain. As we neared the creek on the return trip, I noticed a black mass emerging, crossing the road, and turning back. Yep, that's a bear. Sorry boys, no stopping at the creek to throw rocks today! I looked and sounded big as I confidently (fearfully) walked up the hill. At the top of the hill, my mind began to take control of my emotions, and I realized that the black bear, whose diet consists of berries, roots, and fish, was not a polar bear whose diet consists of anything with blood, and we really were probably in zero danger, but I'm still adapting to this new culture and environment:)

So, while some of you worried while I walked out into the tundra in Savoonga, know that Bickleton presents some real dangers of its own!:)