Recent Travel - Post is Somewhat Graphic

I spent the first part of this week in Bethel, traveling to two villages: Chuathbaluk and Napaskiak. Chuathbaluk is about 100 miles up the Kuskokwim River from Bethel while Napaskiak is only about 10 miles down-river. I flew to Chuathbaluk and took a boat to Napaskiak.

Now, for those who are not from here, Bethel is considered one of the more, how shall I put this, unattractive parts of the state. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is a huge, swampy area comprising the lowlands where two rivers (the Yukon and the Kuskokwim) drain into the ocean. The farther west one goes, the more swampy, treeless the area is. Chuathbaluk is located where about where the mountains end, so it abuts some rolling hills. Napaskiak, on the other hand, is on the tundra flats.

The tundra flats are comprised of tundra, scrub, some alder bushes, and muddy rivers. There are no mountains to stop the wind and the wind blows whatever dirt has dried out on the top of the ridges.

I represent clients charged with homicide in each of the villages and so went for a bit of investigation/scene overview. I never try a homicide without examining the scene. Anyway, while I don't have pictures of Chuathbaluk right now, I did manage to get some pictures of Napaskiak.

There is no running water in Napaskiak and this building is the side of the water treatment facility. I am the guy on the left. The fellow on the right is another attorney in my agency who is co-chairing the Napaskiak murder case with me. The fellow in the middle is a resident of Napaskiak. Notice that he has a large garbage can on the front of his 4-wheeler. He fill that up with water and then puts it in a holding tank at his home. He's also on a 4-wheeler. This is the preferred mode of transportation in many rural Alaska villages. They are too small for cars, autos and trucks to be practical on a daily basis. The 4-wheeler gets better gas mileage (something to consider when gas costs about $4.25 a gallon) and will go many more places than the truck. Notice also we are standing on a board walk. This board stretches throughout the village so that people will have a decent, mud-free place to walk. Houses are built on stilts to avoid sinking into the tundra, either because of tundra mud or from thawing out permafrost.

Ah, but if there's no running water, what about other plumbing? Funny you should ask.

This pictures is of me (with a cheesy grin - my investigator just told a stupid joke) next to the 'honey bucket house'. Honey bucket is a euphemism for receptacles that hold human waste until they can be emptied. The honey bucket emptier opens the door and drains the container inside.

This is me standing next to the same house by the drainage pipe between the house and the honey bucket holder. Some homes do not even have this - just a bare bucket filled with crap. The worst homicide I ever heard of involved a fight between a father and older son. They began to throw honey-bucket contents at each other. The son finally scooped up a bunch and crammed it into his father's nose and mouth. The father literally choked on shit and died. I'm not a psychologist, but I would say that young man had issues with his father.

This picture shows the boardwalk a little better as well as the houses around. And yes, those are houses where people live. This village was rather spread out, primarily because it follows dry ground. It's about 2 blocks deep, but 1 mile from end to end. The boardwalk stretches from one end to the other.

Anyway, it's not every day that I get to post photos, so I thought I would try it this time. I include one more photo below with my co-counsel and I at the front of the boat as we come back into Bethel from our trip to Napaskiak.

We are coming into the small boat harbor. As you can see, there are not mountains around and we are on a muddy river. Bethel is not as bad as everybody says, but I don't know if I would agree that it is Paris on the Kuskokwim. (You really need to click on the link and listen to the song - no joke, a song.)

Comments

[Skelly]

These pictures are a great addition! Nice Ray Troll t-shirt there too, counselor.

[Melissa]

ewww ewwww EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

[Alaska]

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures. BTW, how did you know it was a Ray Troll t-shirt? I usually pick up one or two when I'm down in Ketchikan and I can visit his shop.

And I share the Ewww factor. That's why I put a bit of a disclaimer in the title. But things happen here, particularly in the YK Delta, that would not happen really anywhere else.

[fizzle]

But things happen here, particularly in the YK Delta, that would not happen really anywhere else.

You've never lived in rural Tennessee, I take it. Boy, do I have stories...

[HomefrontSix]

Haven't lived in Hawaii either...I see a lot of similarities between the two.

Even with those pictures, I miss Alaska.

- hfs