To Egegik!

Andy, Wendy, Mom, and I took a 24-hour hiatus from Naknek so we could go on a whirlwind trip to Egegik, the bush village where Andy and Wendy had lived for three years before moving to Naknek this summer. Egegik still feels like home; it's familiar, and it's full of friends.

Mom was really excited to go; she wanted to meet some of the people she's been praying for in person. Andy and Wendy were excited because it felt like a real homecoming. I was excited for lots of reasons, not least of which was my first flight in a tin-can bush plane.

Because it was such a hot day (over 80 degrees!), our pilot decided to make a quick layover in South Naknek with just two passengers, then come back and pick up the other two before having all of us take the last leg of the trip together to Egegik.

Andy and Mom were the first to fly.

Getting in.

Soon enough, the pilot was back for Wendy and I. It was an unusually gorgeous day. This sort of weather is atypical even mid-summer.

This was our "layover" where Mom and Andy rejoined us. That little shed-like building is the airport. See the sign? A bit pretentious, hmmm? "South Naknek International Airport." It's planted right in the middle of the tundra.

That's the taxi out front.

Mom in a bush plane! 

"Oh, Debbie, stop that! You're taking too many pictures of me--I'm just an old lady!"

I wasn't excited. Nope. Not at all.

There was so much to see out the windows.

These are the countless little lakes that pock the peninsula. I've never seen anything like it.

Nearing Egegik, we saw Mount Pulik off on the horizon. This foggy, far-away shot was the best my camera could do.

Coming even closer, we began to see fishing boats everywhere. Life is tied to the water in Egegik. What crops and cattle are to farmers, the salmon run is to these fishermen.

On the ground again. Behind Andy is the Egegik airport, once again planted in the tundra in the middle of absolutely nowhere. You don't know real isolation until you're in a village like this. The only way out is by plane. But it's home. For many reasons, I actually preferred it to Naknek.

Above all, I preferred it because of the people.