Was I crazy to hop on a 2-propeller plane to fly 8500 feet over the Alaskan Mountains to go to the Arctic Circle? Probably but, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Four of us opted to take the Chena Springs Resorts Flightseeing tour to the Arctic Circle and explore Beaver Village.
Table of Contents
Alaska Aerial Views
Seth, the Pilot
Seth was super knowledgeable as we flew over the Alaskan White Mountains and Yukon Flats. Pointing out creeks, rivers, mountains and even gave us some history of Alaska on our flight. He also played a joke on us. Mentioning the bump, we just felt as we crossed the Arctic Circle was the sub-zero air meeting the warmer air from the south. I almost believed him until I heard him over the headphones that he made the bump happen. Funny guy!
We spotted moose on a snow covered lake. Seth did a circle over for us to get pictures of them. It was so funny watching four photographers with cameras, taking pictures of everything we could out the plane’s windows.
He lands on this snow-covered runway almost every day. It’s very surprising that pilots can’t get a smooth landing on dry land most of the time but, Seth’s landing was smooth!
Beaver Village
We landed on the snow-covered runway and met the Adams, Cliff & Ai who came out to meet us. Cliff, a native Indian, has lived in Beaver Village all his life. Ai is a Japanese transplant, who came up to Beaver Village as a tourist five years ago from Tokyo. Ai met Cliff and ended up staying and marrying him. She has completely uprooted her life from living in a huge city to living off the land. She is so incredibly happy! Her smile is so infectious.
Life along the Yukon River
After that, we walked one block to the next road and stopped at the Yukon River. There was another building which houses the government and the clinic but, the doctor is long gone. This village has shrunk from over 100 people to 80 down to today’s 46 people.
Ai told us in September the Post Office and the school will be closing. I asked, “What will happen to the kids? What will they do?” Ai answered, “They will be shipped to live in Fairbanks with their aunt.” This was so disheartening to hear. This village’s future depends on having these kids return but, once they get a taste of city life what that possibility is? Zero to none.
The Adams House
Living off the Land
We spent time at the Adams house enjoying their hospitality and seeing how they live there all year round. Ai has a little greenhouse to grow vegetables. We also saw where they caught the Salmon and checked out the Smoke House. Cliff hunts and provides food for the whole village.
Of course, if you live in Alaska, you have to own Huskies. The Adams have three beautiful dogs, which were so friendly despite their ferocious looks. I love those blue eyes!
I can’t imagine how beautiful Beaver Village is in the summer right on banks of the Yukon River. Minus the mosquitos, which they told us were horrible. We walked down and took some pictures of all of us on the Yukon River.
When our time with the Adams was winding down, we started walking back to the plane. Ai noticed a white rabbit hidden in the snow and trees. “Aww, how cute!” we said while we got our cameras out. Ai quietly said “Snack!” Love this lady!
If you need a place to get away from everything, want to commune with nature and learn to live off the land, Beaver Village would be the place for you. Info for Beaver Village Tours. This village now depends on tourists to keep this community from not completely disappearing.