Togiak, Alaska

Since our bike trip this summer, my good friend Andy has been pressuring me to support the NRA and learn how to safely operate a gun. This past weekend when I visited Togiak, I had my chance. Andy gave me a good lesson in gun safety in addition exposing me to a variety of firearms, which naturally scared the hell out of me. To me, a gun is still a pretty intimidating responsibility.

Aside from manhandling firearms, my visit to Togiak, Alaska was as much fun as I could have ever anticipated - and believe me, the trip was highly anticipated. During my virtually sleepless visit, we camped, had fires, explored, picked berries, hunted, lifted weights, ran and played volleyball. The first night, as a group of us cruised along the beach on four-wheelers, I felt butterflies in my stomach because those calm, colorful views of the water and of Walrus Island were unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life. It was remarkable, which doesn't even begin to describe it.

The subsistence village of Togiak, AK has a population of approximately 1,000. It's situated in Togiak Bay just north of Walrus Island Game Sanctuary where plenty of National Geographic photographs take place. Like Manokotak, Togiak's people hunt and fish for subsistence. In this village though, they are lucky enough to have a grocery store.







The morning of our camping expedition Andy and Sam shot a mink (above). Sam suggested we bring the mink to one of the village elders who is a highly regarded historian of Yup'ik culture, not only in Togiak, but throughout the state of Alaska. Annie Blue speaks only Yup'ik but her words and stories have been translated into countless texts and curricula. This year she was even awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I was so touched to have met her finally, and she was thrilled with the mink.

What a wonderful world...