Teller Highway

The Teller Highway was our final road to drive during our visit to Nome. Again, a 70 mile trip to the Eskimo village of Teller lying within Grantley Harbour with easy access to the Sea. We had heard different things about Teller including that it was not safe, don't camp near there, it's where they relocate natives who have been kicked out of their tribe, if you have to skip a road, skip the Teller Road and the natives are NOT friendly. Fortunately, Bucky and I both had a moment of deafness upon hearing these reviews and decided that Teller was a must see. The drive to Teller is nothing short of spectacular. We crested high hills and had views that stretched for miles eventually ending at the Bering Sea. From these high vistas we could see the village of Teller in the distance and Brevig Mission lying across the bay.  
 

Passing salmon drying on racks and set nets lying on the beach, we entered Teller. Photo ops were everywhere, but it seemed disrespectful and uncomfortable to take pictures when people were present. I spoke to a young Eskimo girl fishing from the beach and she very shyly answered me.  There were homes with broken windows and flowers planted beside them, dogsleds leaning against sheds covered with caribou and moose antlers.  Photographing these would have involved stopping which didn't seem like the right thing to do. We drove through the heart of the village, past the school where many young mothers and children were playing outside. They smiled as we passed.

                                                                                 Teller

We stood on the spit and looked across the bay at fish camps in silence. It was incredibly peaceful.

We left town after stopping at the grocery store. Perhaps it's because Bucky is the son of a grocer, but often times we've found the true flavor of a town can be found at the local store. It took but a few minutes to locate the only store in town. It was difficult to tell if it was open as there were no vehicles outside and no one in sight. 

We were alone when we entered the store but quickly one by one people appeared. Had they all suddenly become hungry? By the time we payed for our gum and chips, the store was full of men, women and children. It wasn't hard to figure out that we were the attraction. Everyone was smiling as were we. We left Teller feeling privileged for having been there. We returned to Nome for our final night with reservations to stay at the Nugget Inn. When I made the reservation, before driving to Council, I cringed when I heard the price of $110. Now, after having slept in a Murphy bed, with no running water at $130, the Nugget with private bath, shower, microwave, fridge and TV seemed like pure luxury. We spent our final evening touring Front Street having pizza and beer. With an early morning flight back to Anchorage, we tried to sleep, but even at midnight the sun shone through the thin drapes on our window making sleep difficult. 

Locals enjoy an evening fire on the beach behind the Nugget.

                                           Front Street as seen from behind the Nugget Inn.


We picked Fisher up from Pete and Anya's dog yard where Carlisle had been housesitting off the Talkeetna Spur Road.

Carlisle and Carma

Fisher seemed to be howling more after her dog yard experience, but she settled back into RV life without much hesitation. We haven't told her yet, but within a few days we'll head East to the small town of McCarthy. The road to McCarthy is to rough for the RV so we'll go by truck. Fisher will again need to leave the club chair in the RV and  head back with Lisle to the dog yard.