Bush Pilots

I'm not going to pretend that we don't have our favorites when it comes to the pilots.  They have a variety of flight styles to suit every taste, from the super cautious for those unadventurous souls such as myself to those who were born to be pilots and will do zero gravity upon request if the weather is good.  When it really comes down to it, though, we're pretty happy when we see any one of the pilots step out of the plane.  They are the ones who make life in the bush possible.  Large barges come in a few times throughout the year to bring in the really large stuff like propane, 4 wheelers, and furniture, but I've heard of stoves and building supplies making their way over here on a plane when it will take too long or cost too much by boat.  Obviously they are limited by weather and day light, which gets frustrating when you need groceries or are desperate to get out of the village, but they do much more than transport people and goods.

If we have a prescription to fill, the pilots are actually the ones to go to the pharmacy and pick up the medication.  They also make bank runs for individuals in the village which allows people to get deposits and payments to the bank a little faster than through a mail service that only runs three times a week.  They also deliver a lot of little things between the villages.  Port Graham and Nanwalek are just around the corner from each other, but are separated by a mountain ridge, so sometimes it's much easier to hand an envelope or box of groceries to the pilot than hike over the mountains to get things to the other village.  They do all of this at a very real personal risk.  They are very careful and attentive to conditions in and between the villages, but the reality is they are always a mechanical failure or sudden gust of wind from the wrong direction at the wrong time away from physical harm.  Knowing that I start each and every flight with a small (okay, sometimes lengthy) conversation with Jesus, I realize it takes a special person to do their job daily and am thankful they are willing to enable people like us to survive in all the hard to find places that make up this state.