but in a plane the size of a mini van barreling down the runway, prop spinning, engine roaring, pilot pushing buttons as various bells and dings go off makes one question Bernoulli's principle informing me that a couple thousand pound vehicle can leave the ground in a controlled manner. And then on top of that you know that your flight is at its weight capacity because you have been forced to leave behind all but two of your bags to be sent out on a flight the following day.
Sure enough though, regardless of my skepticism, the small plane's nose begins to lift and then the wheels, which I have been watching with with nervous anxiety leave the ground and away we go, the rapid acceleration as the plane climbs pushing me back in my seat. As I begin to relax a patch of turbulence throws me back into thoughts of plummeting back to Earth.
It really is an amazing way to travel though, all things considered. On one hand it is the only way to travel to Tununak - there are no roads leading here, but it offers a glimpse of the landscape, untouched by humans in any way except for the occasional village or fish camp scattered about the tundra. This is such an awesome sight for me that all three flights I have now taken keep my eyes glued to the landscape beneath me.
Tununak lies within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Wildlife Refuge, a 19 million acre refuge home to a wide range of wildlife - migratory birds, ducks, muskox, caribou, bear, moose, many types of fish in the rivers and streams, along with the marine life that thrives on the coast such as several type of seal, walrus, whale, otter, beaver, and halibut to name a few. Approximately 25,000 people share this land as well, primarily located in small villages like mine. Of that number the majority are Yup'ik Eskimos.
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