Delores' Downriver Camping

"This summer I went camping with my two kids, Crystal and Don. Their grandparents invited Crystal to go spring camping and my son wanted to go too, so I had to go with them. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have gone. My dad, Evan was there, along with my mom, Thecla, my brother, one of my mom's friends, Modesta, Leo, and the three of us, My brother and Leo were the ones who caught all the animals for dinner. There was another boat that went with us too. Paul Fancyboy, my sister, Cindy, her son Jeremy, and their three girls were in it. All we did was eat, sleep, and wander all over the tundra. My dad was the one who walked the farthest. My sister and I watched him with binoculars, My brother, Jeremy, and Paul went canoeing. We all had fun even though it was cold at night.

We also went berry picking about the end of July for two days. This trip was fun too. There was my dad, mom, me, Crystal, Don, Ellen and Ray Jr. It usually takes us about two and a half hours to get to our berry spot. But this summer the water was low and it made the traveling hard, and it took us longer than two hours. We had such a hard time that every now and then my dad and I would have to take off our rubber boots and push the boat over the shallows in bare feet. That was Ellen and Ray's first time camping with us. We pitched a tent for two days at the half-way point where it rained for about a day and a half. Finally, when the weather cleared up a little we went on, and it took us another two and a half hours to get to our picking place. There were lots of salmon berries there, but I only picked about six quarts. Since the weather was so good that day, we spent it picking berries. Then after we were done we started heading back to Pilot Station. On our way out we met three boats going in. One of them was my sister and her husband. We also saw a bull moose, a fox, and all kinds of birds. It would have been better, though, if the water hadn't been so low and if we'd had better weather while we were there."

By: Delores Paul

Interviewed by: Cheryl Hunter