03x07 - The Qyah Ice Classic/The Qyah Ice Cleanup

[bunniefuu]

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali

[laughing]: Whooo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪

♪ She is ready to explore

♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪

♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪

Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪

♪ Always by her side And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors

♪ On adventures day and night

♪ Come along with Molly

♪ Molly

♪ Through fields of fireweed

♪ Come along with Molly

♪ Molly

♪ From tundra to the sea

Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali

Yeah!

♪ She's Molly of Denali

♪ Come on ♪ Let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali

♪ She's Molly of Denali

MOLLY: "The Qyah Ice Classic."

♪

[wind howling]

[static buzzing]

MOLLY [on walkie-talkie]: Any movement from Timmy?

Nope.

Timmy hasn't moved an inch.

Hmm...

I'll check back in a bit.

Over. [static buzzes]

[wind howling]

[phone chirps]Hey, everyone.

Molly here.

Tooey and I are watching Timmy.

Who's Timmy?

That's what Tooey named that tripod

in the middle of the river.

Now, you're probably wondering why we're watching a tripod.

It all started back in November.

Dad and I were in Nenana buying dog food.

♪

WALTER [straining]: Here you go-- oh...

♪

Good luck!

What are they doing?

Putting in their guesses for the Nenana Ice Classic.

In winter, folks in Nenana set up a tripod on the frozen river.

See?

They guess when the tripod will fall when the ice breaks up

in the spring.

Whoever comes closest to the exact date and time wins.

Why don't we have something like that in Qyah?

[laughs]

Something tells me we're about to.

♪

We'll set the tripod up tomorrow on the Kantishna River.

And whoever has the closest guess to when the ice breaks

and it falls over wins...

a brand-new ice cream maker!

[murmurs excitedly]Cloudberry ice cream!

Thank you, Mr. Rowley!

You can write your guess down on these cards.

Please put them in this box by a week from today.

Good luck!

Whoa!Yeah!

Awesome!

[talking excitedly]

I love ice cream.

WALTER: This is gonna be amazing.

NINA: Mint chip, here I come!

♪

Hey, Molly, what are you gonna guess?

Huh.

I don't know.

How are we supposed to choose a date and time?

I bet it'll come to me in a dream!

My dreams always tell me things.

I'm going to look for information

to help me make my guess.

How about you, Oscar?

I'm not entering.

ALL: Huh?

But you could have ice cream every day, forever!

I like sherbet better.

Anyway, I never win those things.

But I can help you guys make your guesses.

Thanks, Oscar!

Hey, wanna come with me to Grandpa Nat's?

He'll know what I should pick.

Sure!

So, you wanna know when the ice breaks up.

Well, I've noticed that it happens

when the birch leaves bloom.

I took a photo last year of the first leaves.

It might have the time and date on the back.

Could take us a while to find it.

Why?

There aren't that many photos.

This is just box one.

We still have boxes to to go through.

Whoa...Whoa...

[snoring lightly]

♪

[sighs]

MUFFINS: Oh, Tooey!

Wakey, wakey!

Huh?!

Happy birthday!Happy birthday!

Uh, it isn't my birthday.

We didn't say it was your birthday!

It's Timmy's birthday!Timmy's birthday!

♪

Timmy the Tripod was born

on April at : p.m.!

Happy birthday, Timmy!Happy birthday, Timmy!

Timmy! Timmy! [cheers]

[horn blowing loudly]

[alarm clock beeping]

[sighs]

[beeping continues]

Phew!

[switches off alarm clock]

April... ?

♪

[groans]

What's wrong?

I've been looking up past winning dates and times

for the Nenana Ice Classic to help me guess

when the tripod will fall.

But there are over winning dates and times!

Which one should I pick?

You should look at the more recent ones.

I was just reading

this book on Alaska's warming climate.

Did you know that it's getting warmer here?

That means the ice may break up even earlier this year.

You could also measure the thickness of the ice

in the river.

How come?

Because thicker ice will take longer to break up.

If you measured an ice sample of the Kantishna River,

you could use it to figure out your guess.

But how would I get an ice sample?

♪

[drill whirring]

Whew!

[drill stops]

Wow, that ice is super-thick!

Yup.

. inches!

Hey!

There's a cr*ck over here!

Right near the tripod!

See?

Hmm...

That might affect when the ice breaks up.

You could build a little model of a tripod,

put it on a sheet of ice, and see if a cr*ck affects it.

Ooh, that'd be great!

You know, for someone who's not even entering the contest,

you sure have a lot of ideas.

I love making models.

MOLLY: Here you go.

Everything you need for a model.

Thanks.

How's your guess coming?

Grandpa discovered even more photos

of different signs of spring.

[sighing]

Ducklings appear, the geese return, the frogs lay eggs.

[groans]: These all happen on different days.

How am I supposed to make my guess?

[door opens, bell chimes]

[groans]: I still don't know when Timmy will fall!

"Timmy"?"Timmy"?

That's what the muffins said

the tripod's name was.

What?

First I had a dream it was Timmy's birthday,

on April at :.

So I chose that.

But then I had this other dream where I caught a salmon

at exactly : on May .

Which one should I pick?!

Wow, deciding on a date and time is a lot harder

than I thought it would be.

Tell me about it.

♪

Oh!

When the spruce tips are budding,

that means spring's coming, too.

[sighs]

♪

[sneezes]

Oops.

[laughing]

MUFFINS: Tooey!

April !April !

No!

May .

Whoa!

[groans]

I don't even care if I win.

I'm just happy I settled on a guess.

Did you go with the muffins or the salmon?

Neither!

I went with May at : p.m.,

because five is my lucky number!

What did you pick, Molly?

May , noon.

That's when Grandpa Nat took this.

Aww!Aww!

My guess was April , : a.m.

How'd you come up with that?

I used the information from the Nenana Ice Classic table,

added in the thickness of the ice,

and I went with seven minutes because I like the number seven.

OSCAR [breathlessly]: Hey!

Did you all submit your guesses yet?

Yup!

Just put 'em in the box.

Lucky number five!

Oh, too bad.

I had an idea!

What's that?

I thought you could work as a team

and combine all the information you came up with.

Huh.

That is a good idea.

Too bad you're not entering, Oscar.

You know just what to do.

Hmm.

So now it's April.

And Tooey and I have been waiting and waiting and wai...

TOOEY [on walkie-talkie]: Molly, come in.

Something's happening!

♪

[gasps]

And the winner of the very first Qyah Ice Classic is...

Oscar Marsh!

[gasps]

[crowd cheering]

All right!

[cheering continues]

WOMAN: Yeah, Oscar!

MOLLY: Go, Oscar!

[ice cream maker whirring]

April at : p.m.

I can't believe you were only two minutes

off of the exact time!

Yeah, how'd you do it, Oscar?

Well, I figured many pieces of information

were better than one.

So I combined everything you guys gathered.

I remembered Grandpa Nat's photo of the birch leaves,

and used that as a starting point.

April ...

[voiceover]: Then I looked at all the winning times

for the Nenana Ice Classic, like Vera did.

I noticed that in the last ten years,

the winning times were mostly between : p.m. and : p.m.

So I chose a time in the middle.

I remembered what we learned from testing our model,

that the cr*ck in the ice meant it would break sooner.

So I adjusted for that and moved my guess two days earlier.

And I made the time of my entry :

in honor of your lucky number, Tooey.

My lucky number thanks you.

So, really, in a way, we all won this ice cream maker.

And it also makes sherbet!

[laughs]

Eat up!

[kids exclaiming softly]

Delicious!

Hey, everyone, Molly here to answer your questions

about life in Alaska.

Manny from Spokane, Washington, asks,

"What's the Nenana Ice Classic like?"

Let's find out.

BOTH: Hi, Molly!

I'm Chance.I'm Kysen.

We live in Nenana, Alaska.

CHANCE: We live on Tanana land, and Tanana people

have lived here for many years, and still live here today.

One of our favorite parts about living in Nenana

is the Nenana Ice Classic.

There's the tripod!

On the Tanana River.

It usually falls in late April or early May.

CHANCE: We have a lot of fun setting it up.

KYSEN: Yeah, we do!

The tripod is usually put up...

CHANCE: ...on the first weekend of March.

KYSEN: The tripod is black and white,

but has a red flag on the top.

CHANCE: There's a string

at the top that connects all the way to the clock.

KYSEN: When the ice breaks, the tripod falls.

BOTH: The string gets pulled

and the clock stops.

CHANCE: This has been happening since .

KYSEN: Whoa! That's a long time!

CHANCE: People all around Alaska makes their guesses

when the tripod is gonna fall.

I think the tripod will go out May .

I'm guessing May , ,

at : p.m., because that time of year, it usually warms up.

♪

This year, the tripod floated away on a big chunk of ice.

KYSEN: The clock stopped on April at : p.m.

Wow, my guess was really close!

As you can see, the tripod is gone.

KYSEN: The river is officially broken up.

CHANCE: And next year, we're gonna do it all over again.

BOTH: Bye, Molly!

Mahsi'choo!

Thanks for asking and see you next time!

MOLLY: "The Great Qyah Clean Up."

[phone chirps]Hi, everyone.

It's me, Molly.

Spring is here!

[birds squawking]

And when spring comes, everyone in Qyah gets together

at the Tribal Hall to help clean up after winter.

That means cleaning up old leaves and branches.

Hi, Mr. Patak!

Heya, Molly![phone chirps]

And touching up the wood on the tribal hall.

Nothing like a fresh coat!

MOLLY: And going to the recycling center and the dump.

Hi, Molly!

[cries out, items clank]

[chuckles awkwardly]

[phone chirps]

[phone chirps]

Basically, doing whatever needs to be done

to make Qyah look beautiful and clean.

MR. ROWLEY: Bejabbers!

Oh!

Sounds like someone needs a hand.

Talk soon![phone chirps]

Hey!

Get along now![squawking]

Shoo! Shoo!

[sighs]

[grunting]

[straining]: Eh, not as spry as you used to be, eh, Rowley?

Hey, Mr. Rowley!

Is the grill going to be ready for the cookout

after the clean up?

Oh...

Those moose burgers you made last year were the best!

Can I help you flip this time?

Sure!

So long as I can get this Turbo-Toro Double Smoker

working again.

An animal must have knocked it over during the winter.

There are parts all over the place.

Gadzooks!

What is this thing?

♪

Excuse me, dotsoo.[bird squawks]

I need that-- mahsi!

♪

Here's the instruction manual.

Will that help?

Yup, there's a diagram in the front.

See if you can find out what this doohickey is.

"Grill assembly instructions."

Oh! Here it is!

That label says that's the "grease catch pan."

Ah! So it is.

[chuckling]: Thanks, Molly.

Now, how do I get itto fit?

Hmm...

It looks like there's another part that goes with it.

The "grease catch pan holder."

Grease catch pan holder.

I wonder if that's this thing!

Yup!

That looks like it!

♪

[murmurs]

Great horn spoon!It fits!

You'll be fixing my truck in a year or two, Molly.

Wanna go treasure hunting with me?

Treasure hunting?

That's what I call looking for litter.

Last year, I found ski goggles and an old harmonica.

Oh, yeah!

Does it still work?

Yup.

[playing tune]

Don't worry, I washed it.

You need any more help, Mr. Rowley?

Nah, we'll have her up and running in no time.

Okay!

Let's treasure hunt!

♪

[gasps]

Potato chip bag!

♪ Candy wrapper

TOOEY: Whoa!

Look at this!

What is it?

Maybe it's a piece of Dall sheep's horn

that was lost in an epic battle with a giant ice worm!

I think that's just a bar of soap.

Sorry.

[sniffs]

Ooh.

Kinda smells like coconuts.

[bird squawks]

♪

[bag tears]

Hey!

Weird.

Another bar of soap.

Hmm.

Maybe we've stumbled upon the site of a prehistoric bathroom.

[bird squawks]

Huh.

Wait a minute.

This looks interesting.

Whoa.

That kinda looks important.

Yeah, like part of a machine or something.

Maybe it fell off a caror a...

An alien spacecraft!

I was going to say lawnmower.

Oh. [chuckles awkwardly]

Hey!

You know who we could ask?

Hmm, interesting.

I know you were fixing your lawnmower last year,

Mr. Patak.

I was, but...

TOOEY:Yahoo!

[grunts]

Ew, wet leaves.

Ooh! A bottlecap!

Can't say I've ever seen a part like this on a lawnmower.

Maybe this fell off a snow-go?

A snow-go?

You know who we could ask about that?

Hmm, curious.

And you fix snow-gos in your shop,

so I thought you might know.

Uh, it looks like it might be a fuel line.

TOOEY: Uh-oh.

Whoops.

I think I stepped in wood stain.

At least I didn't get it on my...

Aww, man!

[laughing]

I've never seen something like this on a snow-go.

Hmm...

Connie thought maybe it fell off the four-wheeler?

I doubt it.

There's so much junk in this shed,

I don't think that four-wheeler has moved all winter.

Oh.

But Mr. Rowley might know where it came from.

Okay!

We'll ask him next!

But it's possible it came from a spaceship, right?

[chuckling]

I don't think there's any evidence

of creatures from outer space.

[yelps]

Oops, sorry.

Didn't mean to startle you,Tooey.

[exhales]

[laughs awkwardly]

Auntie Midge said I should bring the scarecrow up here to fix it.

I bet we have something in here you could use.

Well, we're gonna go find Mr. Rowley.

Mahsi'choo,Grandpa.

Noneetenaghe'aanh,Oscar.

♪

Noneetenaghe'aanh!

Say, before we fix the scarecrow,

will you help me load all this junk into Walter's pickup?

Sure!

Everything?

Everything.

♪

You finished the grill!

Can we start cooking burgers?

Not yet.

I seem to be missing an important part:

this thing here on the diagram.

See this?

It connects the fuel t*nk to the grill.

I can't find it anywhere, and without it,

the grill won't work.

MOLLY: "Hose with a regulator dial."

Hey!

We have it!

You have it?

Yes!

We've been trying to figure out what it is.

It's here, in my bag.

Uh-oh.

The only thing in my bag is a big hole.

It must have fallen out!

Don't worry, Mr. Rowley, we'll find it!

Okie-dokie!

♪

♪

♪

Uh, maybe somebody picked it up?

But who?

Wow!

This looks great,

now that Nat and Oscar got rid of all that junk.

Oscar!

Maybe he picked it up!

Auntie Midge, where's Oscar?

He went with Nat to the dump.

Oh, no!

The dump?!

Maybe I can catch them.

Uh, Auntie Midge, can you help me?

♪

Woo-hoo!

Off road or through the stream?

Stream!

Stream it is!

[Molly laughs]

MOLLY:Whoo!

♪

[bird squawking]

Shchada'a!Wait!

[grunts]

Whew!

Oh, no.

What's wrong?

I think an important part of Mr. Rowley's grill

might be somewhere in that trash.

Well, if it was something metal,

it'd be here with the recyclables.

Hmm, what did it look like?

Um, it had a hose

and some sort of box with a dial...

[groans]: I can't see it anywhere!

Oh, that?

I found that thing by the shed, but it's not here.

[gasps]: Where is it?

Here!

I used it as part of the scarecrow's face.

Sorry.

[sighs]

Thanks.

Wait.

There.

[sniffs]

Ooh! Coconut!

[phone chirps]

MOLLY: Now Mr. Rowley's grill works perfectly,

and the spring clean up was a total success.

[phone chirps]

Plus, the scarecrow should help if an animal gets too curious

about the grill.

Hey! Where's my burger flipper?

Oops! Gotta go.

Happy spring, everyone.

Nenahaal'yàa![phone chirps]

♪