04x07 - Tusk Tusk and More Tusk/The Jokulhlap is On Us

[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: "Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk."

TRINI: Mm, mm, mm.

Delicious.

[sniffing]

Hey! Suki!

[giggles]

Today, we have a large selection of pies.

There's my mud pie à la mode...

My spruce tip and honey mud pie...

And here we have a very berry mud pie.

[sniffs]

Ah, what's that I smell?

Mm-mmm.

Last but not least,

a rosehip mud pie coming...

[yelps]

[grunts]

I'm fine, I'm fine.

[laughing]

You're covered in mud.

TRINI [giggling]: You look like a mud monster.

I am.

I'm the mud monster of Qyah.

[roars, laughs] [barks]

[roars]Oh, no!

Trini, run! [giggling]

We can't let the mud monster get us!

TRINI [giggling]: Oh, no, Tooey!

[Tooey roars] Uh-oh!

[girls yelling, giggling]

Run in fear of the mud monster!

[Tooey roaring]

[barks] [shushing]

You can run, but you cannot hide

from the mud monster! [barks]

[roars]

Tooey!

What is that?

I call it my hanging sloth move,

only I don't move.

Get it?

[giggling]: No, I mean,

what is this?

Hmm.

Looks like an old tree root, maybe?

It feels smooth,though.

And it's too big for a tree root.

Maybe an old tree that got stuck in the mud?

[knocks]

Huh, it's solid, too.

I wonder if we can get it out.

Let's try!

[grunting, struggling]

Whatever it is,

it's not moving.

Hmm.

Well, let's go see if Grandpa Nat is around.

Maybe he'll know what it is.

Good idea!

And Tooey, maybe you can rinse off

before anyone else in the village

mistakes you for the mud monster of Qyah.

[giggles]

[roars]:Never!

[all laughing]

It's right there, Schada'a!

Ah!

Oh, huh.

Hm.

What is it?

This is a very special find,

and in excellent condition.

It's a tusk!

An elephant tusk?

Whoa! Cool!

[chuckles]: Close, Trini.

I'd say it's either the tusk of a mastodon

or a woolly mammoth.

[gasps]

We found the tusk of a dinosaur?

[cheering, laughing]

[chuckles]: Well, it's not a dinosaur,

but it is a prehistoric animal.

And I know just the person

to help us identify it and excavate it.

Excavate it?

Aahà'.

That's when you carefully remove

the earth around an object

so that you don't damage it.

Like when Khi buries my toy trucks!

[laughing]: Exactly!

My friend Olin Benedict is an archaeologist.

He'll know just what to do.

Let's ask your dad to drive him over.

Yep!

This is the real deal.

You kids found a very large and intact

woolly mammoth tusk. [chuckles]

[all gasp]

A real woolly mammoth tusk.

I can't believe it!

What happened to this one?

Hmm, hard to tell for sure.

Some died by predators,

some got stuck in the mud.

But most scientists think they went extinct because of

the changing climate at the end of the ice age.

Here.

Everyone, touch this darker soil.

What's it feel like?

Feels cold.

Yes, that's right.

It's the permafrost,

part of the ground that stays frozen all year round.

That's why this tusk is in such great shape.

But the warming climate is causing the permafrost to melt,

and that's why so much of this riverbank eroded.

Eroded?

OLIN: It's another way to say

the soil is getting washed away into the river.

Since the land isn't frozen together anymore,

the river washes it away.

I see.

All these layers of soil go back thousands of years,

all the way back to the ice age in Alaska.

Wow.

What was it like back then?

Oh, just imagine, all this land

without all these birch and spruce trees.

♪

I'm trying to picture that in my head.

OLIN: Instead, it was covered in grass and sagebrush.

[mammoths trumpeting] The woolly mammoth herds

would graze on these grasses.

This was called the Mammoth Steppe.

It was dry, cold, and covered with these grasses.

And where Qyah now sits

is also where this mammoth called home.

MOLLY: Wow!

While you were explaining,

I could really see what Alaska looked like

during prehistoric times.

The mammoths looked like gentle giants.

So cool

that this was all grassland

with ginormous woolly mammoths.

MOLLY: Yeah.

It's like this mammoth came to remind us

that they lived here, too.

One way we can learn the journey of this mammoth

is by studying the inside markings of its tusk.

Can we help you excavate it, so the museum can study it?

Oh, I thought you would never ask.

The other archaeologists and I would be thrilled

to study this tusk,Molly.

Uh, you want us to use the buckets to dig?

[laughing]: Oh, no.

That's for the river water.

If we splash some water

on the permafrost surrounding the tusk,

it will help it melt faster.

♪

♪

♪

Wow!

This is so much bigger than I thought it would be!

Yeah, and it's really curved.

OLIN: By how large it looks,

I'm certain this tusk belonged to a male woolly mammoth.

Their tusks were larger than the females'.

[Molly gasps]

Can we pull the tusk out?

Let's give it a try.

You have those spruce boughs, Walter?

On it!

Is that so it doesn't break?

Yes.

This tusk is really solid and intact,

but we want to protect it as much as possible.

These spruce boughs

should make for a soft landing

in case we drop the tusk as we're moving it.

On the count of three, everyone!

Ch'ilak,

neekwaii,

tik!

[all grunting]

[straining]

[mud squelching]

Um...

Is anyone else stuck in the mud?

[struggling]

[mud squelching, all grunting]

Hey, mud!

Give me back my foot!

[gasps]: Huh?

Whoa!

[giggling]: Suki!

[panting]

[chuckles, sighs]

Looks like we might need

to figure out a different approach.

How about we...

...use Dad's four-wheeler?

Not a bad idea.

Let's give it a try.

Okay, take it nice and slow, Walter.

We don't want to break it.

[engine revving]

TRINI: Whoa! MOLLY: Hey!

Dad!

[engine slows]

[giggling]

Oh, sorry about that.

Okay, new plan.

Well, we like mud and we know mud.

Yeah, we're kind of mud experts.

We can think of something.

The tires just keep spinning.

The mud is too slippery.

Let's try putting the spruce boughs under the wheel.

Good idea, Tooey!

Let's give it a try.

[engine rumbling] Okay, let's try this again.

Nice and slow, Walter!

[engine revving]

[rope creaking]

[gasping]: It's moving!

It's coming loose!

That's enough, Walter!

♪

TOOEY: This tusk is huge!

Whoa. TRINI: Ah!

Want to help me measure it?

Yes!

Tooey, you lay down here.

And Trini, lay down here.

And I'll lay here.

Okay.

It's Molly, Tooey, and Trini long,

and there's still more tusk to measure!

[chuckling]: Or, in scientific terms...

...it's feet and seven inches long. [chuckles]

Most certainly, this belonged to

a male woolly mammoth.

This is the coolest thing we have ever found by the river!

Can you take a picture of us, Dad?

[laughing]: Sure thing.

Everyone, say, "Woolly mammoth!"

ALL: Woolly mammoth!

[phone camera clicks]

MOLLY: It says "Woolly Mammoth Tusk,

"Qyah, Alaska.

Estimated to be , years old."

I think we should name him.

Mmm, good idea, Molly.

Schada'a,how do we say "gentle" in Gwich'in?

Tr'aldzak.

Ooh, Gentle the Mammoth.

I like it.

Mahsi'choo, Tr'aldzak,

for sharing your story with us

and reminding us

that you lived here, too.

[trumpets]

♪

Hey, everyone!

Molly here to answer your questions

about life in Alaska.

Ivy from Nebraska asks,

"What kinds of dinosaurs lived in Alaska?"

My friends in Anchorage can show you.

ALL: Hi, Molly!

Today we're at the Museum of Science and Nature.

I want to learn about dinosaurs

that actually lived in Alaska.

[laughing]

Hey, this painting is in the book we have.

The caption says the picture is of

a pterosaur flying over Denali National Park.

♪

GIRL : The sign next to the pterosaur said that this pterosaur

lived million years ago.

GIRL : Guys, there's more information about the pterosaur.

GIRL :"We know it lived here because its tracks

"were found in Denali National Park.

"Its three-fingered hand

are found in the edge of its wing."

This says it's a pterosaur skull.

This has teeth.

Pterosaurs were covered in fur

and had hollow bones,

so it can be lightweight and fly.

♪

My book has a picture of pterosaur.

Elliott, what does your book say?

ELLIOTT: Pterosaurs lived

among the dinosaurs,

but they were not dinosaurs.

Wait, they weren't dinosaurs?

It says pterosaurs were not dinosaurs.

They were actually flying reptiles.

We learned lots of facts about the pterosaur today.

We looked at a lot of sources of information,

and we learned a ton about the pterosaur.

ALL: Bye, Molly!

Mahsi'choo!

Thanks for asking and see you next time.

MOLLY: "The Jökulhlaup Is on Us."

[thunder rumbling]

What is taking them so long?

[squeals]: They're here!

Mom and Auntie Cecelia are here! [barks]

You remember Sheek'aiiCecelia, from Old Crow?

[barks]

[howls]

[howls]

[giggles]

[exhales]: Okay.

Let's be nice and calm when she comes in.

[shop bell rings]

Auntie Cecelia.

[howls]

[howling] [howling]

[laughs]

[laughs]

Mm. Mm.

That's a pretty good howl you've got, Molly.

Mahsi'.

What a trip.

Who knew I'd need my rainboots in March?

I know.

Lake Qyah used to still be frozen this time of year.

Speaking of the lake,

I looked for my old fishing cabin

when we flew over, but didn't see it.

Fishing cabin?

Oh, it's still there, Auntie.

But I am worried about it.

Do you really think it could get flooded?

[exhales]: Yes.

What fishing cabin?

My family's old fishing cabin by the lake.

The one with torn curtains.

[gasps]

[voice trembling]: The spooky house?

[laughs]

That's the one.

Your mom is worried it's going to get washed away.

That's why I came down.

If the rain stops tomorrow, can we check on it?

[laughing]:Sure.

[hesitantly]: Can't wait.

[chuckles nervously]

So many trees down.

The storms have gotten so much bigger lately.

[grunts softly]

[groans]: Mud.

Walk on the logs and you won't sink.

[grunts softly]

Oh, mahsi'!

Wow.

Look at the lake!

I've never seen the water so high.

♪

[sighs]

Let's go inside.

[gasps]

♪

Uh...

♪

♪

Maybe I'll just wait out here.

[chuckles]: Come on, Molly.

[groans]

Okay, ghosts, don't spook me.

I'm friendly.

[whimpers]

[exhales]

I guess ghosts don't need chairs.

[chuckles nervously]

[chuckles]

Molly, there are no ghosts in here.

Just a lot of happy memories floating around.

With the ghosts?

[chuckles]: No, silly.

Auntie Cecelia's family used to stay here

and fish every summer. Everyone did!

NitsuuCatherine, Auntie Merna, and Midge.

Even your mother and you.

We did?

Uh-huh-- you took your first steps right over there.

You had been crawling around all summer with this doll.

LAYLA: It had been mine when I was a baby,

and NitsuuCatherine's before me.

CECELIA: And someone put it on the table.

All of a sudden,

you pulled yourself up, grabbed it,

then turned around and took your first steps.

LAYLA [laughing]: Oh!

Wow, yay! CECELIA [laughing]: Oh, look at you.

Where's that doll now?

I don't know.

We lost it somewhere along the way.

Ghosts probably have it.

[sighs]: Molly, there are no...

[door creaking]

[all yelp]

[laughing]

[exhales]

Sorry, Nina.

Molly's been talking about ghosts all morning.

We're a little jumpy.

No, I should have hollered from outside.

Layla, I brought the map

for the jökulhlaup, like you asked.

[slowly]: Yoko-hop?

[chuckles]: Jökulhlaup.

It's when a lake that's formed on top of glacier ice

breaks free and causes a flood.

It'll be clearer if I show you.

This is a D topographical map I've been building of Lake Qyah.

Uh, topographical?

NINA: Mm-hmm.

See how it has all these squiggly rings and steps?

They represent the levels of the land.

The closer the lines are together,

the steeper the land.

Farther apart means the land is less steep.

This key tells you what everything is.

Blue is the lake, the green places are land,

and this white area is Robin Glacier.

And that's where the jackalope is forming?

Jökulhlaup.

And yes.

This is where this cabin is.

These slashes are the old flood zone.

But if the water on the glacier breaks free,

this will be the new flood zone.

[gasps]

It'll wash away Sheek'aiiCecelia's cabin!

When do you think this might happen?

Could be as early as next week.

♪

You're not much to look at,

but it will break my heart to lose you.

[sighs]

Can I borrow this?

Of course you can.

Mahsi',Nina.

This is so cute!

[giggles]

[sighs]

Why do you keep going...

[imitates sigh]

Can't think of a way to save Sheek'aiiCecelia's cabin.

She says her heart is going to break

if it gets washed away.

[whimpers]

Hmm.

Beavers are good at building dams.

Maybe if we ask them really nicely,

they'll build a dam

to keep the water from hitting the cabin.

That's it!

Really? I get to talk to a beaver?

[giggling]: No.

I meant we'll move Sheek'aiiCecelia's cabin!

With beavers?

Probably not beavers.

Maybe with a big crane or something.

[groans]

That doesn't sound nearly as fun as beavers.

The beavers can be our backup plan.

Yes!

MOLLY: Where should we move the cabin to?

It can't be in dotted or slashed places.

TRINI: Ooh, ooh! How about here?

I went camping there once.

It was great!

Except a robin ate my marshmallow.

I know where that is!

Not too far away, and out of the flood zone.

Let's show Sheek'aiiCecelia.

[barks]

♪

So...

What do you think?

Will my cabin be safe here?

Yes.

We used Nina's topographical map

to pick the spot.

Molly's right.

The land here is higher up

and out of the flood zone.

I like this spot.

I think the cabin will be happy here.

Yay!

Now we just have to move it.

That's the problem.

I don't know how we can.

The ground is so wet around the cabin.

A crane would just sink.

Ooh, beavers!

They can build a dam around the glacier instead!

There's already a bunch of logs on the ground.

That's it, Trini!

Yes! Beavers!

No, logs!

Huh?

Sheek'aiiCecelia?

Remember how we walked on logs to get into the cabin,

and the logs didn't sink?

Maybe the logs can be laid out on the ground,

and we can pull the cabin across them to its new spot!

[beating steadily]

♪ Khehlok, khehlok♪

♪ Aaha'♪

♪ Khehlok tr'inlii♪ [chainsaws whirring]

♪ Khehlok, khehlok♪

♪ Aaha'♪

♪ Diit'aii gwanlii♪ [exclaims]

♪

[beating slowly]

♪

Whoa!

[bird chirping]

A robin.

The first sign of spring.

[chirping]

And a symbol of a new beginning.

Yeah, but...

[lowers voice]: Watch your marshmallows.

♪

It's gonna be strange

not having that spooky cabin here anymore.

At least we won't run into any...

[whimpering, stammering]: G... G...

Ghosts!

[yelps]

Oh.

Oh, I think it's just something shiny.

[gasps]

I know you!

Oh, look at you.

Pretty as ever.

I remembered her as soon as I saw her.

Do you think she likes it here?

I know she does.

And I do, too.

Mahsi'choo,Molly,

for saving my cabin and finding its new home.

[kisses]

You did a wonderful thing for Sheek'aiiCecelia.

Hm.

[softly]: But that cabin is still spooky.

[chuckles]: We'll work on that.

♪