Alaska And Me

"Here's to Alaska, here's to the people, here's to the wild and here's to the free. Here's to my life in a chosen country, here's to Alaska and me."

       

                               

 

I have been feeling some big Alaska love over the last eight weeks, and this lovely John Denver song sums it up. It's wild and free here, everything I wanted and more. Everything I didn't know I needed, didn't realize I was chasing, and never dreamed of finding. There was a moment when I'd first arrived and was getting settled in Anchorage when I looked east toward the mountains and thought, "this is where I'm supposed to be; I'm meant to be here." My thinking was and is that all the moments in my life thus far, the adventures, the exploring, the playing, the climbing...they all led up to here and now, having the courage to move to the wilderness and to thrive here.

And I have to say, I absolutely love it here. This is my place. This is my home and my young, new love. It is not infatuation, it is not a fling, it is not fleeting or brief; my love for this place is real, true, deep, and ever-changing.  I have amazing people who will do life with me side-by-side, mountain-by-mountain. We hike, we kayak, I'm sure we'll camp and ski and climb...just give me time. :) Bloomington, IN will always be my true home, my family home, but Alaska has so much to offer and I've loved everything she's given me so far. I can't wait to live through season changes, to watch the wildlife follow their migration patterns, to see seasonal workers and tourists come and go. I can't wait to camp and kayak more, hike more peaks, and climb glaciers I've seen up close.

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A lot has happened since my last post, and I have been neglectful of this blog, in part due to adventuring, and also due to feeling overwhelmed by all the wonderful (and some less wonderful) things I want to share with everyone. And so now I will attempt to provide a thorough snapshot of the last two months of my Alaskan life. Thorough snapshot is an oxymoron, isn't it...? Oh well. :)

May:

• Anchorage Market and Festival - artists and vendors displaying the goods of their trade, fresh produce, live music, and incredible food.
• Thunderbird Falls and Eklutna Lake - exploring the lovely falls with Patty and Sarah, feeling like Pocahontas on the edge of a cliff, crossing a creek on a log bridge, and skipping rocks in a beautiful lake, dreaming of future "Elk tuna" lake hikes, and driving to Palmer to find very little to do there.

 

•  Seward, Seward, Seward - driving south through Chugach and Kenai, marveling at the beauty, driving along the Seward coast to a lovely campground where we spotted a whale (or maybe it was a porpoise), seeing Sarah's first moose on the way home (and her yelling and nearly making me run us off the road), and filling up our water bottles with fresh water straight from a pipe sticking out of the mountain!
• Byron Glacier (again) - walking and hiking up toward the glacier with Patty, Sarah, my friends Amy and Lauren, and other new friends, standing on the avalanche snow, and finding my first ever real-life porcupine (we scared him up a tree, the poor guy).
  

• Flattop - hiking with Miss Lauren Bear, the elevation gradually rising, the trail getting steeper and steeper. The hike started out on a nicely maintained path and ended with scrambling up the vertical, rocky mountainside to reach the top. It was amazing to make it and to be rewarded with incredible, indescribable views. We spend quite a bit of time enjoying and meditating at the top, and then we left our mark as others have done before us: we used large rocks to make the IU symbol on the flat peak. :) Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

June:

• Seward and Fox Island - kayaking with my work friend Al and our awesome tour guides, Ben and Bobby, from Sunny Cove Sea Kayaking. Check them out if you're interested in an awesome kayaking adventure! We were geared up and educated before climbing into our kayak for the day. We saw waterfalls, jumping fish, otters, porpoises, puffins, eagles, and the most incredible nature views...truly spectacular! It was hard work all day and there was a misty rain most of the day, but it was quite perfect. The boys had packed hot water for coffee/tea on the spit and sack lunches to eat in God's Pocket, and they shared a lot of cool information about the wildlife and geology of the area. At the end of the day, we joined Lauren and Michelle after their cruise and were served a delicious dinner at the lodge. Fox Island is a must do adventure in AK and one I'll do again in the future!
• Symphony and Eagle Lakes in Eagle River - Amy, Lauren, Michelle, and I were true explorers when we hiked 5.5 miles to find two lakes with water from two different glaciers, tucked away in Eagle River. The hike was long and mostly flat, and so worth the time! We spoke in British/Australian/"something like that" accents and shared pineapple and peanut butter. We hopped from rock to rock with occasional grace. Lauren, characteristically fell in the water, I characteristically climbed straight up the side of the mountain like the true mountain goat that I am, and we all felt the pain of the trek back to the car at the end of the day.

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June 16-23: Collin visited Anchorage to be with me on my 25th birthday :)

• Potter Marsh and Beluga Point - visiting the train depot, chasing the train and beating it to Beluga Point, waving at the people on the train, skipping rocks in the waves of high tide, climbing Beluga Point barefoot in our rolled up jeans, and capturing memories and moments in the sun with the water and mountains as our natural backdrop. :D

• Girdwood - hiking the Winner Creek trail to the hand tram for my birthday. Collin and I went with my work friends to Girdwood's Alyeska Resort, parked and walked through the woods, across wooden bridges, to the functional hand tram, which we used to pull ourselves across the river and back. The water was absolutely gorge-ous and there were small rapids with water shooting, tumbling, and crashing in the ravine. Super fun times were had by all. We dined at Chair 5, which was delicious - the halibut soup and teriyaki burger hit the spot.

My birthday festivities were lovely and special, thanks to lots of great people. Collin wanted to surprise me by flying out, but I anticipated and spoiled his plans. He spent a whole week in Alaska with me and loved every minute of it. Like me, he had his own moment of feeling at home here and it was hard to watch him go at the end of an excellent week. Birthdays have always been a big deal for me; we spend time with family and friends, have special birthday dinners, and feel like the the most important people on our birthdays. This year, my 25th, was another milestone for me; I spent my 18th in Guatemala with great friends and a Barney piñata, and I turned 21 in República Dominicana on a mountain with Hillary and new friends. I marked a quarter of a century as an adult with a salaried job, an apartment, a car, budgets and bills, etc., etc., in Anchorage/Girdwood, Alaska! Hillary and Tyler sent me awesome birthday packages, and my mom was sneaky and gave Aunt Patty a card for me to open on my birthday, which she hid from me until the 20th. My wonderful work people surprised me with a decadent chocolate ice cream cake! So many people reached out to wish me a happy birthday, which made me feel so loved and not so far from home. I couldn't have asked for more on my birthday.

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 There are many more stories to share, but they will have to wait for another day.

"We face every day like the first or the last one

  with nothing to lose and heaven to gain.
Here's to Alaska, here's to the people, here's to the wild and here's to the free.
Here's to my life in a chosen country, here's to Alaska and me."