Kenai Fjords National Park

On my last day in Alaska I went into Kenai Fjords National Park. You have to go on a day cruise to see all the park. It is filled with really awesome glaciers and tons of sea mammals. I got to encounter my first humpback whale. I only got to see it's fluke and blow but it was still a really cool experience. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

8 days left in Alaska...6 in Denali

Well, it is that time of the season again. Time to go, time to say good-bye and time to reflect. It was a long yet short summer. I kind of think Charles Dickens put it best in "The Tale of Two Cities",

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. "

I also know for sure that I trust God to get me through hard things as well. I know that like Phillipians 4:13 " I am able to do all things through Christ who gives me strength." I have to remember that although I am more self-reliant, it is God who gives me the strength. That is a lesson i am learning everyday.

As I look at the huge mountains that surround me I see the parallel of life. We are constantly climbing mountains and dipping into valleys. It is part of our journey.

I finally saw Wolves!!!

After 2 years in Alaska I have finally seen a wolf!!! It was such an awesome experience. I now know how the Red Sox felt after beating the yankees for the penant!!

Husky Homestead and my favorite Idititrod Champion Jeff King

Yesterday I went to the Husky Homestead. It is the home and kennel of four time Iditrod Champion, Jeff King. it is a really cool tour that allows you to meet the dags and Jeff King. He is really a local celebrity and his family is really cool. Here are some pictures of the demonstrations. I want to try and post a video later but I am not sure it will work.

The Moose and me...a funny story!

So I went into the park to try and see a wolf and all I got was a moose. This female moose mosied right by the van and stared me down. All the traffic stopped and there were about 30 cars and busses trying to view this moose. The moose took off running and the cars started to follow it. Some people get really excited over moose here. I took pictures but only because she got so close. I really don't find moose as exciting as I did last year. They just are everywhere and usually get in the way. Here are some pictures of the moose that should have been a wolf.

Tundra Wilderness Tour

On Saturday I decided to take an evening Tundra Wilderness Tour. It goes halfway into the park and back. it takes about 8 hours and it is usually a lot of fun. I got to see some animals, but still no wolves. We saw 2 grizzlies pretty far away. We saw a lot of caribou and dall sheep and 1 moose. The moose are in their rutting season which is kind of cool. The are competing for the hottest moose chicks. Their antlers are really huge and they shed the velvet around the antlers. The mountain was out too. (Mt.Mckinley or Denali as I like to call it.) It is always cool to see, but I am not as impressed this time. last time I saw it was the perfect day. It was picture perfect and I can't match that ever again. Here are some pics from my adventure.

Autumn Jaunt

With all these amazing colors coming out in the tundra, I decided to take an Autumn jaunt into the park Friday night. It was just the most beautiful thing to see. It is hard to capture all the reds, yellow and oranges accurately. Here is my attempt at that.

Fall in Denali

Fall has come to Denali in full force. The colors are turning so brilliant! I really love the fall here!!! Here are some pics. You can't really see how great the colors are, but you will get an idea.

Horseshoe Lake Hike

Last night I went on a hike with my housekeeping team to Horseshoe Lake. It was a long hike all the way around the lake and I was tired afterwards. It felt nice to be out exercising though. I am trying to walk every night and get back into shape. Here are some pics from the adventure.

Mammoth Mountain

I just got a job at Mammoth Mountain in California. It is an exciting position that will be a permanent job for me. Mammoth Lakes is a great community that is totally beautiful. I will be moving there on Sept.21st.

Last week I went to Mammoth to visit and have a final interview. It was a great experience. I got to visit family and friends on the trip. I left Denali Wednesday at 2pm and got to San Francisco Thursday at 2pm! I then rented a car and drove to Cliff and Sheila's for the night. I got to visit Trev and Jill as well!! On Friday I drove through Yosemite on my way to Mammoth. Although it is a beautiful place I was struck by how many people were there. In Denali, it is really wild and they don't allow cars into the park. It really helps you feel like you are in a special place. I got to Mammoth and drove around then went to a movie. (I don't get to do much in Alaska so I wanted to take advantage of my vacation!) I spent the night at my new hotel and left the next morning. I drove back through Yosemite (A little faster this time) and headed to Oakland to visit with Joanna!! I just loved hanging out with her. We went to dinner at a Thai restaurant in Alameda and had ice cream at Tuckers (one of my favorite places in alameda!) I got to meet her boyfriend and see her cool apartment! It was an awesome time and i just love her to pieces!! On Sunday I barely made it to my old church. (Actually I got lost in Oakland and was totally late!) I ate lunch at NATIONS!! with my best friend Dionne and her mother Joni. Dionne and I then went to visit our high school friend Ginnie and drove around the island. My favorite part was driving by Encinal and my old house. I left in the afternoon for the airport and got stuck in traffic on the Bay bridge! I hate that bridge!!! I left San Francisco at 9:00pm and arrived in Anchorage at 1:00am. my friend picked me up and I stayed at her fabulous house in Wasilla. We drove back to Denali Monday afternoon (I got to sleep all day!!) and ate dinner in Talkeetna. (The town Northern Exposure was based on...) It was a good trip but I think I traveled too much!!

Here are some pics of my adventures.....