aaaand we're off!

We are taking the Alsakan Railroad today to Denali (did I mention Katherine and I are riding first class?). I can hardly contain my excitement and bought a blue camera yesterday with the hope of capturing the beauty of the park. I will write posts on paper while I am there.
Got to go! Kitty's already waiting outside.

(thanks for your patience with me, Katherine :)

A warm walk and a chilling tale...

A view from the trail.

Sunday afternoon, Aunt Lyn took Katherine, Ben and I out for our first of many hikes this summer. We went almost 2.5 miles from Mchugh Creek along the Turnagain Arm Trail before time, Cosco, and the threat of rain, drove us 2.5 miles back to the car. The path was spongy and warm and I could smell the leaves unfurling. Only Ben carried a water bottle and the rest of us happily drank from the streams trickling from glaciers melting on the backside of the mountains. The tasteless, numbing liquid gave me energy, reviving my mind even more than my body. I hope Katherine and I will be able to walk among the mountains this weekend when we are in Denali National Park.

Yesterday, Lyn returned from her bike ride with a whale of a tale. I was first warned of moose agression six to seven years ago on a family vacation to Yellowstone but until last night, I had heard nothing more than vague, removed stories. My grandmother called me just before my plane left for Anchorage, not to warn me about moose attacks, but to ask that I stay mindful of bears. Yet, Lyn was attacked by a moose, not a grizzly. As she and two girlfriends rode along the path, she suddenly heard something crashing through the trees. Lyn glanced back just in time to see her friend fling herself from her bike to avoid the charging, bristling moose. The moose leaped over the falling bike, changing its course to attack Lyn. Fortunately, she and her other friend were able to jump off their bikes and hide behind trees before it reached them. After unsuccessfully searching and listening for the concealed women, the moose left them alone and shaken. Lyn and her friends continued their ride, only to turn around a short while later when they stumbled upon a monster: at the top of a hill stood a moose whose head towered about 7 feet in the air. My apologies, Mr and Mrs Moose, for the misunderstanding...

(but I still want see one up close in all its chilling glory)

Not "what" but "who."

4:45pm tomorrow marks the completion of my first week as an SEUP Documentation Clerk. Prepping manifests, checking reservations, scanning documents, filing, it's all part of the job I've been learning the past few days. How, then, have so enjoyed work when all I do is shuffle papers around and stare at a dinky computer screen? It certainly helps that I return in the evenings to the beautiful house (in Alaska) of a lovely, generous couple that makes me laugh regularly, that every time I look out a window I see snow encrusted mountains, but it is my fellow employees that have made all the difference in the work place.

After Katherine and I exit the office, cross the railroad tracks, walk up the line of covered stairs, day dream on the 5:15pm bus, and unlock the front door, I remember the 8 hours I spent earlier that day giggling over references comprehended only by Katherine, the witty yet nonsensical conversations between best buds Philly and Weston through the cubicle wall that, unsuccessfully, divides them, the kindness and patience of Dillon and the others as they walk me through a process for a second or third time, the loud but controlled yells uttered from Carol's office, the office barbecue talked up by Jeff, Megan's sweet temper and pretty face, and I think to myself, "I can't wait for tomorrow."

Bus Month

Katherine and I decided to invest in bus passes for the remainder of May. This morning we walked 55 seconds to the bus stop, waited for 15 minutes, rode the number two bus for approximately 12 minutes, then walked past 4 blocks, down the hill and were facing our computers by 8:45am. Our office consists of 5-6 other employees. Katherine and I and two other college guys are at the bottom of the totem pole (thus the ones in the cubicles) but our three superiors, who have offices and internet, have shown themselves to be light-hearted and relaxed thus far. I even helped Carol, who is above us all and has beautiful, bushy eyelashes, name a restaurant's french fries "Death by Garlic Breath."

Day 1

Chugach Mountains

Although I felt fatigued sitting in the living room last night after dining and visiting with the lovely couple next door, when I finally closed the blinds and lay down in the bed, I could not fall asleep. The anticipation of today kept me floating in and out of sleep, despite the cozy haze surrounding me. Before long, the sun was up. Once my cereal was consumed and lunches were packed, Lyn left Katherine and I in front of the Aramark office clutching our plastic grocery sacks, smiling stupidly at each other, excited by the promise of regular jobs and private cubicles. "Also," we remembered, "we are in Alaska. Would you just look at those mountains?!" I've smiled to myself quite often the past couple days.