An Afternoon Nap

Relaxing on a mountain ridge

 

A few days ago a couple of us went on a drive into the state park of Alaska to get a good view of Mt. Denali. Eva, the blonde in my photos, has a friend who lives in Anchorage who was visiting for a couple days, and they were kind enough to ask Tony and I to join them in a hike. We drove 1.5 hours into the park and hiked up this ridge line on a path to get an awesome view of Mt. Denali. Tony and Eva had just backpacked the day before so they were whooped, so we decided to stop after 1.5 hours of hiking to enjoy our view. We were pretty much at the top, but the trail is about a 12 mi. loop, but we only went about 3.5 one way. The view was gorgeous, so we took our time on the hillside and even took a little nap too. At one point all of us were out cold. It was a really nice day out that day (and it's been amazing for the past few days too. Being in the sun, its warm but there is a little breeze too), but at the top of the mountain it was a bit chillier, but manageable for our naps. These photos are ones taken with Tony's camera. Why take my own photos when I am always with either Eva or Tony who have amazing cameras? I did take some of my own photos, but these are nicer to look at.

 Tony with Mt. Denali in the background peaking above the clouds

 Eva's friend from Anchorage, Jaromir

 Our classic napping photo

It is so crazy to think I only have 5 weeks left here! Time has flown like crazy, and now I realize I should probably spend more time on my project which is due in a couple weeks; YIKES! I just enjoy spending my extra time outside, with people, hiking, enjoying the weather. Leaving this place is going to be one of the hardest things I ever do. People always say leaving college is difficult, but 3 months here is a lot different than 4 years of college (or should I say 3.5? Obviously I am not trying to stay in school very long...). I've learned from other workers here, and managers, that seasonal jobs is the way to go. Work once place in the winter, then another in the summer, and travel to different locations to work. You learn a lot more that way and deal with different people and experience changes in place, food, and things to do along the way. The food and beverage director from the Chalet has been visiting us for the place for the past few days trying to improve our food and beverage area to make it more efficient for the employees and guests. We chatted at breakfast some, and he has worked up here before in 2008, but the past couple years he's taken a job in Colorado at a ski resort by signing a 10 mo. contract then getting 2 months off. He said it was a pretty awesome job to have, but he's ready now to start his own restaurant in LA after this summer. I guess opportunities are endless with hospitality, but it a matter of figuring out which direction to point and run towards. My problem is getting close with people then moving from them to experience a new place and gain new friends. I suppose it is easy for me to attach myself to people which makes saying bye hard for me to do. Oh well, I am in Alaska and am far from regretting the decision to live here. Mom, dad, Mal, and Nate will be up here in 3 weeks...lets hope the weather says beautiful! Pray for their safe travels. And one last thing...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! :)

Horseshoe Lake

The other day we went on a hike to Horseshoe Lake after dinner, so the sun was in the perfect spot for great photos. These are some that Eva took. Mine don't come out as clear, so I though you may enjoy what she was able to capture.

 

 These are some of my own photos.

 Huge beaver we saw at the lake. There were atleast 3 dams there and they were working away!

 Moose print

 Some evidence of beaver work.

Moose we saw up close while walking on the road. The second one I've seen since I've been here. Atleast I got to see it in person.

Today we are going to hike in the park on some ledge a couple kids know about. It is supposed to be a good spot for seeing Mt. McKinley. So hopefully more postings later.

Another good day

Yesterday was one of my days off, and the weather was awesome at--perfect for the summer solstice! Up here, celebrating the solstice is a larger deal than celebrating the 4th of July, it's crazy. But Chelsea and I went down to our "beach" area that is next door to the Village and just enjoyed the sand between our toes and dipping our feet in the water. It made for a great afternoon.

 I made a sand angel

Yesterday a few of us also hiked up the Flat Top mountain and got to see an awesome view all around where the village is. It was a bush wacking adventure once again, but more large bushes this time to push through, then a large incline/climb up the mountain but totally worth it.

 Part of our view

 Tony sitting a ways away

 See Tony?

 The little bit of snow up top that we played in and had a snowball fight with. And on the first day of summer. Crazy, huh?

 Rosealina and myself

 Our view of triple lakes from the top of Flat Top

 Part of our adventure going down

Chillin' on the tracks

Well, back to work tomorrow, or should I say in a couple hours? Haha, oh Alaska.

A Beautiful Evening

 This past week has been pretty relaxed with hanging out with everyone outside of work and getting to know people better. There was this "photo night" where our HR manager gave a little lesson on how to take better photos no matter what camera we had. After a little lesson and time of him showing his personal photos from Colorado and Alaska, we took a drive out to a couple of awesome scenic locations along the Alaskan Highway. It was the evening so the sun was as a beautiful spot that illuminated everything. Kevin, our HR, let me drive his car while he took the company vehicle, and just driving down these winding roads there is so much to see. If I brought my own car I would be driving everywhere checking out Alaska life.

Our vehicles pulled over

It was fun to also mingle with more people and get to have a little fun as a small group. 

We had to do my classic jumping photo

Me and Johnny from GA

Me and Borislava from Bulgaria, one of the first people I met upon arrival

 Borislava's photo skills

 The small group of us who went out

 Photo that a friend Anthony took while we were out

Another one of Anthony's 

Although I still take below average photos, at least I think I learned a bit more about what photographers look at, and what I should pay attention to, while taking photos. Usually, I take photos  for fun, but it was so worth the drive out. Hopefully we can get out like that again. Any chance of leaving here to explore around I try to take advantage of.

New Friends, New Adventures

Since we're all stuck here for the most part, the only place to "go out" for the day is to the Chalet and to the shops. With Manny working all the time, he finally got the day off and wanted to head over to the shops to see what it was all about. So we hitched a ride there and got another one back (...eventually. Haha, that's a story for another time). I have already been to the Chalet too many times to count, but still enjoy seeing the local vendors and the fun items in their stores. We went into a really good coffee shop called the Black Bear, which I supposed is advertised even in Ohio. It was small and quaint and sold lots of pastries and interesting drinks. We also went into a variety of other stores that were owned by hippies, quilters, glass artists, and souvenir shops.

 Chelsea with her moose hat

 Me with the bear one

Shopping away

The shuttle has been shut down however for awhile, but opens back up today so I hope to hop on and get a ride out of here for a couple hours before work. This past week our employee/locals type bar (open to guests as well) had their grand opening. The bar is called the Chubby Salmon and sells burgers, fries, and shakes. There is the "Chubby Challenge" that the bar offers, which consists of 1 lb. of salmon in patty form on a bun with 1 lb. of toppings, which comes with 1 lb. of fries, and a milkshake. The challenge is to finish the meal within 25 minutes, and a free t-shirt will be given to the consumer. I suppose one guy, our regional chef?, tried the challenge but failed to complete it. Last night however, Manny took a shot at it and finished! He was the first to do so, and will get a free shirt, although he gets a free one anyways for being a manager. (So I'm trying to get him to give it to me instead.) He said it was alright expect the fact that the onions dominated the burger and he hates onions, and pretty much had an entire raw onion on the burger.

Manny about to begin the challenge

 Finishing up the sandwich

Finishing up the shake!

After that, he disappeared for awhile to walk around. I didn't see him after that! 

Well, the hotel starts up again today at noon--finally! We all have been waiting to get going with work again. Stinks to have to pay to stay here and not make any money in the mean time! So bring on the hours, I'm ready.

Mr. Squirrel posing for us while we hiked

 

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do."
 

 

::Epictetus::