Into the Great Outdoors

I want to preface this entry by reminding everyone that reads my blog that I'm not a writer. But I do hope that what I write is somewhat interesting and has very few grammatical mistakes. I am finding that I don't have enough time to really write to the best of my abilities, but every computer I get on has a time limit (thirty minutes before the next user gets on), which means it might not always be the best. With that said, now I want to clarify something for Mr. Peck (my favorite Science teacher) that I now live in a meat locker! The hostel was just until I found a place to live and now I'm packing my belongings in a tiny square shack that used to be a meat locker, or some people might think it still is a meat locker, since I'm "fresh meat" for all the Alaskan boys! Hah!

I went camping for the first time this week. It was great fun, even though my heart was beating faster with each thought of meeting a bear. I was fortunate enough not to encounter any bears on this venture...but I have decided there are a few good things about camping in Alaska. My friend Matt and I decided to go camping around 9pm. Now in the lower 48 states, that would be way too late to start a hike, unless you want to waste batteries on your flashlight. Well, up here in Alaska it is still light outside, so we started out hike to Lower Dewey lake at around 11:30pm. I was amazed that we were walking through the woods without the use of a flashlight or headlamp. After a simple 30 minute hike we arrived at our destination, a gorgeous mountain lake. We had a perfect view, as you can see from the picture. We didn't get to sleep much though, not because I was scared of bears, but because of stupid little insects. I know Mr. Peck is thinking, it must be the mosquito's, but no, we were actually arded with bees. Yep, that's right bees. Don't they go to sleep at night? Or make honey? Maybe find flowers to pick on?...no, they kept buzzing around our tent and bumping into the sides. For some reason it was hard to fall asleep with the constant buzzing in my head. Not to mention, I had to keep getting up, unzip my sleeping bag, unzip the tent, avoid bees, walk down a hill out of Matt's view, so I could go pee! Even with the lack of sleep, I still think it was fun and I'm looking forward to my next camping trip...without bears of course.

Most of my time during the day has been spent at work, but it is my first week here, so that is expected. I seem to be learning the routines of my new job. It is pretty easy, just basic receptionist work and accounting. I have to remind them everyday though that I'm a History teacher, so numbers are not my thing, but I think I am helping them a little bit. I am hoping this week I will get to dress up as a women from the Gold Rush time period. All the tour guides and gift shop employees dress in clothing from the late 1890s and they make up "character" names from the Gold Rush. There is Dawson Dolly, Sluicebox Charlie, Skagway Kate, Nugget Ned, Cache Creek Monique and many others. I need to come up with a name for myself. Are there any suggestions? Let's be creative together!

Oh, I have to admit, even though my office work is kinda boring. My employer treats his staff very well. On Friday night we had a big barbecue to help build moral amongst the staff and the employees from Princess cruises, since they work with us a lot. We got free crab. No one can complain about free food. I took some pictures for my dad, since he loves crab meat...I wanted to make him jealous. And the night before we also had another employee party, so I had free food that night too. Then the day after I got to eat with some of my church friends at their house. Their company was having a Shrimp Fest. I feel so spoiled, almost like a college student again, because when I hear there is free food, I come running. I don't want to spend my money if I don't have to, especially if they are going to be serving delicacies like crab or shrimp. Don't you wish you were here in Alaska too? Just think, you could be camping, making new friends, and eating friend food, what's better then that?