Well I have had quite a but of change from two weeks ago but I am loving Alaska. Sorry I haven't been able to post any videos I have taken quite a few but I can't post any yet because I need to buy a special cord to hook it up to my computer. Until then though I will relate all I can in my blog here. Today I have the day off so I have plenty of time to update it :)
"Let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start"
I arrived at the International Juneau Airport a little after 1 pm on Sunday May 17. This airport has only five gates and has one flight to Canada. I was greeted by my roommates who came to pick me up after church. They gave me a half hour drive through tour and then we headed to the apartment.
The apartment is in the downtown historic district above some tourist shops. The apartment is really nice. Downstairs we have the living/eating area, kitchen and bathroom. Upstairs is another bathroom and three bedrooms- two that face the street and the Gasteneau Channel where the cruise ships come in and one that faces the mountain. Cherish and I share the one that faces the mountain, so we have the worst view and don't get much sunlight in it but we have learned that it has its advantages. Because we get less light we can fall asleep easier because it is not completely dark until around eleven pm. We are also never disturbed by loud outside street disturbances late at night or early in the morning that our roommates tell us about.
The very next day I started my training as a driver guide. I learned how to "pre-trip" my mini bus (these are much larger then the 15 passenger vans I thought I would be driving, they are more the size of the handicap busses) and then Rick the manager had me drive to most of the places I would be driving with tourists. The hardest part was learning how to back into parking spaces at the Franklin Dock, but I learned and have done it many times since. After work we went to FHE and learned about how to be grateful and played volleyball.
Tuesday they had me work! Usually they send new workers on a ride-along with someone who had been there the previous year before they have you do it yourself... but not me apparently. I was really nervous but my co-workers were helpful and told me facts and stories I could tell my passengers. I was assigned TEMPSCO PC all day. This means that I would transfer cruisers back and forth from the dock to helicopter tours on the icefield and glaciers. Apparently I was a good and entertaining driver because I got decent tips. After work we had the missionaries over to teach my roommate Erin more about the church. She has been investigating and is really interested. I am sworn to secrecy and cannot say anymore at this time but I will tell you more when I can *wink* ;)
Wed I was assigned the same thing but did not receive any tips. I was still good it is just that some cruise lines passengers are better at tipping than others. When I was done though I was told to drive to canoe lake and switch my vehicle with Maria's broken one. I could not remember where it was so I had to ask for directions and even then just barley found it.
...Well I am going to go on a free-for-me-tour to the Glacier and the Salmon Bake so I will finnish updating later.
This is in a helicopter flying over the Tongass National Forrest (largest one in the US) I saw about seven mountain goats around here.
This is the pilot Scott and the helicopter on 1 of the 39 glaciers in the Juneau Icefield. 
ME in front of the helicopter on the glacier. This Ice is over one mile deep. It takes 100 ft of snow to make 1 ft of glacier ice
ME straddling a crevasse that is over 150 ft deep. The rocks are pulverized pieces of mountains over 12 miles away.
ME in the helicopter. Ain't she sweet!
This is a close-up view of glacier ice. The ice is blue underneath because there is no air inside and it is so dense that it has a perfect crystal structure that absorbs all color wavelengths except for the shortest--blue. :)
This is the group that I went wale watching with: Allen, ME, Maria (rommate), Cherish (roommate), Braidey
Me on a boat in Auke Bay with Mendenhall Glacier in the background.
Bald eagle on top, sea lions on bottom, Chilkat Mtn Range in the back.
