Chewing on the HAMbone: June 2009

Here is the 4 week update of Alaska:

The usual day:

I wake up 1 1/4 hours before I report in for work. On average this is at 6 am but I have gotten up as early as 4 am before. Then again sometimes it is at later in the day and I get to sleep in. I get up and make my bed (Cherish can testify for me) get dressed go down stairs and make myself delicious oatmeal with 1/2 c. oatmeal a small spoon of brown sugar and some fruit if I am lucky enough to have some. While the water is heating I make myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich (sometimes 2, depending on how long my day will be) and grab some other snack. As I eat my oatmeal, I contemplate life's mysteries and wonders. Afterwards I head back upstairs do my last minute primping, gather my things, and leave with some toast to eat on the way so work. I walk to the end of the hall and down the stairs and exit another locked door that leads outside between the tourist shops Chilkat and Island Diamonds.

Because this is the usual day the rain of course is coming down in a moderate drizzle. I pull up the hood on my bright red work raincoat and walk south to begin my 1/2 hour walk to "the yarrrd" (say it like a pirate). I hum a hymn or two and pause occasionally to watch a cruise ship pulling in or to enjoy making eye contact with the bald eagles. No one else is around except for the few beat up cars that pass me as they also make their way to work. If I look up I notice that I can barley see the top of Mt. Roberts and the tram through the low clouds. After walking a mile I am at the base of "the hill." I refuse to slow down so I consciously keep a brisk pace. I continue another 1/2 mile until I walk into the driver room and say hello to the others also in the yard. After enjoying some small chit-chat I swipe my time card find my keys and DVIR (daily vehicle inspection report) and head out to my van. (To write the routine of checking the van would be rather boring but it is sufficient to say that we check the engine, interior, and exterior.) Everything is in working order as it should be... but oh dear, it looks that the previous driver didn't fuel the vehicle last night. Now I must walk to the mechanic garage and grab the fuel card. I am carful fueling the van because the pump doesn't stop when it is full and it can overflow.

Half an hour to departure time I arrive at the dock to pick up the cruise ship tourists. While waiting I talk to the dock reps. I have made good friends with some of them who I see often, but there is always still someone who I have not met yet. We converse in mostly small talk but it is still way fun.

When the passengers get in my car I transfer them to their excursion and then I continue work all day. (I will write up my tour material sometime in a later post.) During my first 1/2-1 hour of stage time I am usually napping in my van. Afterwards I either walk around breathtakingly beautiful Alaska, eat, read, call friends or talk to other drivers staging around me. My favorite place to stage is at the glacier or Brotherhood Bridge because there is usually someone I know out there staging with me who I can chat with. There are also some very nice walks around there. You can walk to the beaver dam and watch the cute fat rodent swimming around. He keeps his head above water and you can see the wake leaves behind his large brown tail. Or you can walk to Steep Creek where you can watch the black bears trying to catch the large red sockeye salmon that are jumping and swimming upstream to spawn. There is also of course the magnificent Mendenhal Glacier itself stretching across 1 1/2 miles between two mountains at the terminus and over 3000 ft tall. Occasionally you can catch it calving into Glacier Lake with the icebergs floating around in murky silt filled water. The Mountain goats hop around on the mountains above. The clean air is filled with the sweet scent of the Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, and Amber woods. Here I feel so small around this vast landscape yet I know that my life is still important and that I have great purpose and potential.

After dropping off my last passengers I radio in "This is (van #) I just dropped off my last passengers and am now done for the day and heading back to the yarrrd unless there is anything else I can do to help." a few second later I get the response "Nope. Come on back. Thanks for your help today." I quickly respond, "Copy that. Thank you." It is a bittersweet moment pulling into the yarrrd because I can go home and relax or do something fun but I would prefer to be working more hours. (Luckily, when I am a nurse there will be plenty of opportunities to work more if I desire.) I fuel and wash the van then do a post-trip , where I make sure everything is still in working order. After I walk back into the driver room and fill out my daily and monthly paperwork and then punch out for the day.

To get home I sometimes can hitch a ride from someone else who is leaving but if not I walk back past the shops and the Red Dod Saloon to get home. Now it is a much different story then walking to work. In fact, the streets are now crowded with tourists. I usually stop in Del Sol and talk to Kendra and the other Del Sol employees and chat a bit before I continue walking back home. i make another quick detour right before I get to the apartment and stop in Chilkat to talk to my roommate Suzette who works there. We can chat for a few minutes or over 1/2 an hour, it just depends on how busy we are and our moods.

I step into the apartment and walk to the couch and rest a minute reset my mind and then go upstairs and change into clothes that are way more stylish and comfortable then my uniform. Afterwards I may do a variety of things depending on the time and day: go on a tour somewhere for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D, clean, eat, sleep, go on a walk around town, call family/friends at home, get a group to go an a hike or grocery shopping, hang with friends, or go to a church activity.

There are so many things to do with the YSA branch up here. Sunday is church and choir practice is after then in the evening the downtown group comes to our apartment (since it is the best location) and we all eat dinner together. Monday night is FHE and after we always play volleyball or basket ball until the building closes at 10 pm. Wednesday night is institute and volleyball again after until 10 pm. Thursday night is softball at sandy beach park (this is with work but it might as well be a church activity because there are so many of us there). Friday night we are assigned to clean the church building but we have an activity after such as movie night, volleyball, or just eat food and chat. There are also random activities such as BBQ on the beach, dances, etc.

When it comes to getting on free tours this is what I have done so far:

Pilots Choice helicopter tour--2 times but different pilots. They take you over a bunch of glaciers and land on two of their choice and walk you around. Breathtaking and large!

Dolphin Tours Whale Watching--We only saw one which is actually unusual considering we have the best feeding ground for humpback whales in the world here. I will have to do this again.

Glacier Gardens--Juneau's version of the Desert Botanical Gardens but with a creative twist like the blown glass. They have flower towers and plants grown in shapes, among the normal plants too of course.

Mendenhal Glacier--many many times

Salmon Bake--old-fashioned cooking with old-fashioned atmosphere and entertainment. The king salmon is delicious. The guitarist/singer performed songs like "Big Rock Candy Mountain," "Grandma's Feather Bed" and other old cowboy songs... I asked if he knew "Old Four Holer" later and he did not.

City Tour--2 times, unfortunately you cannot see Russia from the Governor's Mansion

Taku Lodge--you fly in a tiny float plane over the largest glaciers in the Juneau Icefield then land at a historic well kept lodge where they feed you an excellent fresh salmon diner cooked over an alder wood fire. Then you go on a hike to the waterfall and watch the bear come and try to take some of the cooked salmon he smells [we are safe inside the lodge btw] less then 20 ft away. He does not get any b/c we ate it all :) but he licks up the tasty salmon oil drippings.

Mt. Roberts Tramway--3 times. Ride to the top of the mtn. where there is a great view of the Gasteneau Channel and Juneau, fun hikes, an injured bald eagle in captivity, a movie about the wildlife, a movie about the native Tinglet tribe, and of course a restaurant and gift shops but I don't go there.

Salmon Hatchery--learn about how they run everything and salmon facts. Then they have salmon jerky and cream cheese you can eat as you walk around the aquariums they have inside.

Zipline--I am now a pro at flying at speeds of 45 mph over 180 ft high (:D

Things I still have yet to do:

The other zipline (so fun!)

Summer Dogs (the actual Iditarod dogs pull you in a car thingamabob but on dirt)

TEMPSCO Dogs (tourist version of the Iditarod on the Juneau Icefield)

Steamboat Tour (replica of old ferry and history lesson of the mines)

Mine Tour (a gold digger I am!)

Northstar X-trek (flying to then hiking on top of the glacier for 3 hours)

Evening Quest (more whale watching)

Interesting occurrences:

Two stalkers are after me (no mater where in the world I go these type of people still find me)

My roommate Erin was baptized

Camille from my university ward is also up here for the summer and in my same ward

Kendra is in my ward :)

The Randalls, who are in my university ward, came on a cruise and visited me. I gave them a tour of the glacier and took them to the top of the tram.

A bear damaged the boys apartment's grill because they forgot they left a fish outside.

Saw a porcupine using the crosswalk

I have eaten glacier ice and drank glacier water

I have hiked to the ice caves

I am the music chairperson and choir director and backup pianist in my branch

I bought a ukulele off ebay to practice since it is sooo hard to get to a piano

One of my awesome coworkers is a professional pianist: Elise West (she is on itunes)

Another coworker of mine is Lawrence Diggs. He has written a book on the uses of vinegar, had his own cooking show in Japan, helped set up a humanitarian organization in some African country which recently sought him out and had him return to give him a medal, paints... and a ton of other krazy kool stuff.

Well I am going to go watch the ship leave the dock with Cherish now bye! We built this city on rock and roll! :)