Caitlin's Adventures Across the Land Updates from my life as a wanderer! tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-05:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak 2008-12-01T20:37:28Z Nrth2AK img/travel-blog-feed.png I live in Idaho (but I pay taxes in Wyoming!) tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-12-01:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=8&entryid=139785 2008-12-01T20:37:28Z 2008-12-01T20:37:28Z So, if it seems like I've been off the radar a bit since my last entry...its because I have been. My Alaskan adventure has hence come and gone. I made some amazing friends, memories, and I learned many many...many life lessons. For example: never wear flip flops into the rain forest (or PJ pants for that matter), never eat halibut lasagne, and never go fishing at low tide (you will get stuck on rocks). I'm so glad that at the ... So, if it seems like I've been off the radar a bit since my last entry...its because I have been. My Alaskan adventure has hence come and gone. I made some amazing friends, memories, and I learned many many...many life lessons. For example: never wear flip flops into the rain forest (or PJ pants for that matter), never eat halibut lasagne, and never go fishing at low tide (you will get stuck on rocks). I'm so glad that at the end of the season my parents had the chance to come out and experience where I was all summer. Its not really a place that you can describe simply in words. I'm still keeping in contact with a few of my fellow co-workers (via Facebook of course) which is nice, we've all kind of spread out across the country. Scott and Nani have offered me the job for next year, and I'm strongly concidering going back for the 2009 season!

Alright, so to catch those of you up that I haven't talked to in a while...I've decided to spend my winter working at Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Alta, WY. Its absolutely amazing here. I'm living in Driggs, ID, which is about 13 miles down the mountain from the resort. It ends up taking me about 40 minutes to get to work because of switch backs and icy road conditions. Its an unbelievable drive, the resort is on the western side of the Teton mountains. EVERYDAY, as I'm driving (actually, riding the shuttle, I don't have my car out here) to work I get to see the Grand Teton mountain which is absolutely breathtaking. Driggs is a VERY small town, not quite as small as Craig, AK (population is around 1,000) but its still pretty dinky. They do have most of the common amentaties...groceries, hardware, coffee shops, hospital, tanning salon, yoga, etc. etc. but there's just not as many options. We do have a Burger King attached to one of the gas stations and a subway right behind my condo. The employee housing out here is really really nice. I live in a (practically new) 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo that looks out over the entire Teton Valley. My fellow "green" friends will appreciate the fact that we have all state of the art environmentally friendly appliances...its nice but I can't run my washer and my dryer at the same time so that's a little frustrating. We also have a central vacuum system which I had never seen before. You have a hose and it plugs directly into the wall, its AMAZING! haha.

Anyways, I'm absolutely loving being out west. Its gorgeous here. I have a cow pasturein my back yard, and every Sunday they heard the cows down Main Street to another pasture. You can find anything to do that revolves around being outside. I have a couple friends that live here in Driggs, that I met up in Alaska, and they've been showing me around quite a bit. They took me fly fishing a week or so ago down the Teton river on a really beautiful clear night. We had perfect views of the mountains all around us, it was just unreal. I've been snowboarding twice now since I've been here. The mountain hasn't gotten enough snow to open fully yet, so I'm taking up snowboarding for the time being. The resort offers their employees free lessons, so I took them up on that just last Friday. The lesson helped A TON! Meagan, if you're reading this, you need to take a lesson, you will be amazed how much easier it is instead of trying to teach yourself.

I'm just here at work right now. Its been extremely slow due to the fact that we haven't gotten nearly enough snow to open the entire mountain. Out of my office window I can see the summit of the mountain, its gorgeous, but the view comes and goes as the clouds roll in and out. Right now I'm watching to see Ski Patrol come down, they're running our main lift today up to the summit to check on the conditions of the snow. We need about another 12-15 inches before we can open up completely. The problem lies in the fact that although we do have 27 inches already, its not enough to cover rocks and exposed roots which is really really dangerous. Do your snow dances for us!!

Also, on a side note, I saw a moose on my ride to work the other day, and I've learned to identify cougar tracks in the snow!! I've yet to see a grizzly, but we have them here, and I'm hoping that I never come across one!!

I live in Idaho (but I pay taxes in Wyoming!) remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> I'm sorry....its been a while friends tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-06-28:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=7&entryid=116376 2008-06-28T22:27:34Z 2008-06-28T22:27:34Z Alright friends and family, its about time I posted a new blog, huh? I called home today and my mom was going on and on about how people are dying to hear about my adventures. I apologize that its been so long. Its very frustrating trying to use the crew computer because its very very slow. But I'm here now and ready to share my stories! I have to warn you though, its kind of the same stuff day in ... Alright friends and family, its about time I posted a new blog, huh? I called home today and my mom was going on and on about how people are dying to hear about my adventures. I apologize that its been so long. Its very frustrating trying to use the crew computer because its very very slow. But I'm here now and ready to share my stories! I have to warn you though, its kind of the same stuff day in and day out...

Lets start out with the weather. I can not tell you how much I'm missing the Michigan summer warmth and being able to be out on the beach. I keep hearing of people who can't cool down and are at the beach all the time...its killing me. Aparently this has been one of the coldest summer's they've had here in a really long time. Yesterday I can't imagine that it got above 45 degrees and it rained ALL day. Aside from the cold, the sun sets around 11pm and comes back up between 3 and 3:30am. Today I saw a little glimmer of hope when the sun came out this afernoon but it was quickly extinguished as the clouds rolled in. I actually wore my long underwear to work last night for the second time since I've been here.

The reason I was so cold and wore my long underwear to work was because...I got to go out fishing again yesterday! It was my third trip, and I was with my favorite guide, Captain Justin from Wisconsin. The fishing was extremely slow, but at least it was cold and rainy... Really, its amazing being out on the boat no matter what the weather is like. The lodge is so far away from any other signs of life, that when you get the chance to see something different, you jump on that chance. Justin did a charter for Nani's parents and sister Tracy, so I got to go along and try to catch fish for the lodge. We didn't catch any salmon but I did catch my first halibut (which, in my personal opinion, is much better eating). The kitchen makes fried halibut as one of the appetizers and its really yummy. We caught our halibut when we were trying to fish for salmon, so they were small, they call them "chickens." Mine were probably in the 20-30 pound range. Usually you catch halibut when you're bottom fishing at like 200-300 feet and its a pain to drag them up because they're so far down. When you catch them at those depths they usually weigh anywhere between 80-180 pounds. When you catch them on salmon tackle its nice because they're usually only 40-50 feet down and reeling them in doesn't make you feel like your arm is going to fall off. The best thing about my whole day was that in the last spot that we were trying to catch salmon, we had two humpback whales that decided that they wanted to be in the same spot! One of them was about 50 feet away. Being that close to a whale is something that you can only experience. It was amazing and something that most people would only get to see on the Discovery channel. Apparently yesterday there was a whale that came into our cove here, which doesn't happen very often. Justin was telling me that the day before I went out a whale came up literally right next to the boat and blew snot all over everyone...gross, but still pretty incredible.

Lets see, I'm trying to think of what else is going on. Nothing really all that exciting. This place, as in Sarkar Cove here, is a very special place. Sarkar Cove, is in Sea Otter Sound, and it leads to Sarkar River, Rapids, and Lake. You can try to find it on a Prince of Wales Map, it will be on the Northwest side of the Isalnd. Aside from the lodge, the land and the whole environment is very spiritually charged. We find a lot of native artifacts like beads, arrowheads, pots, etc. etc. Its the kind of stuff that you know has been around for a very long time and must have an amazing story to tell, if only it could talk. I have to remind myself constantly to put aside all of the stress of work and customer service, and just sit and appreciate the beauty of where I am. Its really quite amazing. I feel like everyday I learn something new about myself and life. Its definately a growing experience.

I've had three job offers from guests since I've been bartending. I have to wonder how serious they were being because I'm just sitting there feeding them drinks, but its still pretty exciting. I don't think that it really counts when they're drawing your contract up on a cocktail napkin. One of the jobs was in Seattle, one in Texas, and another in San Fransico. Aside from job offers, I'm really working up my bartender skills. I make a mean margarita and one hell of a key lime pie martini. Along with that, I have quite the repitoire of dirty jokes due to the influx of manly fisherman that are constantly rolling in. I love being behind the bar. Its very fast paced but its fun to be able to chat it up with everyone. The group that's here now brought all they're own alcohol and a whole bunch of Maker's Mark. Whenever any one orders one, I think of Jerry Gallagher.

So that's really about all that's been going on. Tomorrow the girls and I are heading to the Naukati mud bog races. Naukati is like Buckley to Traverse City. The mud bog races are one of the only things that this place has going for them, it will definately be a cultural experience. Tomorrow Speed Network will be there filming for one of their TV shows, so if anyone has Speed Network, watch out for the mud bog races. Two guys from Naukati came to the lodge the other day to ask if "the hotties from the lodge could come be the trophy girls for the races." My boss just rolled his eyes and said he had work to do. Don't worry, I will not be handing out any trophies in my bikini in the mud tomorrow. I'll will make sure to keep you all updated on this event though!

I'm missing Traverse City terribly right now. Its my first time being away from Cherry Festival, Fourth of July, Polka Fest!, birthdays, blue angels, golf.......I could go on forever. I keep telling myself that its a once in a lifetime opportunity for me here and all of that stuff will always happen. But I still miss everyone and I send you all my love. If some one could try and send me a little Michigan warmth it would be greatly greatly appreciated :)

Love you all!
Caitlin

I'm sorry....its been a while friends remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Overdue..... tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-06-10:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=6&entryid=113290 2008-06-10T20:02:11Z 2008-06-10T20:02:11Z Alright kids, its been quite sometime since I've written a new entry and I'm starting to hear about it, so here I am! So much has happened I need to try and sort everything out. Lets see, the last big exciting thing that I got to do was go out on the boat with the guests for some deep sea fishing. The trip only had 3 guys on it so each day one of the employees got to go out on ... Alright kids, its been quite sometime since I've written a new entry and I'm starting to hear about it, so here I am! So much has happened I need to try and sort everything out.

Lets see, the last big exciting thing that I got to do was go out on the boat with the guests for some deep sea fishing. The trip only had 3 guys on it so each day one of the employees got to go out on their boat with them. It was such an exciting experience. The boats all leave at 7am everyday, and watching all of the El Cap boats leave together, speeding off towards the mountains, is quite the rush. As we were going out, we saw a couple of fawns on the shore and an eagle that apparently sits on the same sign every morning to see everyone off. Each one of the spots that we went to was about 20-30 minutes away. We went to the Island that was the furthest north and west that you can go in Southeast Alaksa. I think that Island was called Coronation, but I may be wrong. We also fished at Little Beach and Port Allis. The fishing has been really slow (which of course has caused some tension amongst the captains) so I didn't really catch anything amazing. I caught about 12 fish and could only keep 3. The three that I kept were black rock fish and I caught them while we were salmon fishing. I also caught a couple of flounders and yellow eye that were too small to keep so we threw them to the eagles. We got the eagles to come right up to our boat! The other fish that I caught were called Turbins, which is a type of flounder with razor sharp teeth and just plain ugly looking. The thing that was frustrating about them was that we would catch them while we were bottom fishing at 300+ feet and have to reel them all the way back up, just to throw them back into the ocean. Overall it was just fun. The landscape around here is absolutely breathtaking. It was worth it just to go out and to be able to experience that. We saw whales right out in front of the boat and that just made my day.

The thing about deep sea fishing is that its extremely tiring. I don't think that it would necessarily be my idea of a vacation. And I now know why we have a massage artist at the lodge. I appreciate now what the captains have to go through everyday, I really dont' know how they do it.

There really hasn't been too many exciting events around here lately. Long story short...The bartender that was hired for the summer wasn't cutting it, so they offered me her job! I've been the bartender at the King Fisher lounge now for four days. I'm loving it. I'm finally getting all of the drinks down...I make a mean key lime pie martini...my bloody mary's need a little work. Plus its just fun being behind the bar talking with the guests and getting to know people. This past trip there were four guys here from Detriot, so it was fun to chat it up with them.

Really there hasn't been too much to update on. I'm still loving it here and every day I find great things to get into. Yesterday my friend Scotty and I build a fire pit and just sat out in the woods around the fire. Its just little things like that that go on all the time.

Its lunch and laundry time so I must run!

Love you all!
CW

Overdue..... remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Shrimpin' and Rock Gardens tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-28:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=5&entryid=111419 2008-05-29T18:03:49Z 2008-05-29T18:03:49Z Hi all! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. Its been in the high 60's/low 70's here the past few days! I've now been in the water 3 times. Its extremely chilly (I think some one said 48 degrees) so basically all you can do is run and jump in and then hop back out. Its so refreshing after scrubbing showers in the stuffy rooms all morning. The only problem is that there's no ladder at the ... Hi all! A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. Its been in the high 60's/low 70's here the past few days! I've now been in the water 3 times. Its extremely chilly (I think some one said 48 degrees) so basically all you can do is run and jump in and then hop back out. Its so refreshing after scrubbing showers in the stuffy rooms all morning. The only problem is that there's no ladder at the end of the dock so we have to climb up the tires which are covered in mussles and barnacles. I've got some pretty narley scrapes all over my left leg. I also forgot that its salt water and took in a big mouthful on my first jump. On the other hand, I've got a pretty nice tan going, so its all good. They said that it wouldn't be like this much longer so I had to soak it up while it was there.

Two days ago I got to go out on the shrimp boat for the first time. The boys go out every other day or so in order to get shrimp for the guest's appetizers. It was something that I've never done before and it was pretty cool. The tide took out one of our pots though and we have no idea where it went off too. The shrimp here are HUGE! I've never seen anything like it. But I think that once you've been out and seen that once, you don't really need to see it again. I liked seeing the landscape more than anything. It wasn't quite as exciting deadliest catch.

Yesterday I worked all morning and then decided to start a little project. My cabin is right on the end of a row with a nice little patch of gravel that slopes down to the road. I got my friends Scott and Eli to help me build a rock garden. Eli build this really nice rock retaining wall and Scotty cobbled out most of the main garden area. I basically just worked pulling out all the weeds and finding good rocks for the boys. Its looking pretty great. We also have two little benches there so we can sit and watch the world go by. I took a peace of drift wood from Kasaan beach and carved "love life" into it. Margaret would be so proud. I love my little spot, its very peaceful and zen-like. I still have more work that I plan on doing. Scott and I are going to dig up a blue berry bush and plant it in there. It'll be sweet. Right now Pu'u (pronounced Poo-oo), the german shepard, is pretty in love with the spot where I want to put the blue berry bush, so he and I might have to duke it out. I'll try and get a picture of my home on here soon!

So things are going pretty great! I was supposed to go on a glacier tour today but it was cancelled because of the fog. I was pretty bummed out but its Scott's 19th birthday today so we're all celebrating tonight! On another good note, my big sister Erin got engaged on Saturday, congratulations! I can't wait to see the ring girl!

Love you all!
CW

Shrimpin' and Rock Gardens remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Lovin Life tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-24:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=4&entryid=110733 2008-05-24T19:19:28Z 2008-05-24T19:19:28Z So I've had quite a bit of time off lately. Its been absolutely beautiful weather so I'm loving it. I had Thursday off, I worked 2 hours yesterday, and I had today off. The only reason that I haven't been working is because we didn't have guests in so there's really not much to clean. On Thursday 8 of us had the day off so we went on a little adventure. I saw my first bear! It was just a ... So I've had quite a bit of time off lately. Its been absolutely beautiful weather so I'm loving it. I had Thursday off, I worked 2 hours yesterday, and I had today off. The only reason that I haven't been working is because we didn't have guests in so there's really not much to clean. On Thursday 8 of us had the day off so we went on a little adventure. I saw my first bear! It was just a little baby blacky but it was still sweet. We stopped at a beach on the low tide and dug clams and mussles. We did have rakes so I was rockin the "Alaska Hands." That basically means that they were very dirty, and all of my nails have broken off. Anyways...we did that for about an hour then went to Kasaan which is an extremely tiny village on the island. They're famous for their totem pole park. I was expecting a big open field with a whole bunch of totems, but it was way cooler than that. You go down this really long trail that winds along the beach (saw some bear scat, little freaky), then out of no where you go around a corner and there's a totem jetting out. It goes like that for quite a while, and then ends at the chief's house on the beach. Inside the house there were three totems and a huge fire pit. The whole place had some strong spiritual energy and it was quite the experience. There aren't many places left in the world where you can go and feel the history and not know a thing about it. I sat down at the beach on a piece of drift wood, looking out at the mountains, it was wonderful. We got some great pictures but they just can't capture everything.

After Kasaan we headed to the town of Thorn Bay. Holy smokes. I'm so glad that I didn't grow up on this Island. Thorn Bay is probably about the size of Kingsley (maybe smaller) with a whole lot less to do. We stopped at the Post Office/Gift Shop/Bakery and got killer milkshakes, it was quite the treat. It did set me back $5, but we don't have ice cream at the lodge so it was worth it. After Thorn Bay we started our treck back to El Cap and stopped along the way to do a little mushroom hunting. One of the guys that we were with knows his Morrels and we found the absolute motherload. The island is covered in clear cut forest patches and apparently that's the best place to find them. I found a patch that was probably bigger than Thorn Bay. We fried them up last night, it was just like home. It was good day.

Yestday I spent the day reading in the sun. I also took the canoe out for a little spin around the bay. I'm having a great time, that is for sure. Its gorgeous again today so I'm going to head outside and do a little more reading/sun bathing. Oh, if you haven't noticed I've added more photos and there are more to come when I get them up. If anyone wants to call me or send me anything I'll leave my address/number. I would love...anything. I'm pretty desperate for pictures or things to spruce up my room. Also a bottle of glycerine would be great because I get SO extremely dirty. You can call anytime. The number is for the crew lounge, so just ask for Caitlin and they'll find me! I love you all, keep it real.

Caitlin Warner
P.O. Box 1174
Craig, AK 99921

206-792-7040

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]]> Hey everybody! tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-21:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=3&entryid=110341 2008-05-22T01:04:58Z 2008-05-22T01:04:58Z I apologize that its been so long since I've written anything. The first few days have been pretty long work days...but I'm still loving it! By the time I'm done with my daily tasks, I'm pretty wiped out. I'm working split shifts where I work from about 8-12pm cleaning rooms and the bar, then I work from about 6-8pm in the Kitchen cleaning dishes. I'm getting into my rythm with the cleaning thing. I'm working up some mean bed making ... I apologize that its been so long since I've written anything. The first few days have been pretty long work days...but I'm still loving it! By the time I'm done with my daily tasks, I'm pretty wiped out. I'm working split shifts where I work from about 8-12pm cleaning rooms and the bar, then I work from about 6-8pm in the Kitchen cleaning dishes. I'm getting into my rythm with the cleaning thing. I'm working up some mean bed making skills. Even though I'm washing dishes, I like working in the kitchen because then I get to eat what the guests are eating (prime rib, stuffed chicken breasts, SALAD). You know, I was never much of a hound about eating my fruits and veggies, but when you they're not available, you REALLY long for them. One of the girls went into town yesterday and she bought 4 apples for $5. I couldn't believe it. The food here is WAY better than I expected it to be. I've now had fresh salmon twice since I've been here and its incredible! Everyone just knows what they're doing when they make it and its been amazing both times. I also had homemade salmon pate yesterday and that was equally amazing. A couple of lodge assistants go out to pull shrip pots every few days, so we get those a lot too. I'm going to be a sea food snob by the time I get home. I'm worried that I'm going to eat too much when I'm up here, but NONE of the roads are flat so I'm constantly hiking up and down hills. Its been a pretty good workout.

The weather is pretty much just cold. Its not as bad a Michigan winters. I'd say more like October/November. It rains close to everyday. But its not downpour rain. They call it the Seattle rain where it just mists all the time. A lot of the machinery (like our time clock) breaks down because of all the moisture in the air. Apparently it gets warmer and the bugs get a lot worse. I haven't even seen a mosquito yet. Just a lot of really creepy looking spiders.

Lets see what else...paper money is pretty much useless up here unless some one is going to town. The currency is basically dealt in cigarettes and drinks at the bar. I sat and threw rocks for a while after I got done with work today. We've become pretty good at making up games, like throwing rocks at things for points. I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore. Plus, a couple of days ago they found bear scat near by, so there's that to worry about. I did go down to the docks yesterday to watch the fish cleaners. The fish here are HUGE. A couple of the guys have said that they would teach me how to fly fish, which is very exciting! I get tomorrow and Friday off so I'll finally have a chance to adventure. I love it here. The people I'm working with are great and we're already becoming a little family. I love it.

Hey everybody! remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> The Eagle has landed (literally) tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-16:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=2&entryid=109528 2008-05-16T15:37:17Z 2008-05-16T15:37:17Z After 12 hours of travelling and 4 different plane rides, I've arrived at El Capitan! I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is here. It reminds me a lot of the Swiss Alps, but with more forests. Each plane ride that I took, we got more and more into the mountains. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting to be in the middle of a mountain range/temperate rainforest. Yesterday was an extremely long day. ... After 12 hours of travelling and 4 different plane rides, I've arrived at El Capitan! I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is here. It reminds me a lot of the Swiss Alps, but with more forests. Each plane ride that I took, we got more and more into the mountains. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting to be in the middle of a mountain range/temperate rainforest.

Yesterday was an extremely long day. My 4.5 hour flight from Chicago was pretty horrible. I tried to talk to the guy next to me but I think he was shy and didn't really have much to say. Other than that I just sat there. I couldn't sleep because I was jammed awkwardly into my seat. What did make up for the atrotiously boring flight was flying around Mt. Rannear (spelling?). We were flying over all of these beautiful mountains, and then all of a sudden, this HUGE peak jets up and puts all of the other little mountains to shame. We flew right by it, and went on a curve so we got to see almost all of its sides. Then came the 2 hour flight to Alaska. This was much more entertaining. I sat amongst 8 guys from Wyoming who were heading to Prince of Whales to hunt bear. They had just found out that the lodge they were staying at doubled booked their reservation, so they had no where to stay. I mean, they got on the plane to AK, and before turning of his phone, the guy checked his email and thats when they found out. Now, normally anywhere else in the world you would probably be okay, but here, you really have to know where you're going because there's really not much up here. I told them I hoped they'd been studying Man vs. Wild and the Alaska Experiment. I ended up taking my first sea plane ride with them from Ketchikan to Craig. It was a pretty good sized sea plane. There were 10 of us all together plus a TON of luggage because the guys had all their guns with them.

My next sea plane was from Craig to the lodge. This was a little bit more...interesting. I was picked up from the dock in Craig by my boss, his dad, and another older gentleman. It was a four seater and it was definately crowded (and a little awkward). The crowdedness was over-written by how absolutely beautiful the flight was. We flew right along the top ridge of the mountains and over the water. I tried to find whales but no such luck.

The lodge is really nice. We had a staff meeting almost as soon as I got here. But before the meeting, one of the old employees gave me a little tour. She is also the head chef so she handed me dinner as soon as I got off the plane. She took me down to my boss' house to meet them and their families and I ate dinner with Nani and Scott's daughters. Its really nice, the girls are 3 and 8, so its fun to have kids around. Big plans...they invited me to come to their tea party today :) So as I'm eating my dinner, an eagle swooped down right in front of the window! Me being the silly Michigander that I am, thought this was incredible and amazing, but apparently its a normal occurance, and no one else thought it was a big deal.

So we had our meeting and I learned all the ropes. Everyone here seems pretty cool so far. I'm working with people from all over the place...Haiwii, Russia, Canada, Grand Rapids!, Arizona... My room is pretty nice. I need to get more carpet (which apparently they have on hand) but besides that its nice. I'll have to try and get pictures on here some how.

I have to run because I'm taking up the employee computer. I'll give you more details later!

The Eagle has landed (literally) remains copyright of the author Nrth2AK, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> 3...2...1... tag:travellerspoint.com,2008-05-14:/blog/?domain=nrth2ak&thisblog_entryid=1&entryid=109227 2008-05-14T13:37:37Z 2008-05-14T13:37:37Z Hello everyone! I'm starting this blog to keep you all updated on my Alaskan adventures. I'm getting really excited, my parents and I are heading out from Traverse City today and I'm flying out of Chicago tomorrow morning. I still have tons to do!! For those of you who don't know, I'm spending the summer of 2008 on Prince of Whales Island in southeast Alaska. I'll be working at a little fishing resort, El Capitan Lodge, doing pretty much everything ... AK.jpgHello everyone! I'm starting this blog to keep you all updated on my Alaskan adventures. I'm getting really excited, my parents and I are heading out from Traverse City today and I'm flying out of Chicago tomorrow morning. I still have tons to do!!

For those of you who don't know, I'm spending the summer of 2008 on Prince of Whales Island in southeast Alaska. I'll be working at a little fishing resort, El Capitan Lodge, doing pretty much everything (housekeeping, serving, bartending, fish processing). They have a total of 20 employees each season, most of whom are returning after multiple summers. I'll be living in my own 10"x16" cabin (just like my old dorm room, except I don't have to share!), and we have 3 bathrooms to share between all of the employees. All of our meals are provided in the employee lounge, and are prepared by the head chef. I'm working 6 days a week, with one day off to explore the island! The closest town is Craig, AK, at a whopping 40 miles away. The island is also home to two or three native inuit villages and they have something called a skunk cabbage festival, which I will most definately be checking out. They also have weekly mud bog races which sounds like quite the island event.

My journey begins this afternoon! We're leaving for Chicago around 3pm today. I'm flying out of ORD tomorrow morning at 11:30am, stopping in Seattle, and arriving in Ketchikan at 5:15pm (9:15 TC time). From there I'm flying Pacific Airlines to the lodge, but I really don't know what the exact plans are...my boss seems pretty laid back about things. Apparently if they can't get me out to the lodge tomorrow night, she'll book me a hotel room and I'll fly out there Friday morning. Either way, I'm VERY excited and I can't wait to get out there. I'm not totally sure of what to expect; I'm ready to find out what its really like instead of just having a picture in my mind of how things are.

Hopefully I'll get to write another entry on Friday! Take care everyone!!

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