Winter Solstice, come and gone - My first Alaskan winter

Typical "daylight" in Girdwood in December... makes for dramatic sunsets, but rarely get to actually see the sun!

The shortest day of the year - Winter Solstice - was only three weeks ago. On that day, we had about 5 hours, 28 minutes of daylight. Being nestled in this valley though, means that the duration in which the sun actually breaches the mountaintops and hits the ground is much much less. So while it may be daylight outside, glimpsing that bright orange globe in the sky has been a fleeting treat, mostly dependent on whether I leave the valley - usually on my drive to or from Anchorage once a week. Today, on a perfectly clear and bitterly cold day with 6 hours, 1 minute of daylight, the mountains surrounding Girdwood were glowing with light; days like this are few, especially given the barrage of snowstorms and blizzards we have been getting all winter! I followed the light, just for the sake of seeing the sun... and sat in the parking lot of the gas station for about 10 minutes, simply so I could feel it hit my face! Oh it felt so good!

Portage Lake...on a rare, cloudless winter day

It's not that I tried to be a lazy ass and just sit in the parking lot though. I did try to walk Logan. But, there are two problems. One, is that the poor boy is limping again. I have to take him to the vet, his front leg has been bothering him and it hasn't improved at all in a week. But his mood perks up when we go for walks, so I don't want to keep him cooped up in the apartment all day. However, it was so cold, his paws couldn't handle it! His cold threshold on his paws was about 14 degrees earlier this winter, but today was -4 degrees, and he's just not adapted to that temperature yet. It's interesting that this prolonged cold has made the hair on his paws grow thicker than it's ever been, and it's the first time in his life that he hasn't shed continuously all winter. For the most part, his hair is staying on his body! Which mean my apartment is marginally cleaner than normal. ;)

We add 3-5 minutes of daylight per day. At this rate, on March 17, I will have as much daylight as my family back in Detroit - 12 hours of daylight. From then, Alaska will continue to have longer days than Michigan until we get near 24 hrs of daylight in the summer! I can't wait to go into a manic state of sunlight overexposure ha ha. :)

Normally it isn't this cold... we have had a few cold snaps with temps in the negatives, but for the most part winter is fairly "normal" compared to our Michigan winters when I was kid. Granted, it seems like Michigan doesn't really stay in freezing temps anymore, but 20-30s is what we get here and what I remember as a kid. But the sheer amount of snow we have received is definitely far beyond anything I have ever experienced! We got snow on 29 of 31 days in December, and according to the Alyeska Resort website, 393" of snow since October 1, 2011! That's incredible!

We have another blizzard warning tonight, by the way.

Beautiful sunset on the drive down to Seward last week. Yes, I actually saw the sun!

I'm trying not to make every journal entry the length of a novel chapter! Not everybody likes to read as much as I do....but EVERYBODY loves pretty pictures ha ha!

Hibernation - Resist the Urge!



Sun? What sun?

 At last! An update, thanks to the purchase of a new laptop and ample amounts of caffeine here at the coffee shop. I tend to get easily distracted when I try to write from home, and my two other broken laptops were no longer considered mobile or reliable. I'm not sure if it's the ADD or what, but I always did my best college work and got more stuff done at the coffee shop; the habit still lingers even 9 years after graduating undergrad, go figure.

I have been in Alaska for about 14 weeks now. I've worked, I've played, I've seen the leaves change color and the snow fly. And I've been in my yearly winter "retirement" for about a month already! It has gone quickly and I'm amazed at how busy I have kept considering I don't have a job. I had hoped to get at least some intermittent work with the Forest for a few extra weeks, but with the federal budget the way it is, that thought went out the window. I fact, I may not be back to work until May (was hoping for at least April); I am a permanent seasonal and only working for 6 months is "normal", but I could always use a little extra cash of course. ;)

My fall was spent working and completing an EMT-Basic course with the local fire department. I am proud to say I passed! And that class alone has opened some new opportunities that I hadn't even considered. I was unable to get a job as a groomer or equipment operator at the resort, so I put in an application to join the Volunteer Fire Department...and that EMT class sure helped get to know folks. There might be a wait list, but I now attend weekly trainings in an effort to maybe get in sooner than later. If I do get in, eventually this means I'll get paid for those weekly trainings, and get paid if I go out on a call (but unpaid if I'm on call, and nothing happens). But the folks seem great and it will be good to be a part of something here in the community.

Eagles can't be that much different than caring for chickens

For better or worse, November also saw the final dissolution of my 5 1/2 year relationship. As much as I'd like to crawl into a cave and hibernate until the spring, I'm trying hard to get involved with anything fun, that gives me good experience and helps me make friends and keep my mind off the break up. I'm going to start volunteering at a bird rehabilitation clinic and hopefully get to save eagles and owls! I don't want to lose the skills I learned at the wildlife rehab clinic in Colorado, so I'm very excited for this. I also really miss my chickens, but I lost them in the move/break up so I guess the girls are no longer mine. :(  But, I'm sure Tim is treating them well and last I heard, they were all providing him with plenty of eggs so they must be happy. :)

I also applied to the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, since I had such a great time doing SAR on the Yosemite helicopter. The National Park Service was great because most field employees were able to participate on Search and Rescue, but the Forest Service doesn't do that.... so I figure AMRG would be a way to still play hero in the great outdoors. I went to my first meeting last week, and was pleased to hear that the board voted on my application and I am officially a probationary member! I was pretty intimidated because well, this is Alaska, and everything here is more hardcore...I didn't know if I was bad-ass enough to join their ranks. But they were "impressed" with my experience with the Park Service and Forest Service. I will be a probationary member for at least a year before I am considered fully qualified; it involves 2 meetings and 1 training a month, on top of responding to calls when I can. This week is avalanche rescue training.

So we have the Volunteer Fire Dept (but I'm not in yet); the Rescue Group; and the bird rehab clinic. But I have diverse interests. I also don't have a ski pass, and it is rough watching all the happy people sliding down the ski mountain behind me. So, I'm trying to volunteer with the adaptive ski center. After so many hours, I get $10 ski passes (instead of $60). I haven't done anything with them yet, but maybe later this week. Am I busy enough yet?? No??

I'm also starting to consider some other ways to get involved with wildland fire down south during these long cold dark winters in Alaska...but nothing has panned out yet.

Crow Pass Cabin

Speaking of long cold dark winters... Fact and fiction check. It is NOT pitch black outside all day, every day. The sun comes up. Right now, we get like 6 hours of daylight. The shortest day (Dec 21), we will get about 5.5 hours of daylight, and then the days get longer again so it's all uphill from there, right? :) But with all this snow, it seems brighter out for a little longer than that. And snow, yes we have gotten plenty of it thus far! I've been told it's not normally this epic - that freezing rain and ice is more the norm this time of year. I got to experience a little bit of that the past 2 days, but we should get more snow again here soon. We had a cold snap of 0-10 degree days and clear cold nights, but that too is apparently NOT the norm. So when it hit 39 degrees the other day, it felt downright warm! But I'd say 20-30s is normalish.

I did get my normal winter insomnia/weird sleep schedule that always happens around November. I sleep better here than I did in Michigan, however, where those overcast grey drizzle/ice days really made me get cabin fever. Here, my body adjusts itself to fall asleep around 2 am...and wake up around 10 am. Yeah yeah, I'm a slacker. Whatever. It's barely getting light outside at 10 am and I have no reason to get up before then! It suits me just fine! And then I do some p90x or go for a run. See, no hibernating or packing on the winter weight! I'm doing good so far!

Now, only 5 more months of retirement, volunteering, playing in the snow, and eventually doing a little traveling! Maybe even get a couple more journal entries in too, while I'm at it. ;)


I went to Denali too, but slacked off and never wrote about that either. But here's a pretty picture to make up for it. ;)

Making excuses, attempt 1

One would think that I would have tons and tons to talk about, seeing as how my dream of moving to Alaska has finally come true. Did I mention I have wanted to move to Alaska since high school? I've turned down a couple jobs over the years in this wondrous state...but they were all seasonal (which means no expenses-paid relocation) and the jobs weren't exactly what I was hoping for; and usually involved bad timing as well.

Although my new job isn't my "dream job", it's actually more along the lines of what I've expected and told many folks through the years: Jack of all trades, master of none. That's right, I do a whole lotta stuff. I liked to pretend (ok, there's reality to it too... it just sounded like wishful thinking for years) that my very random resume of jobs all was helping to gear me up for a job with the federal gov't in Alaska. "Because", my semi-rational mind was reasoning, "Alaska has less people per sq. mile of federal land to be managed. As such, employees would be called upon to do many random jobs, irregardless of position description."

In the 3 weeks I have been here, I'm not sure if it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, but that random resume of mine has come in awfully handy!

My official job title: Forestry technician. Ok, that's cool. I was hazard tree lead; that was a forestry tech. I was a wildland firefighter; that was a forestry tech. Now I'm a forestry tech, Recreation (aka "Rec Tech"). That must be cool and exciting right? Let's do the math:

 RECREATION=FRONT COUNTRY=MANY PEOPLE WITH CARS/RVS/SEMIS=EATING AND DRINKING=OUTHOUSES!!!

I tried not to oversimplify, but that equation just came forth like a bought of genius in Good Will Hunting!

So, front country is like the less glamorous but more abused side of public land. It means it is easily accessible. It means that, taking into account that most Americans do not really stray far from their cars when on vacaction, these areas get absolutely HAMMERED with visitors. And since we have the only public outhouses on the Seward Highway in our stretch of road, I get to see the worst of the worst of America's bathroom habits. I won't get detailed, because I'd rather not subject people I LIKE to the things that I must witness. I will say, however, that A: cleaning restrooms near kid's (and adult beer league) summer sports fields was thus far way more disgusting; B: Those poor people with IBS, please PLEASE see a doctor...C: If you, or your children can't poop into a giant hole on a toilet...clean it up, or don't ever EVER poop in a public bathroom, because nobody should have to deal with that. 

Sorry, getting distracted. This is the part where I add the disclaimer that "These are my opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any person or organization associated with me or mentioned herein". Anyway...

So yeah, jack of all trades, my main duties involve outhouses, trail heads, parking lots. I pick up garbage. I actually don't mind it. I enjoy the feeling of leaving a place looking better, and being environmentally "better" than when I left it. Give a hoot, don't pollute! Or as my sister said (she won a state contest with this) "Don't be mean, keep it clean!" But thankfully as crew lead, I am armed with a small crew of seasonal employees during the summer (my minions? maybe not), and they can share the duties while I take on the rest of my responsibilities, such as:

General maintenance, such as painting, building, fixing, creating things... everything from fixing thing on an existing outhouse, to helping design or create better trail heads, campgrounds, or parking areas. It might not sound sexy, but everybody who has ever traveled long distances know "bad" when they see it... though the "good" public areas may go consciously unnoticed, subconsciously they know it's well designed and user friendly! I'm most excited to be one of the only couple equipment operators for the district, and I think only two of us have CDLs...which means I get to help take the big boats out of the water for the winter. Our equipment fleet isn't huge but it's effective with a small loader, a mini-excavator (with bulldozer blade) and a 1 ton mini dump truck. I was HOPING for at least a 10 yard dump truck and a bobcat on top of all that other stuff, but that's ok. ;)

I've been getting trained (and helping get my muscle memory back, operating buckets and blades does take some finesse and sensitivity!) on a few things with the mini-ex and the loader. Just completed a drainage project off a major trail. I must say, it is quite different doing things with the FS vs the NPS... with the NPS, if there was a drainage problem with a trail, it would almost definitely result in a trail improvement (bridge; causeway; boardwalk; etc) or an altogether reroute. With the FS, though, they have less "rules" about what  can and can't be done. So, instead of fixing the trail...we dug a big drainage ditch through a talus field/avalanche zone, and built a berm around the outside to help. I'll admit...it pains me inside. To my "preservation" eye, it is not the right solution. It's not harmonious with the land; it uses blunt force to demand nature do a certain thing. But, on the other hand, at least I tried to do a good job with the ground moving I did. It's definitely the easier, cheaper, quicker fix. It was also a great chance to get back some of my skills on the equipment! I'm a little rusty on a few things, but it does seem that I have impressed folks so far with what I do know. It seems that too often, a woman comes a long to do these kinds of jobs (manual labor; equipment; firefighting... anything in a male dominated industry) and they SAY they can do it... but they don't know jack! And then they make the rest of us look bad! I don't mean to sound sexist...wait, I am a woman... but seriously, the stereotype is there, and it's for a reason. :(  It's good to buck the norm and actually be able to show them a woman CAN do the job!

Getting sidetracked again, damn ADHD! As I was saying, I have random duties. I am also the ONLY qualified helicopter crewmember on the district, so I get to help with heli ops. I have a few fire quals, so I was offered to go out with the handcrew to Montana (they ended up in Oregon) to fight fire and work on my squad boss. They are paying for me to get my EMT (think ambulance) certification starting in 2 weeks. I may get to help out with trail work, ecology, biology, fisheries, etc. In the future, I will be taking the train to sites that are ONLY accessible by this train (google Whistlestop and Alaska Railroad); flying out in helicopter; and taking the boats to help with remote cabins, building trail, constructing salmon and wildlife habitat, or helping with exotic plant surveys or eradication. Those are just a few projects suggested that may happen within the next few months! Everybody does help out everybody up here! It's like my little dream come true! Except I'm certain that there weren't ANY outhouses in my dream. But that's ok. I'm making the best money of my life, had a paid relocation, and live in an incredible place! It's great to know that my experience at: fisheries; ecology; botany; wildlife; manual labor; construction; CLD and heavy equipment operation; master's degree in conservation; wildland firefighting; helicopter crewmember; maintenance; habitat surveys; recreation opportunity spectrum; "green" living (I am going to revamp the front country program to buy more eco-friendly products...that's right, environmentalists are invading the forest service LOL)... will all come in handy at this job!

Which comes to the title of this journal: Making Excuses. I was going to list all the reasons why I hadn't updated my blog. But look, I updated my blog!! No photos included, but tough shit. Click on my link to the right for my picasa albums, I think that might work. But yeah, I ended up typing a lot of SUBSTANCE instead of a lot of EXCUSES so now what do I do?! If I don't fall asleep first, I'll try to come up with my excuses in the next journal update. ;)

AlCan AllDone!

Writing random notes from phone so I dont forget while on the road. This in not a complete journal entry but I'm busy and lazy at the same time.

- Trying to get a motel in Jasper on a summer Saturday night without reservations is literally impossible.  Thank goodness for Hinton, a town 45 min away.

- From Grand Prairie to the west, it literally looks just like the Midwest - first like Nebraska,  then even more like Michigan.  All the hardwood trees but without the corn.

- Canada in general is ridiculously expensive. Cheapest gas: Grand Prairie.  Most expensive : Muncho Lake? I'm pretty sure it was the equivalent of almost $6 a gallon. $4 for a 1 liter pop. $5 for smal red bull...

- Gas stations don't carry fountain pop, much to my dad's dismay. Trust me, he looked!

- You can see threatened wood bison somewhere between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. They are neat. I don't recommend driving that section at night though - there were quite a few dead ones on the side of the road, and they will mess your car up bad if you hit one!

- The most beautiful part of the drive was in Kootenay, Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada. Going over the continental divide again past Watson Lake is also beautiful but lacks the glaciers.

- We did not see grizzly, caribou, wolf, elk, etc. We did see black bear, wood bison, bald eagle, and some random deer. I want my money back!

- I realized I have a pet peeve of somebody hoarding everything from travel guides and maps (that we don't need and don't even look at) to general area propaganda given out at visitor centers, and letting them pile up in the car! It's just more crap to throw away later!

It's finally happening! A-L-A-S-K-A or BUST!

I'm sitting in a great coffee shop in Groveland, sweating in the heat during this holiday weekend. Actually, I wish I could have worked overtime, but these days it seems I need more personal time than money to plan my next big adventure...

I'm moving to ALASKA!!!

Wow, it's still hard to believe that I will be starting my long DRIVE to Alaska in exactly 4 weeks. After years of applying for jobs, getting a few interviews, and even turning down a couple jobs over the years, everything has lined up and I'm getting my entire relocation PAID FOR to boot! Being a permanent federal employee is finally paying off, and I'm also getting a promotion... in Alaska... !!! Anybody that knows me, knows this has been a goal of mine since I was in college. Soon, I will call Girdwood Alaska my home. Did I mention there's Alyeska ski resort there, and I will have winters off to ski and snowboard? Yeah, pretty sweet.

Me+Tim=5 years (!!); Beard+Tim=4 years

I can't wait!! Though I love working for Yosemite. I'm sad I don't have much time to actually explore the park, but with the hours we have been working (and other stuff) it just seems like I don't have enough hours in a day. Hence, I have missed out on 2 days of OT this weekend, as well as more OT last weekend as I took off to celebrate my 5 year anniversary with Tim in San Francisco, as well as take him to the airport for his trip to Alaska.

The new job is still considered a forestry technician, but as I am wildland firefighter right now, I will be considered a "recreation tech" at my new job. From what it sounds like, I am responsible for all front country recreation areas in the Glacier District of the Chugatch National Forest - picnic sites, campgrounds, trailheads, and interpretive signs. Ok, so there will be some garbage and fortunately only a couple outhouses to deal with, but it sounds like it will be a combination of maintenance, as well as improving sites. I will get to drive heavy equipment and dump trucks again, have a small crew of folks, and it will nice to have a job where I get to roam about the forest (instead of being stuck in one place, like I was stuck at the engine station, or even at the helibase). And another perk - I still get to do wildland fire! Of course, it depends on workload and how active the fire season is, but the district ranger is very supportive in allowing me to maintain my fire experience, as well as participate in training and career development.

I've been impressed with everybody I have talked to from the district, everybody is personable and easy to talk to. I've already been warned that there are many folks from the midwest that work at the office, and they were excited to have a Detroit Lions fan... so they can have somebody to pick on during football season! I'll be surrounded by Bears, Vikings, and Green Bay fans! That's ok, I'm hoping the Lions are as promising as they looked last season. ;)

The only slight downside is that I was hoping for a more natural resources/wildlife oriented position, but at this point I think I still don't have enough experience to land such a job in Alaska, without already being in Alaska. But, everybody knows I love working with my hands and having a job with such varied duties is great for my ADHD! There are also a few wildlife rehab places relatively close (I will be 30-40 minutes from Anchorage, on the Turnagain Sound, and 1 1/2 hrs from Seward) so I could always try to volunteer.

Now for the perks - all of my stuff still in storage in Estes Park, CO will be moved to AK, with minimal cost to me (since I live in CA). I will drive to CO from CA, drop off some of my stuff at my storage unit. They have a moving company come and pack up all of my stuff - including my motorcycle - and move it to Alaska for me. I get a misc expense budget, as well as money to cover my housing/expenses for the first 30 days in Alaska - and trust me, it is a VERY GENEROUS stipend. I also get a housing hunting trip paid for, which includes lodging, rental car, gas, and per diem, which I plan to take in a couple weeks. Not bad, eh?

Unfortunately, getting myself, Logan, and my truck will be a little less convenient than I hoped. The ferry out of Washington to Whittier does not have any room for a passenger vehicle in the month of August (and I'm supposed to start working around Aug 10th). So, I must drive the ~3500 miles (on top of the trip from CA to CO) through Canada. Fortunately, mileage, lodging, meals etc are all paid for (except the part from CA to CO). There are some logistics I am still trying to work out, like when I will get to CO to allow the movers access to my storage unit, and my dad will fly out to CO, drive with me to AK, and then fly back to MI... It's complicated, but not nearly as complicated as I figured it would be.

That's probably more details than most people care to know, and probably a little confusing. We'll just say my last month in CA is going to be hectic - going to my friend's wedding in Oregon, trying to work as much overtime as possible, and planning a move that I must make quickly. Tim gets back to CA from AK ironically 2 days before I plan on leaving CA. Yeah, it sucks.

Back to planning and researching my move in this sweltering heat. Traveling across the Canada border with a dog and a firearm mean special considerations; trying to find apartments to check out during my house hunting trip; and figuring out if I can register my truck in AK while I am house hunting (my CA plates expire 7/31, but I am leaving the state probably on 8/2 or 8/3, so I'd hate to pay CA when I'll be in AK so soon)... all on an old computer that freezes a lot, is not fun. Just sayin'.