I am find myself wanting to leave for Peru now. Perhaps I want to escape the frustration of life, of relationships (or lack there of) and disappointments that seem to occur in every day life. If I could leave today I would. If I could pack up everything in my 12x12 dry cabin, throw half of it away, give away a quarter, then keep the rest wishing I had the guts to throw that away too, I would. If I could buy my plane ticket for today instead of for five weeks from now when Fairbanks is cold and starting to [View Full Entry]

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My planned afternoon of repacking and organizing documents turned into a four hour motorcycle ride out to a place called Murphy Dome. The ride out to Murphy Dome doesn’t take four hours unless a person (or in our case, persons) drives from North Pole and back with frequent stops and off-roading. I imagined spending my time cleaning my little cabin, studying, and living in a quiet and simple manner for the last few weeks until I leave for Peru. However, thanks to adventurous friends, this was not the case, at least for the first two days. It all began when I [View Full Entry]

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After sitting around the Croan’s house for most of the day feeling useless as they cleaned and packed their things for the new renters, I finally left on the ferry at 4:30. Unbeknownst to me, the Matanuska ferry was last of the season. The Alaska Marine Highway system usually bumps up their schedule for the summer due to the increase of travelers—mainly motor homes and campers. In the winter there are not too many visitors to Alaska, so the ferry rates are also cheaper, but the ferries also go less often. From Juneau to Haines I paid around thirty-five dollars for [View Full Entry]

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Two days of summiting have left my legs shaky, arms scratched, and nose sunburned. My first goal, Mt. Roberts, teased me for three days. Rain pored during the morning, fog clouded the tops, and I stayed inside, waiting. Friday, I could wait no more. After much indecision on whether to stay for another week and fish or go home to Fairbanks, I decided to go. But Mt. Roberts had to be climbed before I once again left a town that had been my home for some of the best years of my life. At 4:30 I filled my daypack with water [View Full Entry]

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Alaskans aren’t the only ones who woke up today to shocking political news. Senator Palin (pronounced “Pay-lin”) of Alaska was elected as a running mate by McCain for the upcoming presidential election. Generally Alaskan news doesn’t travel out of the state. I often feel like our issues and decisions are a world away from the rest of the United States. I’m always surprised when I meet people who don’t know where Alaska is—or that it’s even part of the United States. But today, Alaska is being noticed. Or more aptly, our governor. In Alaska, P [View Full Entry]

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Our worries about a sinking boat were unfounded. But let me back up and explain how we discovered this information. Mom almost convinced me to put on Dad’s wetsuit and dive in for a look at the hull. She bribed me with money, and what can I say…however, the wetsuit was too big and Mom couldn’t find the mask. I’ve opened my eyes in salt water before, but that was in warm, Mexican surf. Plus, the thought of icy water trickling down my armpits and belly put a stop to any ocean adventuring on my part. I hung around the boat [View Full Entry]

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When I was a child I remember taking our skiff and boating across the water to islands in Duncan Canal to beach comb. We found buckets, chunks of foam, and torn nets. Toads, hopped through the grass, having previously been warming themselves on the rocks. Scattered throughout the higher areas of the beach, where the tide rarely came high enough to cover, wild Alaskan flowers grew. Fireweed, Indian paintbrush, and shooting star colored the woods with dots of art. Fireweed and Indian paintbrush were dug up and placed in buckets, then in our skiff, Once home they were replanted in our [View Full Entry]

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Mom and Dad brought back five cart-loads of food from Costco. There are boxes of olives, canned corn, baked beans, apples, nuts, cheese, steaks, and even a case of Alaskan Amber…which may be my clincher for staying another few days to fish. All the perishable food was put down in the fish hold. We still have about 2-3 tons of ice from Sitka keeping everything cold. Grandpa built the boat as a freezer boat, meaning that there used to be a generator in the hold that kept everything frozen. Fish were put on racks ad dipped every few hours in clean [View Full Entry]

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The gulls that were lined up so prettily along the break water when I went to bed kept me up late into the night. First one would start squawking, then screeching, inciting others to join in until they reached such an unearthly crescendo you would think every monster on earth was crawling out of his cave to get them. Then, as quickly as they started, they all quieted down with a disgruntled squawk every now and then before erupting into another awful ruckus. I would have taken freeway noise over this any day, at least freeway noise is consistent. I braved [View Full Entry]

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The hull, if leaking, is appearantly not leaking badly. Mom tried to convince me to put on Dad's old, leaky wet suit and dive down four feet to take a look. The thought of sinking into cold, dirty water (think old sewage) where dark and scary things lurked were not appealing. Later I heard Dad trying to convince Mom to do it. She said yes, but I think only to appear brave. The harbor master put us North facing in a rickety stall on the end of the dock. A break water of rocks and logs keeps out waves and the [View Full Entry]

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