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Kenai River and mountainsWell, I have now been in Alaska for a little over a week. It has been an adventure so far. I flew into Anchorage on 5/16 at midnight and had to take a cab from the airport to the house I was staying the night in. On that cab ride I was able to see Mt. McKinley at dusk because even though it was midnight it wasn't pitch black. I got picked up on Saturday to travel to Cooper Landing where I will be living for the whole summer. I was in awe the whole ride because there were mountains everywhere with some snow left on the tops and the rivers and lakes are beautiful. I arrived at the lodge I am working at and it just keeps getting better. The guests stay in small cabins, while the employees sleep in tents or tent like structures that have no heat and no electicity. I can deal without the electricity in my tent well, but having no heat can be troublesome at times. When I am sleeping my sleeping bag keeps me warm but I do not want to get out of it in the morning because the air is so cold.
My Backyard
Kenai River and mountains But I am starting to get used to it, just as I am starting to get used to it still being light as day out at 10 pm. This has been a little weird on my body because I know I am tired, but I have to force myself to lay down and go to sleep so I make sure I get enough sleep.
I am really excited to be working for this company. Everyone is really friendly and many of the staff return year after year. There are some people who have been working here for 15-20 years which is amazing. The lodge is located right on the Kenai river and some people have seen bears acorss the river. I have yet to see that but I still have time...I have only been here a week so far. Working in the office has been really great. I have 3 other coworkers and my manager who work in the office. It has been a lot for me to learn but I am really beginning to get the hang of it. We mostly take reservations for day rafting and fishing trips and then we get to check all the guests
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View from Russian River Falls Trail (5/23/08) in. It isn't too busy right now because fishing hasn't opened up on the river yet, but once that happens in mid-June it will be really busy.
One thing I am really worried about is gaining weight while I am here. For breakfast and lunch we are on our own but we have a fully stocked kitchen we can have anything from. For dinner, the chef prepares a meal for everyone. Tonight we had different kinds of pizza, we have also had pasta, steak, burritos among others. It is really hard to just eat a little bit because there are so many different things to have for dinner. I am trying to learn to cut down my portions and hopefully it will all be a-ok. I also had the opportunity to sample a dinner that would be prepared for the guests at the lodge. I have never had anything so tasty or fancy. We had an appetizer of lamb chop with some special seasoning, then there was a salad again with fancy cheese and dressing. The main course was halibut with a lemon butter seasoning along with some other vegtable stuff. Then we had orange flan for dessert. I
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Rapids from Russian River Falls Trail (5/23/08) don't think I will ever in my life be able to afford that kind of fancy dinner so I am glad I had the opportunity to try it.
Since I have been here I have mostly been working. I have Friday and Saturday off each week. I took full advantage of that this weekend. I went on a hike both days. Friday I went hiking on the Russian River Falls Trail with 2 coworkers and a camp dog. I was a little worried it would not be a good day but the weather cooperated. It was raining in the morning and cool all day. But it was nice to have it cool since hiking got me working up a sweat. We were out on the trail for about 4 hours (I don't really know how many miles that is exactly but I think it was somewhere between 5 and 7 miles total). We took a few different trails there and saw a few rapids then we began hiking to the lake and a cabin on the lake but we went a little off trail and had an adventure working our way back to it. The ground was wet and
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View of lake from Russian River Falls Trail (5/23/08) it had a lot of give to it. When I stepped on the gound I would sink in a few inches. It was so bizarre because it almost felt like I was walking on a trampoline. We managed our way to the trail and took that to the cabin where we had some lunch and then we hiked back. This trail was really beautiful to see because there were mountains everywhere. The only wildlife we saw on this hike was a very large swan on the lake.
Saturday I went on another trail called the Juneau Falls Trail. I went with 3 other coworkers and all 3 of the camp dogs. We were bound and determined not to be eaten by bears on this hike. This was a rainy hike. It rained the whole time we were out there, but it was worth it. The views were spectacular. We hiked to where Juneau Falls was and then we were able to get really close to it. It is so amazing to see a waterfall and all of its power. That is something I will never get used to. This hike took us about 4 hours as well. It was
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Rapids from Russian River Falls Trail (5/23/08) definitly a lot of hiking which I am not used to. I am a little sore, but doing much better now than I was this morning.
This week I will be working and just hanging out with coworkers. I do not have anything planned for certain for my days off this weekend, but I am hoping to get on a rafting trip. I was going to do that this past Saturday, but the trip got booked up the day before since paying guests come before me going on the trip.
Overall, I must say that I am really happy to be here. I cannot believe how breathtaking the scenery is. I look out the office window and there is a huge mountain peak right there. I feel this will be the best summer I have ever had. I have the opportunity to meet so many new people from all over and to see and try things I have never done before. I am just looking forward to all of the adventures that await me.
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Briana
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Julie - Your trip sounds fantastic!!! I was SO excited when I got an email that you posted a blog!!! I love the pictures you posted, they really show the beauty of Alaska and the mountains. It is crazy to be in a whole different scenery because we don't have a mountain line to look out at every day - you are so lucky! I think your hiking adventures were very brave of you...good thing a bear didn't find you and eat you. ;) I can't wait to hear more from you, we all think of you every day and miss you so much! Have so much fun - you will have the time of your life!!!