About Half-Way

Today marks 1 1/2 months in Alaska with just over that to go. Normally that lead in would indicate some sort of review of the events but in my case it is just to let those that miss me know that I will be back before you know it. I am loving my time in Alaska and am not overly eager for it to end though I do miss you all, especially the kids in my life. Sorry, adults.

The last week plus has been very interesting. Monday started my 4 days off, as usual that was spent running errands in Anchorage. Tuesday was pretty boring since I hardly remember what I did, though I did do quite a bit of research on my November trip to Europe. I never get tired of researching a vacation, especially one including Paris. Wednesday, I left the house intending to rent a bike and go for a nice long ride. However, the weather didn't cooperate so I walked instead. I wandered out the coastal trail and sat on one of the benches situated on a point out into the inlet. My intention was to sit and read for a bit while it wasn't raining but I kept getting distracted by the air traffic. Every time I looked up from my book I could see some sort of airplane in the sky. It was remarkable. To the south of me was the Anchorage airport and to the north was Elmdorf Air Force Base, so they did add a great volume to the traffic. However, the vast majority was small, private airplanes flying in from across the inlet, both with pontoons and without. They say that 1 in 60 Alaskans has a pilots license and after sitting there for about an hour, I believe. From there I continued out the trail and had my first moose encounter. Not to say I hadn't seen moose but this was the first time that I actually had to amend my actions to avoid them. As I walked the path with the water on one side and forest on the other I saw a calf cross the path about 100 feet ahead of me from forest to water, so I slowed down. Then I saw another brown flash on the water side. So I thought I was in the clear, mama and calf were together. Then I saw movement on the forest side and a large cow moose moved alongside of the path on the forest side. Now, you must understand that moose attacks are much more common up here then bear attacks and a separated cow and calf is never good, and 2 calves certainly wasn't making the situation better. At this point all traffic on the path has stopped, another walker behind me, a cyclist and 2 more walkers down the path from us. We are in a holding pattern to see what the mama will do. Then a, I hate to say it, rude cyclist just barrels past us, even though we warn him about what is ahead. He startles the calves and they begin running in my direction and the mama with a load snort starts that way also. So the other walker and I quickly start backing up, then down the slope toward the water, hoping to stay out of their way. Fortunately the calves veer across the path into the forest but the mama just slows down and goes back to grazing. At this point, no one is sure what to do. The rule is to stay more then 25 yards from moose but she is in the way and seems to have no intention of following her calves. Eventually after watching her, she seems to settle down a bit so slowly we start making our way past her as far from her as possible. We make it past her without provocation and continue on our way. Moose are amazing creatures but I do not wish to be that near one again.
The rest of the walk wasn't nearly as exciting but it was beautiful. Anchorage has a wonderful greenbelt system that runs perpendicular to the coastal trail and is only 5 short blocks from my apartment. I finished off the day with some Chinese food that satisfied the craving but was nothing like a Thursday night at Noodle Express.
Thursday was the day I finally got back on a bike. It had been months since I had been on one but the day was somewhat sunny and I needed to get out of the house. I rented from a shop in downtown and headed out. They provided a rudimentary map but I knew my way around for the most part. I headed toward one of the paths that crosses town and headed toward University of Alaska, Anchorage and then caught up with the other trail and headed toward the coastal trail. No moose on this day but it was a great 35 mile ride and it felt so good being on a bike again. I did receive a surprise of a different sort that day. While our for my ride, my phone rang and it turned out to be a certain UPS pilot friend of ours. He was in Anchorage, on his way around the world and want to catch up. We went to dinner at one of the local breweries with a great pub overlooking the inlet and had some great food. Then we walked down to Ship Creek to check out the salmon fishermen. He wanted to relive our evenings in Ireland but I had a 3 am coach to catch, so we parted ways hoping that he flies through town before I leave in September.
Well that was it for the four days off. Not very exciting but looking back I am very glad to have those days of rest since the following days were a big challenge. Stays tuned.

Thanks for reading.

Pic 1 - Self explanatory
Pic 2 - What you might think a bike path in Alaska would look like.
Pic 3 - The reality of the bike path system in Anchorage.
Pic 4 - A little Alaskan humor along the bike trail.
Pic 5 - View of downtown Anchorage from the coastal trail.

Not Much to Say.

So I don't have any great new stories but I have some pictures that I have no appropriate place for. Enjoy.

Pic 1 - Stellar Sea Lions in Resurrection Bay.
Pic 2 - The famoose Moose Mary, the train equivalent to a bloody Mary. Yes, those are pickled green beans.
Pic 3 - Denali in the distance from the train.
Pic 4 - View of the McKinley Chalets from the train, my home away from my home away from home.
Pic 5 - The train from the train.
Pic 6 - The best girl in the world that I never get to see.
Pic 7 - Susan Butcher's dog farm on the Chena River.
Pic 8 - The Discovery River Boat on the Nenana River.
Pic 9 - An Athabascan fish camp.
Pic 10 - Fun on the train. One of my guests was a balloon twister, his work was amazing.

Thanks for reading, or looking.

This is the Life, part 2

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this. Conveniently enough, I am back in Denali.

Day 3 in Denali was very laid back this time. I had to hold office hours from 9-11 am. A few of my guests dropped by on their way to an excursion so I was able to point them in the right direction. After that LM & I went to Canyon Lodge to use the internet again. I spent the time doing research on my fall trip and then checked in with Ukiah. We then headed to the EDR for lunch. Afterwards we had a couple of hours to kill so we returned to the Canyon Lodge. This lodge is a great place to relax, it is out of the way, our guests weren't staying there and it is near to the Sourdoughs. We then returned to the main lobby to commence office hours prior to our 3:15 pm departure for Fairbanks on the MEX. This day may seem a bit boring but we consider our time in Denali as our days off. When you are working weeks straight the only time you have multiple hours off and it isn't night time is in Denali.

So today, I am back in Denali and I was done for the day at 1:30 pm. JW & EK are here so I have plenty of friends to play with. The fun begins again.

Thanks for reading.

Pic 1. - path to the visitors center; Pic. 2 - the lobby of the McKinley Chalets; Pic. 3 - view of the Chalets with the MEX passing behind on the hillside.

This is the Life, part 1

I have mentioned a bit about staying in Denali but I believe it definitely deserves a post of it's own. Life here is a cross between being on vacation and the behind the scenes world depicted in Dirty Dancing. I know that seems weird but let me explain. Everyone that works here at the hotel or for HAL is housed in on site housing, pretty much hidden from the guests. The hotel employees live dorm style with their own cafeteria (EDR,) laundry and recreation room. The HAL employees live in 45 cabins in a slightly different area but still out of site. When the TD's come into town we are assigned one of the cabins. The cabins are about 15 ft. by 15 ft. with 2 double beds and a bathroom. You only have to share with one other person and are guaranteed a bed, which is a step up from being home in Anchorage. We also eat in the EDR for free so do not receive a per diem. The food isn't bad but it is still a cafeteria. During non work time, the employees have a softball season going, bon fires almost nightly, parties perpetually and beautiful Denali for their playground. Many of the employees have come from other countries to work for the summer, so there is quite the international flare. So, I know you are dying to know what a day in my life is like here. Thanks for asking.
We arrived by train from Anchorage at 4:00 pm. We made the 6-10 minute transfer to the hotel via bus and dropped my guests off at their area of the hotel so they could get settle into their rooms. I was then driven back up the hill to the main lobby for my office hours. These usually run an hour before an departure or an hour after an arrival. I had told a couple of guests that needed something straightened out with their optionals to come back to the lobby and I would get it fixed. They did and everything was settled correctly. After the hourish was done I hit the HAL office, got my room key, faxed my time sheet and asked my supervisor if the horse back riding excursion was available for VV and I to go on. He said check with him tomorrow. I then returned down the hill to the HAL cabins, known as the sourdoughs. Side note her is the Wikipedia definition of an Alaskan Sourdough - The term originated during the Klondike Gold Rush when settlers began to flood into Alaska.^[1] Due to the limited availability of leavening in the remote bush of Alaska, settlers made their bread using a sourdough starter which uses flour, water, and sugar to naturally collect yeast from the air.^[1] The use and consumption of this bread was so widespread that these settlers began to be known as "sourdoughs."^[1] In modern usage, the term "sourdough" can be applied to any old-timer in the state. Our living area is referred to this way since we are here longer then the tourists and "live" here. As I walked through, I saw one of my friends that I hadn't seen in about 2 weeks. That is a great thing about Denali, everybody passes through here for at least 1 night and because we are separate from the guests, it becomes very social with people out on the deck reading, talking on the phone or hanging out with a "long-lost" friend. So you always know who is around. I headed to #36, the same one I had two days ago and got settled. I tried to get my computer hooked to the WiFi (still unsuccessful,) spend some time on the phone then went back up to the lobby to spend time with AS as she waited for some guests to returned from an excursion. After a bit, 2 TD's stopped to talk to us and I decided to go across the street to the Denali style strip mall and get something small for dinner. Afterword we decided to go for a walk. About 3/4 mile out, one of the TD's got a call about lost luggage and we decided to head back. I then grabbed my computer and went to the Canyon Lodge, one of the buildings on the grounds, to use the WiFi for the rest of the evening.

Day 2 at Denali is a bit strange. TD's have to get up early in the morning and see off all the guests that are going on the Tundra Wilderness Tour (TWT.) This is included with the trip and is the guests only guaranteed chance to get into the park. This is a 6-8 hour trip that begins anywhere between 5 am & 7 am. Today my guests were scheduled for 6:40 & 7:00. We need to be there about 15 minutes early and only have to stay until our last bus leaves. Then VV and I went to eat in the EDR and then went back to the cabin for a short nap. After about a 30 minutes I got up and walked over to the visitor center. It is about a 2 mile walk and was beautiful. The visitor center has movies about the park, displays, a cafe and guided hikes. We often suggest a stop there for our guests before they leave on the train. I caught the shuttle back, met up with AS for lunch, then changed back into uniform to meet my group as they return. There were out for more then 8 hours but it was worth it. They saw the grand slam plus two: grizzly, moose, caribou, Dall sheep plus wolves and Mt. McKinley. Great day. After answering everyone's questions, VV & I headed across the street for ice cream. Then I headed back to the lodge for some computer time. (From here on out it is my guess at what will happen) The great part is that my friend Jamie showed up with her guests and so I have someone to play with tonight. We will hopefully miss the EDR hours and I can convince her to go to the Salmon Bake for dinner and beer, though she doesn't drink beer, though she said she might try a Guinness. It will be an early night, I hope. Denali is where you catch up on your sleep.

I will continue with part 2 soon.

Thanks for reading.

Pic 1. - downtown Sourdough, Pic 2. - the cabins, Pic 3 - view of park through Black Spruce trees and fireweed.

The Story of the Traveling Suitcase

Funny how a small, left out detail can alter four days. This is the story of my suitcase’s trip on the rails and how I managed with out it.

Friday was the day that I deadheaded from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Most know what deadheading is but let me tell you what this means for TD’s. We often have tours that leave from Fairbanks but we are in Anchorage or vice versa and in order to get in position we must spend 12 hours on the wonderful train. Don’t get me wrong, the McKinley Explorer (MEX) is a beautiful way to travel between Anchorage and Denali, an 8 hour trip and Denali to Fairbanks, a 4 hour journey. It is just rough to do it all in one day. We travel by rail because it doesn’t cost HAL anything since they already own the train cars. So we take the train, get paid minimum wage for 8 hours of it and receive 3 free meals. Thank goodness the MEX food is better then airplane food. Oh yeah, we aren’t “supposed” to sleep either, since we are being paid. As a TD you walk up to the Car Manager after the guests have loaded, check that they have room, store your suitcase in the small luggage compartment and find an empty seat. So this is how Friday started. When I handed my suitcase to the person in charge, I let her know that I was a TD and would be going all the way to Fairbanks and not to take my suitcase off in Denali. I went on and found a seat. Fortunately, another TD was deadheading that day so I had someone to hang out with. The train cars are notorious for not being able to regulate temperature evenly, so about 2 hours in I was freezing. I know, big surprise. So I went down and got my jacket which was strapped to the top of my suitcase. About 3 hours later we made a stop in Talkeetna and our car filled up, so JT and I had to change cars. At our stop in Denali, I got off quickly, to see my friend JM that was boarding to find out what car she was on, and then hopped back on, not even thinking to check on my bag. Finally, we arrive in Fairbanks. JT and I go to get our suitcases and mine is nowhere to be seen and she is missing one of her two. We speak to the train manager and he says that there were 2 bags they left in Denali because they weren’t claimed and didn’t have any ID on them. Well, mine had a tag from my favorite Montana travel agency and my business card, however, no ID saying Holland America or TD. I am not happy but think that I am rather lucky since I am not starting my tour until Sunday, so I should have my uniform by the time I need it. JT is only missing her large cosmetic case. We get settled into employee house (the Best Value hotel, about on par with a Motel 6) and head to WalMart to pick up the essentials for the next day.

Saturday, my Fairbanks supervisor has contacted my Denali supervisor and he is going to put it on the train that day. I head off for a free day; I go out to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks’ Museum of the North, and then go on the optional to Fort Yukon, just beyond the Arctic Circle. This is a tribal village of about 500 that faces huge temperature swings, cannot be accessed by road and looks a bit, okay a lot like a shanty town. The flight out was incredible, we flew over the White Mountains and then across the tundra. Amazing landscape. When I returned late that night, I checked the desk at the hotel and the desk at employee housing (BV) but no suitcase. JT is in the room when I get in and she says that the luggage never made it to any of our people at the train depot. Hmmm. The next morning, I head to the office check with my supervisor; she tells me the same thing about no one collecting it. So together we check all the places it might possibly in Fairbanks but to no avail. I head back to the BV, there I rifle through JT’s suitcase and borrow a shirt and vest to wear for my meet and greet and just hope that my clothes will arrive on the train that night. After a long day saying hello to the guests on my tour, I check with both my supervisor and the other person that was looking for our luggage to see if the train had it on board. The answer…NO. At this point no one has a clue where the suitcases are, we know they got on in Denali like they were supposed to and our best guess it that they were on their way back to Anchorage. Day 3 sans luggage wasn’t very eventful, though it looked like my new group was a good one. That evening though I got good news, the suitcase was located, it had arrived back in Denali and my supervisor there, wisely removed it from the train and put it in his trunk. The saga was over and in less then 24 hours I would be able to put on clean socks.

It is funny what you learn when your belongings go missing. I discovered that I could live easier without a change of clothes then my electronics chargers. My cell phones were dead, so were my camera, mp3 and computer. Very sad. It did give me a new sympathy for my guests that lose their luggage. My guests on this trip also took my ordeal to heart. When I saw them late in the afternoon the day we arrived in Denali, I was clean with my own products, had my makeup on and had something other then khakis and my borrowed uniform shirt. They all remarked, jokingly, how much better I looked. Oh yeah, and the small, left out detail; always get off the train to make sure the luggage gets back on and label it with Holland America TD.

So this probably a bit long for the story that it is, it certainly nothing like the ordeal my friend traveling in Europe is going through. She is currently on day 10 without luggage. This is just a bit about my life in Alaska. If you have any questions about something I’ve written or you were wondering about, please put it in the comment section or e-mail me.

Thanks for reading.

(Pic 1 - the rogue suitcase, Pic 2 - the outside of the rail car, Pic 3 - the bridge over Hurricane Gulch, Pic 4 - Hurricane Gulch)

The Dreaded Time Off

As you know my first tour finished on Sunday and unfortunately my next one doesn't start until this Sunday. You got it, a week off. Now, I enjoy Anchorage, but I certainly wasn't ready to sit around for a week in town while I am geared up, rested up and psyched up to lead tours. So what does a poor girl do with 5 days off? Here for your entertainment is my exciting week off in Anchorage.

Monday was productive. I joined my roommate JM while she bought a new computer, then came home and checked to make sure it worked. Then she had her debrief at the office, so I walked back downtown with her and scheduled my debrief and ran into a friend, JW. We went and got some coffee while we waited for JM to finish, then she and friend EK joined us and the 4 of us headed to lunch. We ate at a place with great atmosphere and views and good food called Simon and Seaforts. Afterwards, JM and I stopped at UPS so I could get a mailbox, then we splurged on pedicures. You would think that a pedicure would be wasted in Alaska but I wear my flip flops all the time, as long as it isn't raining. The best was next, we decided to get an afternoon drink and stopped at Cafe Paris. :) From there we went to Ship Creek to check out the salmon fishing but it seemed pretty slow so we decided to stop into The Bridge restaurant for another drink so we didn't waste the walk. After getting a napkin folding lesson from the owner we decided to move onto Snow Goose Brewery for dinner and yes, another drink. It is always good to have first hand knowledge of the restaurants that we send our guests to. We then headed home for a nap and JM got ready for her tour the next day. At about 9:00 pm, EK, JW and I headed out for an evening of bowling. I am very rusty but we had a great time.

Tuesday was paperwork in the morning and my debrief at 11:30. We brief and debrief before and after every tour, or try to. The brief is important if you haven't done a tour before, it allows our supervisor to give us all the paperwork and the unwritten instructions and we make sure everything is clear. The debrief checks over the paperwork, checks through the comment cards and we can let them know of any problems or advice for the next time. I headed over to the Hilton to visit with JM while she got ready for her Meet & Greet, then I headed to one of the popular Anchorage restaurants, Orso, for lunch. I sat at the bar since I was by myself and talked with the bartender, who made a great margarita. He says the key is a little bit of cranberry juice. My chatting with him earned me some free wine tasting along with my tasty lunch. The rest of the room was pretty free, I just wandered a bit then came home. That evening a friend picked me up, we had dinner and were out until 3 am. I am too old for that.

Due to the lateness of Tuesday night, Wednesday I slept until 11:30 and missed my chance to go and work the cruise ship that docked in Whittier. So I pretty much did nothing all day. Wait, I did start planning my November vacation to Europe and went to the grocery store. I guess the day wasn't an entire loss. I also watched a lot of HGTV with my poor roommate that is house bound with a broken foot. It was one of the first 4th of July's

Today, Thursday, JW and I had grand plans of seeing a play in the park at noon and going bike riding but it rained, so the play was canceled. We stopped into my favorite coffee shop, had a nice cappuccino and ate the sandwich I had purchased. We then decided to go see a movie about the aurora borealis to wait out the cold and rain. It was great, a very good thing to send our guests to. Afterward it was still drizzily and cold so we opted out of biking and decided to walk along the coastal trail. This is a great path that runs along the inlet from downtown to out past the airport. We walked at least 4 miles by the time we made it home. Tonight I spent time packing for my 12 hour train ride to Fairbanks tomorrow and ensuing tour that I start on Sunday. I also got to chat with a few friends on line. Now it is time for bed, I need to be at the Hilton to catch the shuttle to the train station by 7:15. I am hoping to get on an optional tour up to the Arctic Circle during my day off in Fairbanks. If not that, then maybe it will be a trip to Chena Hot Springs.

I am hoping for very few stretches like this again. I am here to work.

Thanks for reading.

Alaska Address

I obtained a mailbox here in Anchorage. Feel free to send me things that remind me of all of you.

Diane Chase
645 G St. Ste. 100 #1215
Anchorage, AK 99501

Thanks for reading.

One Down

Now that I have had a few days to look back on my first tour I realize, I still love this job. We had a rainy but calm boat trip on the Kenai Fjords with good whale sightings (pic. 1) and then I said goodbye to my group as they headed for their beautiful cruise ship. The group was really a lot of fun. Very interesting people and for the most part very good travelers, rolling with the punches and enjoying whatever came their way. Of course, you can't please all of the people all of the time, there were a couple of couples that always seemed to miss some information and therefore thought that I wasn't knowledgeable enough. Funny thing is that was true but I was able to fool most of the people. I learned so much doing it instead of being told about it that I am confident that the next tour will be so much better. A big part of my success came from paralleling a laid back, great guy (pic 2). We had a lot of fun together and he was happy to help me out on anything I asked.
There are always small problems; lack of room keys, a misplaced suitcase, a sick kid, weak ac on the train. These were all small so easy to deal with but I am waiting for the big one. I head for Fairbanks on the 12 hour train trip either Friday or Saturday and pick up my next tour on Sunday. I will then work 10 straight days and hopefully stay busy after that. I really don't to sit around for another 5 days without working.

Thanks for reading.