As My Time in the North Comes to an End

In Alaska, people climb 5000ft peaks on sundays, they don't watch football!!!



In Homer, the Salty Dogg is a world famous bar. There are dollar bills pinned all over the bar with writing on it. This is what I wrote on mine. I know where I come from!!

Last night on the Matanuska Glacier.

I want this chicken. Jeff and I laughed for 5 minutes straight! He reminds my of a muppet...what does he remind you of?

This is how guides take shots! V-Anchor through a chunk of glacier ice! Cody is now par tof the MICA family.

Alas, my great adventure among the skilled guides of MICA/Exposure Alaska has come to an end. Three months I spent sleeping in a tent among the wild animals of the north woods( and no I am not talking about my colleagues) , no running water, little electricity and ample amounts of WI-FI. I survived daily hikes on the glacier and inebriated nights outside the guide kitchen, only to say goodbye to friends I may never see again. Such is life as a seasonal employee. The first goodbye was for Steve and came swiftly as I was leaving that morning on an expedition to the Prince William Sound and Denali. Next was the first large wave of folks, leaving only Mandy, Jeff, Bill, Joolie, Phil, Don and Tina, of course, and me. The days went by quickly with an exciting visit from my cousin Cody (Love you Cuz!) and a glorious escapade to the state fair. The goodbyes were short and sweet, with leaky eyes. My friends are off making great adventures for themselves. Mandy is guiding in San Fransisco, Jeff is heading back to New Zealand, Bill is sailing around South America and Matt is guiding down in Argentina, just to bring a few things to your attention. I hope to follow in their epic examples and get moving somewhere exciting myself (destination still up for debate...).

After I left MICA is went down to the Kenai Peninsula to stay with Cody. Jeff followed and we tore Seward up! After I became well acquainted with Soldotna, AK (not much to get acquainted with) my aunt and uncle arrived and we went on a super sonic tour of Alaska. Eventually, I huffed my way back up to Anchorage. climbed a tiny peak, went ot the zoo, had some drinks and was otherwise bored stiff.

Now I am sitting in the Anchorage airport, enjoying an Alaskan White Ale waiting or my plane to take me out of this place that is getting colder by the hour and the days are rapidly losing light. However, I will soon find myself in the tropical weather of Nicaragua and other countries of Central America. The guide tan I gained from this summer will blend into my soon to have beach tan. Oh yeah baby!

This summer was incredible. I will never forget the friends I made here and the things I learned about people, the outdoors and myself. Now, my time as a homeless college graduate begins and my time of reliable employment ends. Ahh this is the life!