We Are Mountain Women!

"In case we get eaten by a bear, we went out hiking the Indian River Trail. Left at noon, should be back no later than 7. We have bear spray and a small amount of food."

It's Saturday, and my roommate Christina and I leave this note, along with our phone numbers, on the whiteboard in the kitchen as we head out to hike the Indian River Trail. I've gotten in the habit of leaving these notes whenever I go hiking, partially in good humor, partially in all seriousness.

changes

I've been through a lot of changes lately, all for the better I think. I was talking to someone about change yesterday and remembered something Mom always used to tell me: "Change is the only thing you can rely on." In effect, it's the one constant in life -- ironically, since the word itself suggests anything but consistency. But at long last, whether things are going well not, you can count on them to change.

My new digs

Springtime reflections

Deer Heart and moss

It feels as if spring has finally gotten a firm hold on Sitka. When I first arrived 2 months ago, the forest floor was still barren beneath the high canopy of the evergreens, but within the last few weeks, lush foliage has burst forth from dormant flora that I hadn’t even noticed before. The woods have become ten times denser with the bright green yawn of deciduous trees awakening from their winter slumber, and the soft understory is completely obscured by thousands of Deer Heart leaves that have sleepily unfurled from their spear-like shoots. Ruby-crowned kinglets and pacific wrens warble their odes to the season, fervently trying to find mates amid the cacophony of nature stirring to life again.

And we're back!

After my long hiatus, the thought of catching up on my travelogue seems overly daunting. A lot can happen in a month, a lot more than can possibly be summed up in words, so I will substitute mostly pictures for now, in lieu of spending my entire evening trying to remember what happened three weeks ago, much less a few days ago.

In light of this, we will begin with a photo:

The muskeg

Be back soon!

I fully realize it has been a month since my last post, and it's not for lack of things to post about. Truth be told, my laptop decided to kick the bucket about a month ago and it has taken this long to get it repaired.

 Surprise surprise! There is only one computer store on Baranof Island and they referred me to a company in Illinois to fix the broken part of my laptop. Three weeks and roughly $150 later, my laptop should be back and in working order early this coming week, so prepare yourself for a backlog of stories and adventures.

That's all for now, because MY GOD it is annoying to type on the touch screen of a mobile device! Hang tight, my friends. I miss you all, and will be back soon to catch up fully with everyone.

Adventures on duty

Last Sunday was my first official day on duty at Sitka National Historical Park. The schedule varies every day each week, but for the most part I work Sunday-Thursday, usually spending half the day at the Russian Bishop’s House and half at the Visitor Center a down the road.

First thing in the morning, I did the inventory rounds, which literally consists of taking a checklist and visually accounting for each and every artifact on display in the building. There are hundreds of artifacts. This is done morning and night with opening and closing procedures to make sure nothing has been stolen or moved. It wasn’t as tedious as you might expect though, and was actually really instrumental in helping me learn all the displays. The checklists are so detailed, they mention every tiny piece, every pendant, every fork and spoon, every plate, every candlestick, and even every book in the house. If anything were to go missing, I sure hope we’d notice!

Inside the chapel / NPS Photo

a photo finish to training week 2

View down the Indian River

Sitka has been blessed with another impeccable week of sunshine to augment the final push in training. Temperatures soared into the upper-60s, which made for some perfect outdoor sessions to learn about the rainforest, salmon runs, and the Battle of 1804 among other topics. The schedule was jam packed with workshops, but I still feel fairly unequipped to face the impending dump of cruise ship tourists we're about to receive on Tuesday.