Denali National Park

I have been in Alaska for about three weeks now. I've been busy, almost non stop. First looking at apartments and vehicles, then for Heather's visit, and of course the two hours of commuting every day for work. I feel like I've had very little time to relax yet. I move into my apartment in Anchorage next week, which will definitely help out. Put me closer to a social scene, give me less driving time in the car, and allow me to get a little extra rest so I have more energy to play. I'm looking forward to it.

Fall is here. It came in on us very quickly. I feel like less than two weeks ago, everything was still green. Now all the leaves are yellow and they're starting to fall. The tops of the mountains have snow. As much as I was excited on the idea of California and being somewhere warm and sunny all year, I am getting excited for ski season and all the Alaska adventures to come. I plan on snowboarding this winter, but hopefully I will be able to get my heel/boot situation in order so that I can go back to skiing as my main activity.

Heather flew into town last week and we went up to Denali National Park with the family and my cousin Kaija. Amazing scenery and lots of wildlife. Here are some photos to get your started... probably some more coming soon.

These are from a quick evening hike up in Hatcher Pass. Great sunset.

the first week of work went well. i elected to take the 9/80 schedule meaning i work nine hour days, but i will have every other friday off which will be great for adventuring. i found my apartment in anchorage yesterday... very excited. moving in oct 1.

Jackson to Alaska

My father flew to town last Sunday. We spent a couple days sightseeing and packing up my life in a uhaul and trailer for the benz.

On Wednesday morning, we departed from Jackson on the 2,839 mile drive.

Day 1: Jackson, Wyoming to Calgary, Alberta
Day 2: Calgary to Fort St. John, British Columbia
Day 3: Fort St. John to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory
Day 4: Watson Lake to Palmer, Alaska

During the drive, we saw a mom and baby sheep, a couple dozen bison, a caribou, five black bears, and a handfull of swans- almost entirely on day 3.

The most expensive gas was in Coal Creek, BC. After some conversions, it turned out to be $6.619/gal.

We tried to order some turkey from the deli of a grocery store. We asked for half a pound. The woman asked us how many grams. Oh... yeah... we're in Canada.

I should have brought a sign for Watson Lake, but didn't remember before leaving Jackson. Second time I've passed through without one. Maybe next time...

We passed two highway patrol cars during our entire trip through Canada ~2000 miles.

I thought it was kind of cool that the US/CA border when crossing into Alaska is actually clear-cut. You can see it going over the hills in the distance.