Thursday night, a few of us ladies (Jenny, Kady,
Sarah, and I) were sitting around and decided to build a campfire.
Armed with only a wooden pallet and some cardboard, we headed towards
the waterfront camping grounds. My boss was sleeping, so we made
friends with his neighbors. They graciously let us borrow their hammer,
axe, and lighter. Those items it much easier to start the fire. It got
going pretty well, and after the pallet was gone, we improvised with
what we found on the beach. Tyler came down too to enjoy the warmth.
Small Boat Harbor is gorgeous at sunset. I made up a few Mad Libs, but
then we just chatted the night away.

Once we got the fire going,
we made a list of things that make building a campfire easier and more
enjoyable. They include: a lighter, lighter fluid,s'more items, firewood in small pieces, and kindling. Most of these items are now in our possession.

On the way back, we stopped by the ASLC
and picked up some more pallet to burn the following evening. However,
when the garbage men came, they threw out the pallets. :(

Saturday
was my first day working as a front desk clerk at the Hotel Seward. The
entire staff was extremely helpful and patient as I learned the
computer program and the ins and outs of hotel life. After work, Jenny
from Utah, Sarah, and I went toYuli's for dessert. There was a musician
playing acoustic guitar, which was nice ambiance. After that we met out
almost all the interns at the Yukon Bar. The had adj playing 80s music,
and a live band. Needless to say, I danced the night away! Genni, Tyler
and I started everyone off, and by the end of the night, even Genni's
boyfriend and his friends were dancing. We had so much fun! I can't
wait to go back. We even all wrote our names on a dollar bill and stuck
it to the wall. The entire ceiling and most of the walls are covered in
dollar bills with permanent marker written on them. It's an interesting
place. I didn't have my camera, but I will bug Tyler for pix.

Ok here are some pix- finally! A pic from the plane as I arrived in Alaska. The pic of me in the brown shirt is from my first Alaska hike up the "easy" trail on Mt. Marathon. Today we hiked a trail to Exit Glacier, which has dramatically receeded since the 1800's. All the interns went on the hike today, so it was nice to chat with a few different folks. We were starving when we got back, so my roomies and I had a family dinner- chocolate chip and banana pancakes!

Today was orientation for the ASLC, and many reps from different departments came and spoke to us. There is sooo much I want to be involved in, but I am trying to set limits. One boat company in town is offering FREE trips all summer, so be on the lookout for whale pix. I am working Saturday and Sunday at the hotel. But hopefully next week I can spend some time on the water.

Today, Jen from Utah and I did the easy/jeep trail on Mt. Marathon. It was a gorgeous morning and took about an hour to get up. There was still snow on the mountain, so we kept loosing the trail. We decided to stop before we could find the waterfalls, and come back later in the summer when the snow is gone. We then walked down to Small Boat Harbor for some ice cream. Jen is interning with the Park Service as well, so she wanted to talk to them. But they were closed for lunch. I tried to talk to Major Marine Tours, who I have been trying to work for, but the owners were out of town. Jen and I had a nice walk back, and got gelato in town.

When I arrived at my apt, both of my new roommates, Nicole and Kady, had arrived. Kady wanted to get out and see town, so we walked back to Small Boat Harbor with Kayla, another intern who is from OK.

Now Blogger is being funny, pix tomorrow I promise!

Well, as you probably know I am not the most computer-savvy girl in the world. My friend from UR, Geoff, is letting me borrow his digital Canon Rebel for the summer and it is awesome! When I was home, we got together a few parts for it (software and a card adapter), and realized later when I was in MI they didn't work. But then I found a USB cord for my digital camera I thought would work, but today I couldn't figure it out. So, no pix for now. Sorry I will work on it tomorrow. I took a bunch of pix of the mountains around Seward and some pix of the town. Oh, and of course the animals at the Sea Life Center. The sea lion, Woody, is HUGE!

Today I applied for jobs around town, and was offered a front desk position at a hotel in town. The pay is pretty good, so I think I will take it. My heart was really set on a boat job, but the harbor is a good 15-20 minute walk, where the hotel is 2 blocks from work and 2 blocks from my apartment. So now I will be able to afford going out on a whale watch.

There are interns arriving every day into our apt building. All the girls are super nice and from all over the country. I am going to hike Jeep Trail with Jen tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too tough. I haven't really done much hiking except for one Adirondack peak a few summers ago. Wish me luck!