Currently living/working in: Still working on the road as the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Team. We wrapped up in Grand Teton National Park July 5, drove 8 days to Alaska, and we’ll be in this state until August 22. You might hear me professing my love for Alaska a million times in this and future posts (something Justin has been doing ever since his first 2003 visit).
Current mood: Our schedule is still extremely busy (hence the last blog post being 13 days ago), but we are finding balance as much as we can.
Current guilty pleasure: LONG summer days. Oh my goodness, I’ve been to Alaska before and experienced its midnight sun. But it becomes a different story when you actually live here (because doesn’t several weeks in one place count as “living” somewhere?). I digress. I have gotten very used to the sun never setting and hiking/grocery shopping/eating dinner late into the “night.”
We were all surprisingly awake for doing a 2-mile hike at 11pm.
Currently not excited about: On that note, I am less than stoked for the return of nighttime. I think the waning daylight hours will be depressing to watch!
Currently excited about: Guys, I am turning 40 in August! But that’s not what I am pumped about. We will be celebrating it with a few days in Katmai National Park! It is yet another remote national park (we are taking a float plane to get there) and we’ll be staying in an electric fenced-campground because … GRIZZLIES!!! In droves and too close for comfort. It will be our very own Planet Earth live!
Currently amazed by: Things I never thought I’d do at a public campground: take out staples from a human arm. Justin is posing for this picture, but I literally removed Justin’s staples (from last month’s axe wound) in a cramped shower room in the public campground bathrooms. For the win.
Currently proud of: We have been so, so, so conscious about our waste this summer, measuring all our compost, recycling and trash. It is sometimes a major hassles, but really makes us think about our consumption and how to reduce it! Of course this is more than challenging while on the road and particularly in remote Alaska whose limited grocery stores carry watermelon for $15.99.
Current confession: We aren’t camping nearly as much as we expected. I use the excuse that things came together very last minute for this tour, and campground reservations in national parks book up months in advance. But pretty much the whole time we’ve been in Alaska, our accommodations have been a tiny cabin with a private bathroom (running water is a commodity in Alaska!) and WiFi. I am certainly not complaining, but I feel guilty & spoiled. To be fair, we will be camping a lot in the next 2 weeks and it is supposed to rain, so retribution I suppose.
Currently regretting: Not having more time at Outdoor Retailer. We attended (took off time from this job to do our Backpacker job), but it felt like a lightening strike. We probably spent more time traveling there and back than walking the floors.
Currently worried about: Our last leg for this tour is in Yosemite NP, which is currently on fire right now.
Currently thankful for: My family in Alaska. It’s so crazy how often I see my Uncle Fred & Aunt Diana (and cousin Elyse!), compared with some of my other aunts & uncles, who are all in NJ. Anyway, it’s been great to have a place to send mail, stop & do laundry, etc, etc. Plus, my Uncle Fred is from my Italian side, so there’s always good food involved.
Currently reading: Our 8-day drive to Alaska conquered 2 audio books!
Over The Edge by Greg Child, the true story about 4 American climbers (including Tommy Caldwell & Beth Rodden) who were kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan. It was pretty scary and makes me a little reluctant to travel to foreign places!
Ranger Confidential: Living, Working and Dying in the National Parks by Andrea Lankford. This book quickly climbed my charts into my top 5. I always knew park rangers worked hard, but I never knew they worked as hard as they did. There were 4 fascinating true stories of rangers woven together and connected to the book author. It was so good I want to read it again!
Currently watching on Netflix: Honestly, not watching much. We seem to finish up our day so late since it’s light out all the time!
Jamie and I listened to Ranger Confidential a couple of years ago and it definitely made me appreciate their jobs!
Ranger Confidential is on my to-read list! I’ll have to bump it up to the top soon!
Ugh, so busy here at the moment with work. wish my work was your work!
And those photos are 11pm? CRAZY!
I was a ranger! But not an LE ranger. I’ll have to check out that book. Yes stay far away from Yosemite. It’s a sh**t show. Deaths and all.