Catch up

Apologizes for the delay in posts. I want to catch everyone up on my random adventures and I'll try to be better at posting shorter stories when it's convenient for me. I'll miss some things in this post, but I'll do my best to keep you all caught up.

First, my living situation. I live in the town of Girdwood. I've never done small town living before, so this is an adventure in it of itself. The town is a little liberal enclave in the red state of Alaska. There's a huge resort in town, Alyeska, so the town explodes in the winter, when the town hits a peak of about 2,000 residents (including Ted Stevens). Girdwood thrives on the tourist industry: guiding companies, gold mining expeditions, restaurants, and nightly and weekly house/apartment rentals. There is also a part of the population who commute to Anchorage (an hour away) and work for big companies or the government. We are officially in the municipality of Anchorage, but it feels like an independent community. Downtown, if you can call it that, consists of a grocery, post office, laundromat, coffee shop, two realty offices, and four bars. Across the street there's a preschool, fire department, library, and park with a softball field, frisbee golf course, and a skate park. Number of stop lights within 40 miles of where I live: zero.

For the first month in town I lived in a Yurt. Yurts are circular homes that are often used for camping in national parks. Mine was a bit more upscale, it had a wood stove, electricity, a sky light, futon, a propane stove, and an incinerator toilet. Basically I had a circular studio apartment minus the running water. I think that everyone, at least once in their lives, need to experience living without running water. When you have to cart every ounce that you drink or use on dishes, you really gain an appreciation for it. Also, when you have no shower, you gain an enormous appreciation for friends with running water. The Yurt was in the middle of the woods and was the perfect place for self reflection during my initial time in Alaska. My original plan was to stay in a trailer behind my boss's office, so I was stoked. I had no TV or internet, barely any cell service, so I read six books, learned to play the harmonica (I'm still learning), and learned how to cook feasts on a tiny stove. Lauren joined me for the last week of my stay.

The yurt turned out to be way too cramped for two people, let alone 3 or 4, so we decided to upgrade. Under fortuitous circumstances (which is the way things seem to work up here), a new friend Tony was moving out of an awesome two bedroom cabin in the center of town with bay windows overlooking the mountain. He hadn't told his landlord he was moving out, so over a handshake we had a beautiful new place to call home. I have about a 20 second commute to work and it is more than comfortable for all of us and our guests. After we moved in, we discovered a massage chair and a fold-out couch. And that first shower under my own running water was glorious.
Justin arrived here two weeks ago and the adventures have rolled in.

I don't want to make this post too long, but I'll do my best to fill you all in on what I've been doing. Adventures include: Denali, icebergs, glaciers, salmon fishing, rock climbing, rafting, Justin's here, Justin's mom, 500 person hipster party/concert in our front yard, and much, much more.

Pictures soon.