SNOW....

First I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! 

We had our friend Stephanie over for dinner on Christmas Eve. Then we spent Christmas Day playing in the snow and Tide pooling. 

Tristan and I got each other stuffed mini deep sea creatures. He got a blobfish and I got an isopod!

Christmas Day is also Tristan's birthday. So we decided to do our favorite thing and go tide pooling! It was a -3.05ft tide at around 7PM. So we bundled up and put our headlamps on and climbed down the rocks to the beach. 

It was just starting to snow flurry while we were out there and we could hear a whale blowing every now and then. We found all sorts of creatures from Sea cucumbers, sea stars, shrimp, pipe fish, sculpin, rockfish, urchins, different species of snails, chitons, and a few nudibranchs! We took the sein net out and attempted to catch some fish. We only lasted a few times since our hands were super cold at that point. 

Buffalo Sculpin

                                                                                

Being a beachbum from the Southeast, it has been many years since I have seen snow. Well that is no longer the case. We got a couple of inches the day after Christmas, but inland they got a lot more. 

Since Christmas day it has been sunny and cold everyday! It has also been beautiful! We have taken adventures inland to play in the snow almost everyday. I bought a sled and attempted sledding for the first time in years yesterday. I stepped in a soft spot and sunk to my hip until I hit the hard snow! 

I could tell you about it all day...but I think I'll just show you a few pictures! It is breathtakingly beautiful here! It has turned into an amazing winter wonderland! 

Yes I am slightly jealous of the 80 degree Christmas back home. And I'm sure I would have spent it basking on the beach in my bathing suit if I had been at home. But I enjoyed my winter wonderland with these 2 cuties this Christmas! 

Finding a Christmas Tree

As always with my life this was an adventure.

 As most of you know Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year! So when I told Tristan that I was coming back for the winter, the first thing he said was that we could go and cut down our own Christmas tree. It has been years since I have had a real tree and I have never cut my own down so I was super excited! 

So last Saturday we headed out to Slivis Lake trail to the designated area where you are allowed to cut Christmas trees. It was raining when we woke up...but by the time we drove out South the sun was peaking out from the clouds every so often. Although it was still cold enough that some of the snow that had fallen the week before was still on the ground. We hiked a little way up and then made our way down into the Muskeg (basically a swamp). It was cold enough that the muskeg was frozen over so we didn't have to worry about sinking! 

We searched all around the muskeg for the right tree. Tristan insisted that we have a Bull Pine...so we looked all around to find the perfect one. Well it turns out that the perfect one was actually the top of a larger tree. So up the tree Tristan went with his saw to cut it down as Siren and I watched. 

 

After he cut it down and we trimmed it down to the size we needed, back down the mountain we headed. Thankfully the Christmas tree area isn't too far up the trail, and the trail is an old logging road so its not too bad. Then Tristan got the tree all tied on top of the little bug! 

Once we got the tree home then the real adventure began. Our tree stand is a little bucket that uses rocks to hold the tree up. So we had to perfectly position the tree with the rocks so that it wouldn't fall down. Then we realized we didn't have have enough lights so off to the worlds smallest Walmart we went. I ran inside and grabbed another string of lights. 

We got home and put the lights up on the tree but then realized that we didn't have any hooks to hang any ornaments. So back to Walmart we went. This time we also got a tacky $8 star that lights up for the top of the tree. So back home we went to finish decorating our tree. 

Our ornaments are the entire collection of characters from the original Rudolf that Paula and I found on sale at CVS on Christmas Eve in 2001. So daddy mailed them up for me along with a few other wooden ornaments. And our tree skirt was made by Tristan's mom when he was a little kid. We also found stockings that she had also made and they are hanging up near our tree (we don't have a fireplace)! 

Other than finding a tree I have basically been working. i have been subbing in a pre-school class for the last 2 weeks and I'll be there through Thursday when Christmas break starts. We have been studying dinosaurs. We have made fossil cookies, skeletons out of pasta, and volcanoes. This week is their Christmas program so I will be helping with that on Monday night. 

We took Siren on a walk today and I saw a few little snow flurries. The mountains have been covered with snow for a while, but they are calling for the first snow here in town tomorrow. Then basically the whole end of the week it is supposed to snow. I'm looking forward to Christmas break so that there can be lots more adventures!  

I promise to post pictures of the snow in the next few weeks. Until then enjoy the Christmas season!!! 

December is here...

I know, I know....it has been well over a month since I last posted!! I failed on keeping everyone updated from the road. So here we go...here is a whirlwind version of my last month and a half.

Road Trip: 

The road trip started with a 36 hour ferry ride from Ketchikan to Bellingham, Wa. Gwenn and I had a Glee marathon along with Mulan 1 & 2. It was pretty foggy so it was hard seeing wildlife, but we did spot 2 whales during breakfast one morning. It was a fun way to travel back to the lower 48...although it would be way more fun in the summer with more daylight.

Then we hung out in Seattle for the day and visited with friends. The next day we drove through Mt. Rainier National Park...but the rain and clouds were so thick there was no sight of the mountain. But I did get a great view of some waterfalls. We stayed in Spokane that night and then headed through Idaho and Montana on day 3 of driving. 

The next day we headed through the rest of Montana and part of North Dakota. We saw Mule Deer, Eagles, Kestrel, Magpie, Coyote, and prairie dogs. We stayed with Gwenn's mom in ND and then headed to see friends in Minnesota. But on the way we had to stop at the Geographical Center of North America in Rugby, ND. 

After Minnesota we drove to Cleveland to visit with one of our fellow Allen Marine Employees! We spent the night and next morning hanging out with Jeanette, then headed back to VA! 3,700 miles driven and close to 5,000 total traveled in 8 days. I told you it was a whirlwind.

Home:

If you didn't know by now I decided to come back to Ketchikan for the winter. So home was just a visit. Also know that I consider my visit home the whole 2 weeks I spent in VA, NC, SC, and GA.

I spent almost a week and a half in Va which is probably the most time I have spent there in over 3 years. It was wonderful to see all of my family and friends while I was home. And I got to pack and shop for shoeboxes for OCC. Dad and I also cleaned out all of my boxes and the spare room and threw away some junk. Yes dad I called it junk.

My Sister and I

My cousin Emily with her children & my sister

While I was in Va we had my sisters bridal shower. This was great because I got to see lots of family and friends that I hadn't gotten to see in a while. We also had a get together at my uncles house with family from out of town.

Visiting with my Step-grandma Pat

My cousin Emily

Selina, Elise, Whitney, baby  Noah, my sister and I

When I had to go and pick my mom up from the airport I got top spend some time with a friend in Charlotte. I managed to squeeze in a trip to Myrtle and visit with my favorite people (and dog) there. I got to bird watch off the pier and I see a couple of really large pods of bottle nose dolphins. My favorite thing to watch though were the diving pelicans. I have really missed them in Alaska. 

After a quick trip to Myrtle there was a stop in the SC Low Country for a boat ride with a friend...and then to GA for 2 days. I had a wonderful time with my family and I even got to stop by the 4-H center for a quick hello with the staff and Zoe (the Loggerhead Sea Turtle I cared for while I worked there). Then it was time to catch a plane back to AK.

Back to Alaska:

And after a 13 hour day where I took 3 planes, a car, a tram, and a 5 minute ferry ride...I made it back to my beautiful rainy island in Alaska. Where I was greeted with a week of sunshine.

There was a little snow on a couple of trails that were higher up so that was fun to see. I hiked up part of deer mountain where we saw a breaching whale way in the distance. That was a wonderful welcome back present. 

Siren wanting food at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was spent with Tristan, Stephanie, and of course Siren! I cooked a turkey...and we had mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, stuffing, and pumpkin pie! We played Frozen Uno (thank you Kat and Elizabeth for my uno cards with frozen characters) and ate lots of food. On Black Friday this year I chose to go with REI's campaign and #OptOutside. Tristan and I took Siren on a walk through the rain forest. The sun was shinning and it was absolutely beautiful...cold, but beautiful. Every hike around makes me fall in love with Ketchikan all over! The sun was coming through the trees over the creek just perfectly in this picture! 

Now that Thanksgiving is over the rain has returned. And I also I finally went back to work. I am substitute teaching for the winter here. It was hard to get up the first morning after not working for almost 2 months, but it's been nice to be doing something everyday. 

So there is my life for the last month in a nutshell. If I missed seeing you while I was at home I am sorry....and I hope to catch you next time. I'm super excited that my never ending adventure is back in Alaska! It may be dark for most of the day...but that's just part of the adventure :)

I promise not to wait over a month for the next update!!! In fact I'll even give you a preview...Tristan and I will be going in search of a Christmas tree this weekend! Since that involves hiking up a mountain, cutting one down, then dragging it back down the mountain...I'm sure there will be a story to tell!! 

  

Sitka and the many days that followed...

Wheelhouse selfies with the captain! 

On October 1st everyone woke up at 3:30 AM so we could be at the dock at 4:30 AM and ready to leave by 5 AM. And after making lots of coffee, we started off on our 14 hour adventure to Sitka. The water was flat calm and the sun had finally come out to play! 

Tristan & I with the rainbow we drove
through right after seeing Orcas!

Tristan and I watching Orcas

On our adventure we saw over 30 humpbacks, sea lions, seals, sea otters, more sea birds than I could count, and finally more orcas in my life! I also got to see ice burgs, glaciers, maelstroms, and another beautiful sunset! It was worth the trip for sure! Plus there was time to jam to 90's pop songs with Jeannette (captain) and for wheelhouse selfies. Once we got to Sitka I got to spend lots of time with Molly (my deckhand) before she hopped on a plane and headed to Key West!

Humpbacks right off the boat!

Sunset in Sitka.

The plane ride back was beautiful! You take off right over the water, and Sitka has a volcano that sits in the distance that you can see. Then what took us 14 hours by boat going 25 knots, took us 30 minutes by plane. It was a beautiful sunny day when we landed back in Ketchikan. Which was great for me, because when I landed in April it was cloudy and I couldn't see anything. 

Leaving Sitka

Tristan and Siren playing fetch on Gravina.

The day after we got back from Sitka was amazing, so Tristan and I took Siren over to Gravina Island and just drove around and had a picnic. There have been many more rain forest hikes and cuddles with Siren. 

Sitka Black-tailed deer on Gravina (this is full grown)

For the last 19 days I have spent a lot of time with friends. I have been able to substitute teach a few days which has been great. It gives me something to do and allows me to make a little extra money to pay my bills. I've said goodbye to a few more friends who are spending their winters back east. We had a bonfire to say goodbye to Amanda. We also celebrated Stephanie's birthday! I convinced Tristan to carve pumpkins with me, since that is what you do in October! There have also been lots of movie nights! Sarah had everyone over for a Turkish feast to celebrate her new apartment for the winter! 

Beautiful waterfalls off one of the trails.

Basically I have spent the last month just being with all of the people that I love here. I'll be leaving on the ferry in 8 days. I am so excited for my road trip with Gwenn and to see my family again! But there aren't words to say how much I don't want to leave Ketchikan. I love this rainy little fishing town. 

Double rainbow over my boat and town I stole from Tristan! 

I will try and update from the road with pictures everyday so that everyone can follow along! We are planning to take the Northern Route so I'm sure there will be a little snow in my life at some point! But until then...I hope you enjoyed a little more of my never ending adventure! 

End of the Season

5 Months ago today I was waking up in Alaska for the first time. It feels like it could have been yesterday. Most summers fly by for me, but this one was at warp speed. Some things are the exact same...it was raining then and it is still raining now. Almost everything else is completely different. 

When I got on a plane from Seattle to Ketchikan, I was ready for a great summer full of awesome wildlife and new adventures. I thought I'd spend 5 months in rainy Ketchikan and be so ready to come back to my sunny beaches. I thought that I'd have fun and it would be another place on my long list of cool places I've lived, but after this I'd be ready to move on to somewhere new. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would fall this much in love with a quiet little fishing town in rainy Southeast Alaska. 5 months has past and I am still here and I am in no way ready to return back home. Yes a sunny beach day would be nice, and I'm excited to see my family. But I am in love with Ketchikan. I have never not wanted to leave a place more. I've extended my stay by a month, and I've already asked about returning next year. 

The season is over but that doesn't mean that my adventures are. In the next month I plan to squeeze as much fun in as possible! In fact I've already started. Yesterday I went fishing with some great friends. We caught a ton of rockfish and saw some beautiful humpbacks! Later this week I'm going to head up to Sitka with our captains and some other crew to take our boats back to our home port. I'm excited to see another community here in Alaska. 

I know that in a month from today I'll be loading a ferry and heading back to the lower 48. This winter there will be plenty of adventures back home I'm sure...especially with little Sarah getting married. Plus there will be plenty of my east coast friends to visit! But I am already counting down the days until the season starts next year! 

I mean with sights like this who wouldn't be...

Saying Goodbye...

September is coming to a close pretty fast...and although I'm staying for another month, most of my friends are leaving this week. So as I've become accustom to being a seasonal worker...its time to say goodbye. I not only am saying goodbye to my friends...But I am also saying goodbye to spending all my time on a boat.

Finally a picture of the humpbacks

This last month has been pretty amazing! The humpbacks have been moving through and I have seen whales almost everyday that I have been out. About 2 weeks ago we dropped our passengers off for the island part of the tour and had a little time to just watch whales. They were all around! There was peduncle throwing, tail slapping, and even one feeding right at the entrance to the harbor. It was one of the best day I've had on the water.

Feeding Humpback

Tours have been dwindling down and the weather has been getting rougher, but its still been a great adventure! Today I went on my last cake date with my friend Bryce and tomorrow Kayla leaves. I can tell that the summer is ending for sure...but that also means that fall is just starting.

That means more time spent with the friends that I have made that live here year round. More disney movie nights with Gwenn and Stephanie. More dinner dates with Sarah and Amanda. More bonfires with Brian and Nick. And more sunset dates with Tristan and Siren. More time to relax and enjoy Ketchikan with out the tourists.

I'm super excited about my next month here. I'm sad to say goodbye to my friends this week, but that is something that I'm used to. Saying goodbye means that I just got to spread my sunshine to more people who are going to head somewhere else out across the country! It means I will have more friends to visit in different places!

The next week will be busy breaking down all the boats and doing odd projects around the docks. Then I'll head to Sitka for a little adventure to return our boats up there...but there will be more to come on that. But for now I'll just enjoy the sunset from last night replaying in my head!!