Do we like the change or should I go green?

So, I was feeling like a change and so I inflicted this desire for change on my blog. What do you think? What is the general consensus here? Should I keep it or should I go back to the green?

Borrowing from Darin

I was reading through Darin's blog and reading through his lists of things that must go. I was thinking about things that must go while I was sitting in the airport this weekend. I came up with two things that must go:
1) People rushing up to the counter and hovering like buzzards over a kill to board the plane. People, it's assigned seating. You're going to get a seat. This isn't Wal-Mart on Black Friday. You're going to get on the plane. Chill. Yes, let's hurryupreallyfastto
sit
for
four
or
five
hours.
Zzzzzzzzz......
2) People rushing to get OFF the plane. First, I must qualify this because if you have a tight connection you have a very real and validated need to hurry off the plane. However, that's the only reason to be knocking people over trying to get off the plane. If you need a bathroom, you should be heading towards the back, not the front, of the plane. And why didn't you go while the plane was in flight? Again, folks, they won't ALLOW you to stay on the plane. You're going to get off the plane so relax. Standing up and glaring at the person next to you only makes you somewhat of a schmuck. It won't make them let you off any sooner. If anything, it will make them want to move slower and hold you up because you're being a jerk.

So there you go. My list of two things that must go!

On jumping off cliffs

I did something today that was scary. It was really, really scary. I can't go into details because it involves other people and so unfortunately, I have to be very vague. I've debated for a couple days about whether or not I should do what I did. I went back and forth on the issue. Sometimes it seemed like a good idea and sometimes it seemed like a very, very bad idea. But this afternoon I was reading my friend Rochelle's blog and she had written about taking risks. She made the great point that if we never take risks we can miss out on some of life's greatest opportunities. So, I decided to take the risk. I still don't know the outcome of the risk but I realized some very important things. 1) I may not get the outcome I want. And if I don't, my life will not have changed at all. I'm not out anything. My life will continue on exactly as it is right now. If I do get it, great! That would be fantastic. But ultimately the right thing will happen and my life will take the right path. 2) I'm a stronger person for taking this risk. I know this because I've gotten up the courage to take similar risks before and this one was easier to take. Mind you, it was still scary (as I said, it's taken 2 days to come to the conclusion to take it) but once I had decided, actually going through with it was easier than it was the first time I had to do something like this. I didn't realize until I jumped into this that I'm stronger about these things. 3) I'm a better person for doing this. I've done something that scared me. I've done something that made me vulnerable and put me out there. And I have more respect for myself for doing it. I don't think it's just me that reacts like this. I think these are probably principles that apply to everyone. So if you're facing a risky situation and you're just not sure what to do, look at the situation and decide what would happen if you didn't act and what could happen if you did. Most likely, you'll be better for it in the end. So walk up to the edge of the cliff, look at the wide expanse in front of you, and jump. I think you'll find that you'll fly. And if it feels like you crash and burn, when you look back, you'll find that you can jump off higher cliffs and fly because you dared to jump off the first one.

Seattle

In my last post, I alluded to my ten hour layover in Seattle. I arrived in Seattle yesterday at around 12:30. I didn't fly out until 10:20 last night. So, rather than sitting around in the Seattle airport, and knowing a lot of people who are from Washington, I decided to do a little research and see what I could find out about Seattle. The general concensus (thank you Jake, Jeff, and Anne) was that I should definitely go out and see the city. I hopped on a city bus and took off for downtown Seattle. I loved it! I should seriously consider moving to Washington. Phil is there so I'd already have a friend in town. I could move out to where he's living and we could be neighbors. It would be awesome! Anyway, I put my luggage in storage at the airport and forgot to grab my camera but fortunately I have a camera phone so I'm going to put in some of the pictures I got of Seattle. We started out at Pike's Market. If you've ever seen the fish market on TV where they yell out to each other and toss fish around and make funny comments back and forth, the picture on the bottom is that fish market. It's a really great place. When I took this picture, the guy on the right turned to the guy on the left and shouts really loud, "Dude! What are you doing, man? She's taking our picture. Pay attention!" He was totally dishing it to the other guy, who dished it right back. You could tell they loved their jobs. Or they acted like they did anyway:


These last three are of the Space Needle. The first one, obviously, is the space needle and the other two are views from the space needle at sunset. It was cool.

Prudhoe Bay and the Dalton Highway

Oh my goodness. There's always so much to blog about until I sit down to actually do it. Then I can't think of anything. Then I start writing and can't stop! So, let me give you an update on my life. I am sitting in the basement of the lemon road house (for those of you that don't know what that is, it's where I used to live in Virginia) and the lights are all on to ward off scary, yucky bugs and it's four o'clock in the morning. I left Alaska yesterday morning at six am. I flew into Anchorage and then on to Seattle. I had a ten hour layover in Seattle before flying to Virginia to get here at 6:30 in the morning. The fabulous Anne came and picked me up. I hadn't slept much and so I slept all day today and woke up with a headache which led me to taking some migraine medication which had a lot of caffeine in it. Thus I am sitting up at four o'clock in the morning and wishing I was sleeping because I need to get stuff done tomorrow. Today? Whenever. So, let me back up to my last four/five days in Alaska. After I got off the highway, I had a few days in town doing city tours and transfers and optional tours and such. On the 17th (the day I was originally coming back to Virginia) I instead headed north to the north slope. I flew up to Prudhoe Bay to take over the charter that we were running up there. We had been hired by Alyeska to transport pipeline workers from Prudhoe Bay (the oil fields where the Alaska pipeline begins and where pump station one is) to pump station 2, a trip of about 60 miles one way. They were doing some work on the pump station. Anyway, Jake was up there and I flew up and spent a glorious almost whole day with Jake learning how to do the run. Oh my gosh! It was SO much fun! I landed at the airport in Deadhorse. Jake came and picked me up and we went to the hotel. We dropped off my stuff and Jake finished up some laundry.

Once I had gone to make my lunch (or rather, gave Jake a convenient excuse to eat two pieces of Boston creme pie considering that I ended up leaving my lunch at the hotel when we left for the pump station...) we went back to the hotel (a tragic mistake, as that's where my lunch ended up staying) so Jake could grab his laundry from the dryer, then we headed out of Deadhorse. I read a great saying in Deadhorse: If you think hell doesn't freeze over, you've never been to Deadhorse. This was printed on a thermometer. Great, isn't it? Anyway, so Jake had me drive from Deadhorse to pump station 2 so I could see how to get there. On the way, we saw some beautiful bluffs:as well as some musk ox (muskox?):It was VERY windy when I got to the north slope. You should see the tundra when it's waving in the wind. It looks like the ocean. It's really quite beautiful. The north slope is flat. When you look out to the horizon, it's like looking over the ocean. Depths are very deceptive out there. Something that is 10 miles away looks at least half that distance. One of the security guards was telling me that there are spots on the tundra that are like quicksand. You have to be very careful. They will swallow you. Apparently, people have died in these tundra traps. The north slope is so interesting. There are no trees. None. Not even the scrubby little pipe cleaner trees that grow in the permafrost. (One small political note: I was initially against drilling for oil in ANWR. Since seeing the north slope firsthand, I can say that if we're going to drill anywhere, that's the place. There's nothing to destroy and it's easy (relatively speaking) to recover. It's stupid to let a vast oil reserve sit there going to waste. Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox now.) So, Jake and I got to pump station 2. It was much less windy and much warmer there. We went into the security office and Jake introduced me to Jesse, the security guard. He's such a great guy! We chatted with him for a while and then went back to the motorcoach to take naps. It was a really nice day spent reading, chatting with Jesse, sleeping and taking care of the motorcoach. Around 5:30 we picked everyone up and drove back into Prudhoe Bay. We saw more muskox, some caribou, and a white fox and a red fox. (One small tour note: We spend our entire drive looking for moose and caribou and bears when we're giving tours. I go to the north slope and there are animals everywhere. Oh the irony. Anyway....) So, the motorcoach had been leaking antifreeze. This is not okay - especially when it's 30 degrees outside. So Fred, our fabulous and amazing mechanic who I just adore, drove up from Fairbanks to check out the engine. I wanted to stay outside and chat with him but the wind was still blowing and I was freezing so I went inside with Jake to eat dinner. Fred finished up and came in and joined us. (You know, Jake, Fred, and I have had some interesting experiences this summer. It was Fred that brought Jake a new tire when Jake's coach blew a tire during our Eagle run.) We were actually joking about how they weren't going to let Jake and I run together anymore because bad things kept happening. But you weren't there so you didn't get to enjoy that conversation so let's move on. After dinner Jake and I talked for a while then went to bed because I had to start the next morning at 4 and Jake very kindly and graciously agreed to get up early and come with me on my first run. I was SO grateful. I just wished he could have stayed the whole time. Anyway, so we got up the next morning and it was freezing. We did a pre-trip then went and ate breakfast. They fed us like royalty up there. You wouldn't believe the massive amounts of food they had available. I ate my divine breakfast, made my lunch, and we went back to the motorcoach. I drove around and we picked up everyone and headed off. Jake sat in the jump seat and gave me pointers about the drive. Back at pump station 2, we dropped everyone off and then went back to park the coach and say good morning to Jesse. After saying good morning, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. We found some great seats! Jake popped the hatches open on the coach and we climbed up on top and sat on the roof of the motorcoach and watched the sun rise. I watched until I got too cold, then I went back inside. Jake and I read together a little and then far too soon it was time for me to drive Jake back because he had a plane to catch. We talked on the way back to Prudhoe and before I knew it, we were back at the hotel. In spite of me begging him not to leave me (okay, so he had no choice), Jake went in to pack and get ready for his flight. I can honestly say that the hardest part of my summer was watching Jake wave at me from the door of the hotel and walk inside, away from me. I held it together pretty well until Jake left and then I lost it. I cried all the way back to pump station 2. Fortunately, I had it pretty well together by the time I got there. I spent a rather lonely first day at the pump station. My next two days were pretty much the same schedule. After getting over my separation anxiety from Jake, I rather enjoyed myself. It turned out to be a lot of fun! My second morning in Prudhoe, I left the cafeteria and I was walking toward my motorcoach around 4:50 in the morning. I looked up and the northern lights were dancing overhead while the sun was coming up over the arctic ocean behind me. It was an unforgettable moment. I got to run this until Saturday. On Sunday, I left Prudhoe Bay and drove the motorcoach back to Fairbanks. I had so many people telling me how awful the Dalton highway (aka Haul Road) is. Esther, the key lady, asked me if someone was coming to pilot me back. When I said no, she asked if I'd ever driven the road before. One of the drivers in Fairbanks who gives a tour to Prudhoe was going on and on about how messy and snowy the road had become and how he'd never want to drive it at this time of year. So, to say I was nervous about the drive is an understatement. But I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. So, I slept in on Sunday until about 6 and then left about 7:30 for Fairbanks. I stopped at PS 2 to say hello to Jesse and pick up the batteries I'd accidentally left charging there the day before. Jesse insisted on me taking some hot chocolate with me. As I was getting ready to leave, Jesse was standing in the open door of the security office telling me how I was leaving at just the right time because it was snowing on Atigun Pass and in a few days it would snow and stick. As he's saying this, I see the misty rain is now turning to snow. So, I left pump station 2 and this is what I encountered:It wasn't like this the whole way, but it started sticking to the ground just past PS2 and stayed that way until I was over Atigun Pass. It doesn't show it in this picture, but it was snowing. And you know what? The road was great! Atigun Pass, a spot people were speaking of with a terrified reverence, was easy! It had guard rails, for heaven sake! I actually didn't realize I'd made it over the pass until I checked my mirrors and saw the sign saying "Atigun Pass" for the people that were northbound (I was southbound). The drive was incredible and the road was in great shape! I definitely had nothing to be worried about. Here are some pictures I took of the drive:This is a picture of the Brooks Range. It was covered in clouds, unfortunately. Every once in a while, I would glimpse tall, snow covered peaks peering out at me from behind their veil of clouds. What I could see was really beautiful.This is the trans-Alaska pipeline. It was covered in snow. I took a ton of pictures of the pipeline because I was so amazed by it. I saw it almost the entire drive. I'm really impressed with the pipeline and the people who built it. I have a newfound appreciation for them and for it.It wasn't until I came down Atigun Pass and below the tree line that I really recognized the lack of trees on the north slope. I hadn't realized how strange it was without them until I was back in them.

This is Coldfoot, AK. Yeah, it's an actual place. Like people live here. There are houses and a post office. I believe our guests overnight here when they do a Prudhoe Bay tour. I think the white building may be where they stay. Wow, and our Taylor highway guests think Tok is rustic!
Being up above the arctic circle was cool. Driving across the arctic circle was even more cool. They have a big sign and visitor center but the road to it was very narrow and I wasn't sure there was a place for me to turn the motorcoach around in so I didn't venture up the road to get a picture of the sign.This is just another shot of the pipeline. Seriously, most of my pictures are of the pipeline because I was just that impressed by what they built in such a hostile, unforgiving environment.This is just outside Fairbanks. By the time I got to Fairbanks, me and my camera batteries were running out of energy. It's about a twelve hour drive from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks. It's almost 500 miles. It was a beautiful drive. I'm so glad I did it. I guess the life lesson I can learn from this is that we can listen to people and let them scare us out of taking risks or we can prepare ourselves and jump in with both feet. If we're never willing to take a few risks we can miss out on some of the most amazing experiences life has to offer. Oh great. I'm starting to discuss the deeper meaning in life. It's time to end this blog.

Good night! Or good morning. Either way, it's time for me to go to bed.

The Northern Lights

It 's been clear for the first time in four days. We saw the northern lights tonight. They were SO beautiful! They were pink and purple and green and white. They were dancing so close over our heads that Sara and I felt like we could reach up and touch them. I have never seen anything like it. Thanks to the pest control people throwing our house into disarray, I couldn't find my camera but Karlyn took pictures so I'm going to borrow them from him. I think Phil took pictures too so I'll get his and post them as well. It was incredible!

Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor came to Fairbanks tonight. We went to his show. He is hilarious. It was a ton of fun. We had dinner at Gambardella's before the show. Mmmm. Okay. That's all.

Calico

So, after loads of drama, I went out on the last run of the season. I got to go to Kate and Andy's cabin at Calico Bluff. We'd been talking all summer long about me going to see the cabin. They're moving there permanently at the end of the week. I can understand why. It's absolutely beautiful! So, we made the trip happen on my last run. It was so fun! We went down Friday night and stayed until Saturday morning. It was amazing to wake up and watch the sun come up over the mountain and light up the hills and trees. It's very rustic and beautiful. In fact, it's so rustic you can imagine my surprise when I mentioned that I needed to use the restroom. I figured the bathroom would be an outhouse and it was. The surprise came when I went around to the front of the outhouse ... and there wasn't a door! No door at all! I was so glad it was dark - especially since Andy was outside checking on his sled dogs. Oh my! It was a little more awkward the next morning when Andy was outside and it was light! At least I knew what to expect that time. So, here are a few pictures. I just wish they captured how beautiful it really was.

Here is the garden at Andy and Kate's cabin

Here is the view from Andy and Kate's cabin

Calico Bluff

Calico Bluff

Two swans taking off of the Yukon River

Finally ... a new post!

Yes, I admit it. I have been slacking in the blogging department. In my defense, I'm running at about 80 hours right now, which is what we're allowed by law. So it's been a crazy busy super fun summer. It's actually turned into Fall now. Supposedly the northern lights are out. I guess I should go check since i can't sleep. I might as well check it out. I'll go do that after I post this blog. My cousin Heather and my sister - in - law Amy are actually my inspirations for blogging. (Oh joy. I can feel my cold medicine kicking in. This may end up being a very short post.) Anyway, let me move on to the interesting stuff: pictures. I have pictures to post of some of my experiences this summer. I haven't posted as much because I posted so much last summer and I've been doing the same tour this summer that I did last summer. I'm scheduled to go to Prudhoe Bay in about a week and bring a coach back so hopefully that will happen and I'll be able to get some pictures there. Anyway, here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Oh yes, and I'm writing all this from my new computer. My old one is going to my sister as soon as I can get all my old pictures and music off it.

So, by way of introduction, here is my latest adventure: Jake's flat tire on the Richardson highway in Salcha. So, Jake and I were paralleling from Fairbanks to Eagle. We were both deadheading so fortunately we had empty coaches (no guests). We were picking up groups in Eagle and doing tours back to Fairbanks. This adventure happened while we were deadheading, thank goodness!!

Where the tire should have been

This is how it should look

Okay, so Jake cracked the lug nuts, removed the tire, and pulled the spare out. The lug nuts take all my weight to crack and the tires weigh 200 pounds. He threw them around like it was nothing. It was really sexy. Hey, I'm only human.

That crack on the side of the tire? That shouldn't be there.

It took some convincing, but Jake finally agreed to pose for a picture. The guy's hot...what can I say?