Tag: Seasonal job

Living in Company Housing

I spent most of my career traveling around the country, and rarely had the opportunity to actually work in an office with my coworkers. Working in Denali and living in company housing is a whole new experience. Not only do I work in an office, when I go “home” I see all the people I work with again. We share our meals, we watch movies together, and when we sit in the “living room” we’re there with other coworkers. Because the crew here now is a small group getting ready for the arrival of the rest of our employees, we have a great opportunity to get to know those in other departments. And we also have three dogs who are the most spoiled mutts on earth, since they have such a large family to pet them.

Right now the main topic of conversation is the weather, and when it will warm up enough to turn on the water in our offices and the hotel. Yes, we’re working in buildings with no water. But hey, the porta-potties are heated!

Having worked here last year, I know the next topic of conversation will be whether we’ll be ready for the first guests (they always are), and how far the Park Road is open into Denali. Then it will be about who saw what animals in the Park, when the Fall colors will come, and finally, how much we’re looking forward to going home.

This work environment is varied and enjoyable. When I was working in my career, most of the people I worked with were fairly similar, if often from all over the country. Here my coworkers are not only from all over, but have such varied backgrounds. We have college students who are working for the summer, international students all over the world, people who spend all their time going from one seasonal job to another, and retirees who have come to work and enjoy the adventure, like me. Last year I made some wonderful friends, and I’m sure I’ll add to that list this year. I’m looking forward to it…

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Arriving in Denali early meant coming to the Interior of Alaska while it’s still in the grip of Winter. While the rest of the country experiences Spring, what Alaskans look forward to is Breakup. It means the snow is melting, the ice is turning to puddles (or lakes…or rivers…) and there is mud everywhere. Unfortunately, we’re told by the TV weather people that this is the coldest April in the Interior since 1927. I believe it.

Northern Lights

When it comes to the Aurora Borealis in Alaska right now, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that it’s still winter in Alaska. That means it actually gets dark so you can see them. The bad news is that it’s still winter in Alaska. Which means that while you stand outside in awe, the cold seeps into your hands, your toes, and eventually every part of your body.

Thanks to a sun event, the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights has been high the last couple of days. I set my alarm and crawled out of bed at 1 AM and bundled up to venture outside and check on the show.

The sky in Healy, if you get far enough away from the lights around our building, is an inky black velvet with glitter scattered across it. When the lights are mild, the sky turns into black silk, with a sheen across it that can be mistaken for light clouds. But on a good night you can see ribbons of light, dancing and changing, moving as you watch. Last night I didn’t get to see the rarer red lights, but they were white ribbons, silent and beautiful. I stood outside for about an hour, and at the end the lights faded to that cloudy look. I kept hoping they might return, but the cold finally chased me inside. Well, the cold and the dark figure I heard approaching on the road. It was too dark to make out what it was, but moose are known to travel on the road just like we do. I began to make my way back to our housing, and was happy when the figure, approaching fast, turned out to be a fellow worker who was out enjoying the lights.

Soon the nights will begin to shorten to the point where we won’t see dark again until September, and seeing the northern lights won’t be possible. So I guess standing outside in the cold in the middle of the night is worth it right now.

A New Year in Denali

I arrived back in Denali on April 3 this year. I’m hoping to do a better job of blogging the summer this year; I finally gave up last year after struggling with the Internet service. The good news is that my Internet connection is working MUCH better this year.

We drove up from Anchorage on a beautiful sunny day in the 40s, and The Mountain (Denali) was out in all her glory. So I was thinking, “Great! Breakup is upon us and Spring is here!” Wrong. The next day it started snowing and continued for a couple of days, with the temperature dipping into the -20s every night. Yesterday we woke to no water and no heat, but that was fixed very quickly. The first day I worked in my office it was 55 degrees in the room, but fortunately Maintenance found a space heater for me and that made it very comfortable.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been in weather this cold, and I’m starting to relearn some things I forgot: ALWAYS wear your hat and gloves, don’t bother with earrings because they’re pretty cold in subzero weather, walk carefully because there’s ice under that snow.

It’s a small crew up here getting ready for the season, but it’s growing almost every day. We’re all stuffed into the Stampede housing until they open up the other building, so it’s starting to get a bit crowded. We have a great group of people working together here, so I’m really looking forward to the season.

My only wildlife sighting so far has been a huge eagle feasting on a baby moose carcass. The biggest eagle I’ve ever seen! There were several ravens standing by, but none of them seemed interested in challenging the eagle for a meal.Image

This is the scene behind the main lodge of the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. It looks a lot different now than what our guests will be seeing this summer.

Halfway Home!

Well, not ACTUALLY halfway…but halfway in time. Sunday was the midpoint of my commitment here in Denali, and it caused some mixed feelings. I’m happy the mid point is here and it’s time to start thinking of being home-of sleeping in my own bed, hugging my hubby, petting my cat, being able to sleep in, having days when I can just relax, and being able to get in a car and go wherever I want!

On the other hand there’s this panicked feeling: Oh, dear, what haven’t I done that I want to do here? How many weekends are left to be able to hike, to see wildlife, maybe take a fun excursion? I came with ideas of visiting Kenai, Homer, Talkeetna, the Arctic Circle, yadda yadda yadda. Didn’t do any of that. Without a car it just seems like too much trouble. Besides, there’s so much to do and see right here.  Maybe next year…

What was that about silence?

In the last week I’ve been listening-really listening-to the sounds of the wilderness. Well, this isn’t exactly wilderness right where I’m living-not when you have 90,000 of your best friends coming to visit during the season. So at times there is a need to filter out the cars and buses and airplanes, not to mention the guests and several hundred employees who are in the canyon where we live and work. But most of the time, there is an opportunity to stop, to listen, and to hear the sounds that are not man-made.

There are the raucus ravens who hang out around here. Earlier in the season it seemed as though the seagulls had taken over the territory, but apparently the ravens have recaptured their traditional place in the heirarchy. This afternoon I watched as three ravens chided me for infringing on their territory. Unfortunately, I’m not as easy to get rid of as the seagulls were.

We also have a healthy population of Columbian ground squirrels in residence. They run and chase each other from tree to tree, and when they realize I’m watching they move around to the other side of the tree and squeak at me. How brave.

There are plenty of other, smaller birds besides the ravens, and of course the river nearby and the wind in the trees cooperate to bring the counterpoint to the animals and birds. I love it in the early morning, before the tourist trade gets into full swing. It makes for a wonderful walk to work.

Seasons!

After fifteen years of desert living, I almost forgot what it was like to experience the seasons. Here in Alaska, especially interior Alaska, the seasons change with a vengeance. Summer is short, and winter is long and harsh. And dark. The wildlife and the plants know that, so summer is like walking down the streets of New York City: everybody is in a rush but not quite sure where they’re going. Where they’re going is Fall…and then Winter again.

I arrived in Denali on April 30. There were snow patches on the ground and everything was brown and gray. Alaska welcomed us the next day with a white world. Hey, I haven’t owned snow boots for years! It continued for the rest of the first week, with temps in the daytime hovering around 40 degrees. As we snuggled in temporary quarters and crossed our fingers hoping for warmer weather so they could turn on the water in our housing, the weather teased us with warmer nights, then freezing nights again.

Suddenly in mid-May the weather warmed up and the sun came out, and we took off our jackets in the balmy 60 degree heat.

I walk up a hill to my office every morning, and I watched day by day as the bushes along the road first showed little buds, then hints of green, then bright green new growth. Now they’re in full leaf, celebrating the rain and the sun and warmth. Just to add to the celebration, wildflowers are jumping up. Yes, I mean jumping up. One day there will be a cute little flower peeking up, and the next day there’ll be a whole bouquet waiting to greet my day.

So for the next few weeks the animals and the plants will be reveling in the heat (it was 78 yesterday) and the long hours of sunlight (21 hours a day as of this writing.) They’ll be busy feeding for the winter and reproducing for next year. Then before I go I’ll see the whole process in reverse. One day the plants will start to turn orange and yellow and red. The animals will begin looking for winter quarters, and so will the seasonal workers here in Denali. The chill will be back in the air, and termination dust will start decorating the mountains. And I’ll start packing my bags to go back to what will likely still be 100-degree heat in Arizona.

Starting Over (Almost)

I finally got my Internet challenges resolved today-for the most part, at least. It turned out that my mobile hotspot wasn’t working properly. A new hotspot, activated courtesy of my hubby (you can’t activate it in the wilderness, I’m told) and the slowest Priority Mail package in history, came today and it’s burning up the satellites.

I have a LOT to catch up on-the leaves have sprung us right into a full green summer, and the place that just three weeks ago was all white is now 70 degrees. The mountains around us change daily…no, hourly…and provide a constantly changing show.

I had the privilege of having dinner with the editor of Alaska magazine and their photographer. For a lover of the written word and of Alaska, it was a real treat!

I walked into the entrance area of Denali National Park last weekend and shared the walkway with a moose-very cautiously, of course. The whole walk was exciting-one minute I’d be marveling at the vast mountains, and the next I’d be on my knees inspecting the newly-blooming flowers. Even the rain, when it came, was fun. It was a soft rain, making everything look more intense.

Pictures are now no longer such a challenge, so I hope to be able to build some posts around some of my favorites.

Getting Settled

Finally moved into our housing for the season, although even that was a challenge. For the first few days we didn’t have water, which required the use of a porta-potty and walking a goodly distance to the showers in very chilly weather. Then we got water, but it promptly froze up every night. Each night I’d check that we had hot water and would go to bed looking forward to a nice hot shower in the morning, then in the morning there would be nothing.

A trip to the dumpster one day revealed the reason for the water problem…the pipes are running above ground! Hey, it’s Alaska.

Anyway, the weather finally turned nice just in time for my birthday. I got to try out two

Mountain climbers head to the base camp on Mt. McKinley.

tours in a row-the tour vendors want to show us how great their adventures are so we’ll tell the guests. First we did a helicopter tour over Denali National Park. The following day we did a flight around

Mt. McKinley. The weather was absolutely spectacular, and we could even see the mountain climbers hiking up toward one of their base camps. It was a truly thrilling experience and I feel so fortunate for it to have turned out so perfect.

On my birthday I walked to the post office to pick up my mail; it’s a mile and a half each way, but a nice walk. Then I treated myself to a king crab dinner. My coworkers provided a cake during the day, and then we gathered in our trailer for a glass of wine in the new wine glass I was given.

This was a birthday I’ll remember for years!