Prose and Cons: Jet Boats vs. ATVs

So, in the last two weeks since I braced this space to become my whiny headspace clearinghouse, I have worked and played and worked some more, but suffered no bouts of existential angst and had no real problems to vent. Truth is, it's just plain ol' crazy what you can get used to. I am at the point now where I am closer to leaving than I am to my arrival here. Summer is half past, and I'm settled into the groove of life, the way we all do, when it just keeps coming at us. There have been ups and downs, to be sure, but the rest is just life.

It's not that I didn't expect this to happen, I know from past forays into the weird (I'm looking at you, Army) that when you just take each day as it comes you eventually just develop routines and all of a sudden it's not weird anymore. I just figured that it would have been something that I noticed, like a definitive moment in my workaday life, where I recognized how adept I am at being a temporary Talkeetnan. It actually kinda whispered past. Perhaps it was Wednesday night, when I was suffering from an extremely rare (for me) bout of insomnia. As I lay awake, re- and de- composing letters to friends in my head, imagining the pub that I will one day open, and trying to figure out what I'm going to do when I get back to the Jerz, maybe that was the night that I transformed from a guy who wasn't sure that he was gonna last here to a guy who has a full time job, a place of his own, good friends and neighbors, and a fairly decent social life. I can't really say, because it happened when I wasn't looking, but living. Like all important moments do.

I have had a steady schedule for the last month, which is really great compared to the first few weeks I was there when my days off changed every week. Even more remarkable is that I have managed to squeak by the rain once or twice and actually go out and have some fun in the sun. Last weekend I took advantage of the lodge employee discount (re: free) and went on a Mahay's Jet Boat Adventure Tour. You spend a couple of hours riding up the Talkeetna River, they try and show you some local wildlife or just a lovely ride out on the water. We saw a few bald eagles, from a distance, but not much else. There is also a small nature walk component where they pull off to the bank and you go into the woods to visit a native style camp and a trapper's cabin. It was an ok time, but seemed more like the kind of trip you'd go on in middle school for social studies class. Since I was ill-informed about the types of trips Mahay's offers, I didn't realize that you could go on a different ride that took you five hours up river to a class 5 whitewater area called Devil's Canyon. Guess I have to go back and take the grown up ride.

Dena'ina Indian Encampment, part 1

Dena'ina Indian Encampment, part 2

Trapper's Cabin

Inside the trapper's cabin.

A trapper's cache.

The Talkeetna River & a Mahay's Jet Boat

Doubt you'll make it out, since I took this with my cel, but there's a bald eagle up there.

Tuesday evening of this past week, I was invited by one of my lovely co-workers, who also happens to be one of the cooks at the lodge, to share in the wonderful bounty of a Thanksgiving Dinner in July. Hannah and her roommates put together quite a spread. There was turkey, stuffing, potatoes, home made macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, home made gravy, and biscuits. Not to mention desert, consisting of pies and cupcakes and cookies, oh my. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and celebrating an extra one in the middle of summer was a great way to spend an evening so far from home. There were a whole bunch of people from work there, including some night shift folks that I never see. Afterwards, in lieu of a game of catch with the pigskin, we threw a frisbee around and then headed into town for some adult libations. I had to be up for work at 4:45 the next morning, so I didn't stay out too late, but it was a good night with some good people. And my first real home cooked meal in months. Oh, yeah, and I played ping-pong for the first time in many years too, and even though I am a little rusty, I think I've still got it.

Today was, by far, the best day of the week. Except for sleeping in a bit later than I would have liked, everything came up roses today. I had a great breakfast at the lodge, enjoying French Toast that isn't as good as mine, but sure ain't bad either. Then I headed into town to check my PO Box and discovered a package sent to me by some wonderful friends back home, which consisted of multiple packs and one loaf of Case's Pork Roll to warm my grateful belly. Sufficed to say, dinner tonight was delicious. This afternoon, I arranged for another employee discounted adventure, this time trail riding 4-Wheel ATVs all over the local area. It's a three hour tour, but since we weren't on a boat I wasn't too worried about being a castaway. I've never ridden a quad before, and it was a blast. The weather cooperated, the guy running the tour was amenable to my attempts to see how fast I could hit trails and take turns, and I didn't crash or fall even once. I look forward to going back when there are no vacationers in the group and seeing what those things can really do. And I don't think I'm gonna have to worry about a re-occurrance of that insomnia tonight. Tomorrow it's back to work, back to the routine. Just plain old living. Just like they're doing anywhere else on earth.