La vie en...ALASKA!!!

So...I realize that this is my french blog...but I don't really want to change the address and everything now that I'm in Alaska. So...it looks like I'll be continuing my blog.

So...Alaska. It's gorgeous! I haven't had a chance to take pictures yet, but I will soon. I'm finally feeling not sick. I've been pretty desperately ill for the last week or so...and I didn't have enough time to go the doctor, so its nice to be able to start to taste and smell things again. I'm still coughing and don't really have a voice...but at least I'm not achy and I don't want to crawl into bed all the time. Disneyland was fun...but we were all kind of sick...especially me, so it could have been more fun. I beat Sarah on the buzz lightyear ride...yes! But my plane rides were without incident. On the way from LAX to Seattle, I was seated next to a decently cute guy, and since it was a red eye flight, pretty much the whole plane was asleep. I awoke from a small snooze to find cute guy completely asleep and starting to lean in my direction. I found it kind of amusing and so I left him like that until he was almost sleeping on my shoulder. But then I had to go and cough and he woke up with a jerk and awkward situation ensued where I pretended I was asleep and was unaware that he was snoozing in my vicinity. I slept the whole flight from Seattle to Juneau, so the whole process passed rather quickly. We arrived in Juneau to wind and rain and I feared that my small plane would not be able to fly out in inclement weather. Well, inclement weather means something different in Alaska than it does in California. So...I got in a tiny plane that seated 8 passengers and we struck out for Skagway. What can I say? The flight was breathtakingly beautiful. There is snow in Juneau still and we flew up the inside passage inbetween enormous snowcapped mountains and glaciers to the tiny town of Skagway, located in a fjord. The flight was somewhat bumpy, and the bottom swooped out from us a few times, but if you treated it as a rollercoaster, it was fine. To land in Skagway, you fly over the town and make a sharp curve banking far to the right just next to the mountains to approach the landing strip from inland. If heights and rollercoasters frighten you...small planes are not for you.
Skagway...now that I can finally smell again, the scent is intoxicating. The mountains rise straight to the heavens and are still capped with snow. The biggest mountain facing us is known by the locals as witch mountain. The majority of the buildings are restored and all of the sidewalks are boardwalks. I'm living in a restored historic house (the Peniel Mission) with the Moore cabin and house practically in my backyard (The absolute first structures in Skagway before the stampeders arrived...to a history nerd like me, this is tantamount to awesome). I asked today if the tap water was good and was met with incredulous stares. Apparently, the water comes straight from the glaciers surrounding Skagway...this is where bottled water companies should set up headquarters. I had my first day of training today. It was definite information overload, but hopefully, I'll be getting the hang of this soon. I'm very excited to start my official duties once I finally get it all figured out. There are so many different duties I'll be doing...so different from Cabrillo. I'll give official tours around town, staff the visitor center, staff the moore house (with the original piano that composed the state song for Alaska...that I'm allowed to play!), spend a day out in Dyea (chances of bear sightings are good), do living history, and help with research (yay!). Pretty much to sum it up....I'm stoked. And a fellow ranger invited me over to watch the laker's game tonight. They lost. Boo. But cool that I got invited over and seem to be making friends. Anyhoo, I'm attending a seminar on the Tlingit (pronounced Klinkit) tomorrow and then we are headed up to the white pass with the historian. Should prove another interesting day. Talk to you all soon!