"Land of the Midnight Sun"

I honestly can't believe we have been gone for three weeks! Time is just flying by, and all of the days are starting to blur together! Part of this has to do with the fact that the sun is ALWAYS up! The sun goes down around midnight and usually comes back up around 3 am, so you have the longest days, which is perfect for adventuring and driving late at night! It can just be very challenging to keep track of the time because you can't judge anything off of the light outside! 

So for the past two weeks, we have been doing a lot of trainings and a lot of working and exploring, and adjusting to the area! Here are a few pictures of where we are staying! 

We are living in Healy, Alaska. This town has a population of around 900 people, and it doubles in the summer because of all of the employees here during the summer season! There is a total of one gas station, three bars, a liquor store, and a LOT of wildlife! At first we were a little worried about our limited access to resources we have been used to at home, but it has actually been perfect to refocus and simplify! Because of all of the limited distractions, we have really been able to enjoy the time that we have together, and enjoy all of the wildlife and beautiful landscape! We have also learned to really rely on each other! There are very few members of the church here, and VERY few young married couples, so we are really the outliers. However, this has been one of the most refreshing things about our adventure here! We are meeting some of the most wonderful and incredible people, and learning so much about people from all over the world! They even have an exchange program here for students from Bulgaria! 

Where we live is called "The Homestead". This is part of company housing and meals, and is around 15 minutes away from the Princess Lodge we all work at! 

The view outside our building! Seriously so gorgeous!

This is what the Homestead looks like! And the view right behind where we live! 

Here is our room. We are currently sharing a twin size bed, because of availability, so that means lots of cuddling and snuggling time! 

On our first Sunday here, I was lucky enough to be able to attend our local branch! It it such an incredible branch with the most amazing members! I can honestly say there is such great strength in small numbers! I felt the Spirit hit me like a wall when I entered into the building! 

It is also such a blessing because the church is just under a mile away from our apartment! We are able to walk to church, which makes us leave on time ha ha, and get some peace and quiet, and pondering before church starts! We are truly so lucky to have a church so close to us in such a remote location, because otherwise it would be hours and hours until we would find the next church! 

Once Rob got off of work that day, we were also able to go into the National Park before it opened up to the public, and before all of the bus tours starting going through it! 

One word describes Denali National Park; B R E A T H T A K I N G! 

It was honestly one of the most beautiful national parks I have ever been to! Everything is so close to you, and the wildlife is everywhere! It is so peaceful, and chilly ha ha. 

The view from our drive to work everyday, can't complain about this! 

How is this even real life?! 

Testing out our new binoculars we got for Christmas! (Thanks Joe!! ) 

Can you say WALL-E? ha ha ha 

I am so excited to do some tours through the national park, and go back over and over again! 

For the first week of work, we were preparing for the hotels to open, and preparing for literally thousands of guests to come in just one week, so there was a lot to do, and a lot of information to absorb! 

Let's just say, Rob's uniform is a lot more flattering and "updated" than mine.  (More on that at a later time ha ha :) 

This week we also had the opportunity to visit a local husky puppy farm. Husky Homestead is owned by a man named Jeff King, a famous Iditarod athlete, who raises Alaskan huskies to compete in the race each year! He offers tours to the "Husky Homestead" where you can go an hold the husky puppies, and learn more about the Iditarod race, and  then play with more puppies. 

I am obsessed...I think we need one ;) 

I was seriously in puppy heaven! 

This is one of the outfits the Iditarod champion wears during the race, because of how cold it is throughout the entire race! 

Later that week, Rob drove to Anchorage for work, and got to ride the train home, where he enjoyed some incredible food! I also tried salmon again, and it was absolutely delicious! Maybe Rob's prayers about me liking fish are coming true! 

The Lodge that I am working at offers a musical theatre show, and they let the employees attend! The individuals in the show are very talented, and really get the audience involved! 

When we got home that night, we had two packages waiting for us, and it felt like Christmas! I guess I got a little taste of what it feels like to be a missionary because I was SO excited! I was ecstatic because I gluten free food coming in these boxes from my wonderful parents! 

Lets just say, gluten free has been some tough business out here, but after some reconfiguring, I think we have a little system down, thanks to my incredible and generous parents! 

Because the sun goes down so late, it is called the Land of the Midnight Sun, but this is perfect for adventuring and spectacular views! We had the chance to see Mt Mckinley on a clear day, and it was was         a m a z i n g because of the limited clear days we have out here! 

We did get to see a beautiful sunset around 11 45 pm this night, and the picture doesn't even do it justice! 

Our last beautiful adventure of the week was visiting Otto Lake! We decided to try some fishing and just enjoy the beauty of God's creations! 

We truly feel blessed and grateful for this opportunity! It is taking a bit of adjusting, but we are grateful for this experience and what we are learning together! 

Our Journey to Alaska

 I hope you can all bear with me as I venture into the blogging world! Now, I know I won't have a million readers, and really that isn't my goal by any means, but I would feel ungrateful if I didn't document our experiences this summer in Alaska. I also hope to turn this into a blog of our adventures as a family, and the "real life" memories we are creating as a couple.

How did we end up in Alaska for the summer? Well, honestly, this job fell into our laps and we couldn't turn it down. Last year, in our first year of marriage, we looked into going to Alaska to work for the summer to make some extra money and create some more substantial savings as students, but the timing was wrong, and we had a lot of other obligations we were already committed to. However, when we got in touch with a few friends who had worked in Alaska we became more intrigued about the idea, and more prayerful. As we started talking about it, and exploring the idea of it, we applied for the job. At the time, we had applied with a few friends of ours, but Heavenly Father had some other plans for them, so we were on our own. The application process and hearing back was quite nerve wracking for me because it meant we would be leaving our families for 4 months and living in a COMPLETELY different environment. However, it was also one of the most exciting, and faith filled decisions we have made yet as a couple.

Once we heard back that we got the jobs, ( I will spare you the lengthy details of the process and questions we had) we told our current employers and took the giant L E A P of faith that this is what Heavenly Father's plan was for us. We are both working for Holland America Princess Cruise lines in Denali, Alaska. We were very excited about working in Denali because of some financial benefits offered, but mainly, we are excited to s i m p l i f y our lives for the next few months and really work hard, refocus and recharge.

                     Saying good bye to our families, was tearful to say the least. ( Let's just say, I was the girl growing up who cried 4 out of the 5 days at girls camp because I was so homesick. I like to think I've made a few strides since then :)

We decided to drive to Denali, because it would give us a little more flexibility to travel and explore some more of the things we wanted to see in Alaska. The first day we drove to Rexburg, ID to stay and visit with Rob's grandparents and family. This was the e a s y drive, and we love any chance we can get to spend with family, so this was the perfect option.

We decided it would be fun to take pictures of each state line or territory we passed through! 

The next day we made the long 13 hour trip, with some detours, to Edmonton Alberta Canada. We got to travel through parts of Yellowstone, and the endless state of Montana, as well as cross the border into Canada. It was incredible to see all the different types of weather that we traveled through. We saw thick amounts of snow, rain, and even hail during this drive. 

It was fun to make the drive to Edmonton because we were able to make this trip last year as well because Rob served his mission in Edmonton. We were blessed beyond belief to stay with one of the families he became close to on his mission, and I can't even tell you how grateful we were for food and a bed. In fact, I think this was one of Rob's most favorite parts of the trip, because I absolutely LOVED the salmon dinner this family gave us. (While usually I stay 10 feet away from anything that smells or looks like fish) I think Rob's prayers about Alaskan fish are coming true:) 

Driving through Yellowstone, absolutely stunning with the snow.. and then we finally made it to Montana!

This guy is a champion driver, and never complained about the long drives!

We spent more time at these stations then we planned, but little did we know how grateful we would be for a modern gas station :) 

Alberta bound!

Did I forget to mention we saw the world's largest beaver museum on the way? ha ha

The next day we felt recharged and refreshed as we had actually taken a shower and eaten food besides smartfood popcorn and protein bars. 

This is when we made our long journey to Fort Nelson, British Columbia. This is where we ventured onto the alaskan highway. And oh what an adventure this would be. 

We had read lots of blogs, and reports about traveling on the Alaskan Highway because you get pretty much into the middle of nothing. Now, I am not talking about a small town or city, you get into absolutely nothing but the thickness of trees and mountains, not to mention the dirt road you are often traveling on. It was always extremely comforting to pass a car next to us, because sometimes you wouldn't see another car for hours. This is honestly where our adventure got the most exciting, and we became the most delirious. This is also where we saw some of the most beautiful landscape and wildlife I have ever seen in my life. 

Once we made it to Fort Nelson, we were exhausted and grateful to have a clean hotel and place to sleep, but before we went to bed, I of course wanted to explore the "town". First, the town is around half a mile long, no longer, and this is the largest town from 10 hours each direction, so it's pretty much it. There is of course, a Tim Horton's, a Canadian Favorite. As well as two gas stations, 2 restaurants, a post office, and a food mart, with 3 different boxes of gluten free food, ya buddy. 

Some of the beautiful landscape along the Alaskan highway! Spectacular! 

Just some of the wildlife we saw on the way, they were literally right next to our car! 

Rob chucked some pretty heavy rocks onto the ice lake, and the ice is so thick it didn't even budge! 

Once we had explored the vastness of the town, we decided to hit the sack, and prepare for the next day. 

These are the faces that say "we are so tired but so grateful we had a good night's rest in a clean hotel" face.

Some of Rob's favorite treats from Timmy's!

The delightful stop of Toad River, home to some of the most interesting "things" I have ever seen! And some crazy fueling systems! 

We had to get some pictures with the "toads"? ha ha 

One word. SKETCHY. 

On our way to Whitehorse, we stopped by one of the tourist areas mentioned along the Alaskan highway. We passed through Watson Lake where there is a spot called "Sign Post Forrest". The first sign was placed here by a homesick army engineer and travelers have been placing signs from home there ever since! There are literally thousands of signs and it is amazing to see where every one has traveled from! 

We found a little sign from home!

Little did we know, the next day would bring about an even more beautiful landscape and many prayers that we relied on our Heavenly Father for. We drove through the rocky terrain, hills upon hills upon hills and were amazed at all of God's creations. About 7 hours into the drive, Rob started to notice the car lurching and the check engine light went on. We immediately pulled over, and 

p r a y e d. We were about 45 minutes from the next "town". We were anxious because we still had a few more days of driving, and we really had no clue of what might be wrong with our car. We started to fervently pray, and I immediately felt overcome with the Spirit, and both of us received the direct prompting to "keep driving". We were grateful for an answer and prayed that the next "town", and by town, we mean abandoned buildings and non human operated gas station, just an abandoned station,  would have phone service so we could call our families and maybe get some ideas of what to do. We finally got in touch with our families and felt we should just keep moving forward and things would work out. Well our prayers were answered, simple as that, we were able to keep driving and make it to a big enough city to sort out the issues. 

The night of the car issues, we were blessed to have a bed to stay in once again. Rob had the brilliant idea, seriously brilliant idea, to call the branch president in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and see if he might have ideas for places for us to stay that night. Well the branch president, whom we had never met, and found his name on mormon.org, said we could just stay with him! We were so grateful because the Yukon territory is FREAKIN cold! 

We made it through day 4 of driving! Wohoo! 

One of the most interesting churches we saw along the Alaskan Highway! 

Yes, there are no names for stores or restaurants in this middle of "nowhereness" , the are just called "STORE " or "Restaurant"...again...SKETCH. 

Motel/Bathroom anyone? ehhh...I think I'll pass...

Seriously SPECTACULAR views of everything we passed! The view was absolutely breathtaking! 

We woke up the next day excited for our last long day of driving to stay in Fairbanks for a few days for Rob's job. We left early that morning and continued listening for hours upon end to our Dave Ramsey book and other books on CD. Little did we know the mountains and landscape would be even larger than life on the drive to Fairbanks! 

In Whitehorse, one of the coolest things I saw was the S.S. Klondike steamboat. It was pretty amazing how much it looked like the Mickey's steamboat in Disneyland ha ha ha. 

Again, "RESTAURANT". Let's just say, we were STARVING... and celiac disease is tough business out here, but somehow we survived this food. 

Another "Restaurant", but this one decided to have a dog keep watch? 

Maps upon maps upon maps, no "GPSing" or service out here! 

It was SUCH an exciting moment to see this sign and we can't believe we are actually in ALASKA! Wohoo!! 

All in all, and jokes aside, we truly are so grateful for this opportunity and so grateful we made it safely to Alaska! I was SO excited to have 53 hours in the car with my best friend, a luxury I usually don't have nearly any time with him, so the days we spend on the drive were some of my most favorite memories of our marriage so far!