"When Fireweed Goes to Cotton . . .

. . . summer's soon to be forgotten."

This is an airy little saying in Alaska that became almost uncomfortably appropriate during my last few weeks at the lodge.  Time had flown by.  Like all summers, although it was packed full with all sorts of adventures, it felt too short and like I hadn't done all the things I'd meant to.  It was difficult resisting that paralyzing feeling that I had squandered all my free time.

Fortunately, Megan and I found ways to pack in a few more adventures while the end of our season rapidly approached.

A well-timed work party allowed us to take one more hike through the wild and untamed Alaskan landscape.

And of course, no Alaskan outing is complete without the discovery of even more mushrooms.

Perhaps if Megan weren't so darn photogenic, I wouldn't wear her out with my picture-taking as much.  Just look at that contraposto!

The place was called Troublesome Creek and while we didn't quite make it to the end of the trail (we were worried about not having enough time to eat more s'mores) , the views we saw and the greenery around us was well worth the trip.

There was also one of those pump-wells out at the trail head.  But although it has a drinking fountain-like spout on it you're actually *ahem* not supposed to *cough cough* drink from it. (Oops . . .)

One of Megan's requests before departing the land of the North, was to eat at the lodge's fancier restaurant, the Mountain View.  This is a plan I was certainly not opposed to. although my wallet was starting to wilt.  Three of us went and while I looked for something somewhat budget-friendly, but a little more exciting than soup or salad, Megan outdid us all by ordering the King Crab legs.

They were enormous.  I'm not sure if you can tell, but those large legs have already been cut lengthwise.  None of us had ever had shellfish very much, so discovering how to pry the meat out of the smaller legs was a bit of a challenge.  That is, until the restaurant manager paid us a visit and gave us a thorough and enlightening demonstration.  It was delicious!  I'm not big on seafood, but crab happens to be one of the few types I don't mind, and this one was particularly amazing.  

As for myself, I had duck, marinated in maple syrup.  It was also very good, but I felt like there needed to be bacon crumbles on top.  (I'm somewhat of a closet maple-bacon fan.)

We concluded our meal with a brownie, practically overwhelmed by an enormous scoop of Tilamook Vanilla ice cream (Alaska has also made me fall in love with Tilamook ice cream).  Megan had a glass of chocolate mouse.  

CAUTION: the next image contains a small amount of blood and gore.  Squeamish, scroll quickly.

So, I also managed to incur a parting injury from Alaska.  To be honest, I'm surprised I lasted nearly the whole summer without needing any band-aids.  The story goes like this.  I was walking down to dinner one afternoon.  I was enjoying the sights, the smells, the sounds.  I noticed some little mushrooms (of course) growing by the path that I hadn't seen before.  I stopped to look and give my greetings.  As I stood to leave, I got a sudden rush of excitement (does this happen to anyone else?  you just feel totally and completely and wonderfully alive for absolutely no reason at all?).  I took one step, preparing to jog the rest of the way down the hill, when my foot caught on the dirt, a rock, my other foot, something, and I found myself skidding downhill at an alarming speed.  It was over in probably two seconds, but I rolled myself over to discover a mess of tattered jeans the likes of which you could find in only the most emotional of teenager's closets.  Not only were my jeans a mess, but so were my knees.  I somehow avoided scraping up my palms (I don't remember ever landing on them) but both knees looked absolutely morbid.  After throwing some angry mumbles at the path behind me and picking out some of the large pebbles, I limped the rest of the way to the lodge where I shanghaied Megan from her dinner under the pretense of needing her to tend to my wound (in actuality, I wanted to show off my battle scars).

I limped for a couple days and fought with several kinds of bandages trying to get them to stay, but in the end it finally scabbed over and I'm just about as good as new again.

Before leaving, I was also given a pretty cool opportunity by one of my managers.  She asked me to design a sign for one of the lodge's attractions: The Hudson Theater.  It's a place where we show videos, have nature talks, and where guests can meet cool mountain climbers (like Howard Carbone and Melys).  I had a lot of fun designing and drawing the sign, and the best part is that I got to do it on the clock.  I got paid for art!

Anyways, here's a little before and after of the sign.  Unfortunately, a week or so later, it got left out in the rain and was kind of ruined.  I don't mind, but I do feel bad that I didn't have the time to fix it for them.

Speaking of managers, have I mentioned how fantastic mine were?  Seriously, I got to work with some of the greatest people I've ever met.  In the gift shop, two of us were leaving early for school, so my manager put together a bit of a farewell party, complete with moose meat enchiladas and strawberry cheesecake.  It was nice to have fun with everyone, but it was hard knowing I wasn't going to be working with these people anymore, and might never even see some of them again.

Alaska, with all its marvels and wonders, pales in comparison to the people I met.

On a happier note - Christmas!  The lodge has a tradition of celebrating Christmas in August.  It stems from an occurrence in Yellowstone some odd years ago where scores of guests found themselves snowed in by a freak blizzard.  Making the most of the wintry conditions, they made decorations, stoked the fires, and thrived on Christmas cheer.  Now, in commemoration, many lodges, including our own, celebrate Christmas in August.  Unfortunately, Megan and I were set to leave the day before the actual celebration, but we were still able to enjoy some of the preliminary activities.  Such as cookie decorating!

And the gingerbread house contest.

This is my favorite, made by the Naturalists

And this is the gift shop's entry.

Plus, we got to help put up and enjoy all the trees, ornaments and . . . other decorations.

It was certainly a very nice way to end the season.  However, mine and Megan's adventures weren't quite over just yet.  On our very last day, the day that we'd be boarding our last motorcoach to Anchorage, we decided to pack in all the goodbyes and final farewells that you just can't fit into your 50 lbs of luggage.

To be honest, I didn't go to Alaska thinking I'd make very many friends, but looking back now, I can't imagine having gone through life never knowing some of these people.  Sure, it's a little corny, but I mean every word of it.

Megan and I also managed to get in one last trip to good ol' Talkeetna.  We went to it's most recent establishment, "Mountain Juice" and got some hip and healthy beverages while basking in the history of the restaurant's mascot, Ray Genet, mountain-climber extraordinaire.  We then made a quick stop in at some of our favorite gift shops, ordered a last meal from Mountain High Pizza Pie, and made our way back to the bus stop.

DISASTER STRIKES!  The bus has left without us!  How were we supposed to get back in time to finish cleaning and packing before our ride to Anchorage?  The ride from Talkeetna to the lodge takes an hour and there wouldn't be another bus until 3, getting us to the lodge at 4, giving us only one hour to do everything we'd foolishly left until the last minute.  Well, there was only one thing to do:

Yup.  We hitchhiked.  Having never done this before, we were somewhat nervous and unsure of all the protocol.  Fortunately, we met another hitchiker, a Jamaican in a similar predicament, having missed his bus and needing to get back to work.  All three of us were newbies, but we gained confidence in solidarity.  In just a short time, we had secured a ride with two guys returning to Anchorage from a fishing trip.  Unfortunately, we only were able to get halfway, though, as Anchorage is in the opposite direction from where we needed to go.  So, there Megan and I were again, in the same situation, only without the option of waiting for the 3 o'clock bus.  Having become more experienced at this new trade, however, we soon had another ride from a kindly old man from Idaho who was extremely deaf.  I'm not exactly sure how we were ever able to communicate to him where we needed to go, but somehow we made it, with just enough time to finish everything, give out some more hugs, snap a few photos, and make it on the bus.  And before we knew it, we were gone, on our way to Anchorage and one last day of adventure.

Once in Anchorage, Megan and I found our way to the Alaska Backpacker's Inn, a somewhat quirky little hostel.  We went to bed early as Megan had contracted an unfortunate sinus infection and I began to fear for her life.  The next day, having somewhat improved, we stored our luggage, checked out of the hostel, and began to walk.  Being Greene's, Megan and I have somewhat of a sixth sense for bookstores.  We quickly discovered C&M Used Books and were greeted by this site upon entering the door:

Around the next corner, we met this guy.  We spent an hour or so browsing, but didn't end up buying anything, as they only took cash and neither Megan nor I had any on us, but it was certainly one of the more memorable bookstore experiences I've had in my life.

We then headed for the mall where we picked up lunch and a few final souvenirs.  Then, we finished off our day at the Anchorage Museum.  I won't say too much about this, as I talked about the Anchorage Museum in my last post, but getting to see the rest of the museum only increased my approval and love of it.

 At this point, Megan and I were ready to be home.  We trudged back to the hostel where we called a cab to take us to the airport where we then spent the next 12 hours waiting for our flight (we did this because we're cheap college students who didn't want to pay for a second night in the hostel).  Nothing particularly interesting happened during those 12 hours, so I guess that brings us to the end. I feel like I should leave some parting sentiment about how Alaska changed my life, perspective, and hairstyle or something like that, but I get the feeling you guys have already been able to tell how much I absolutely loved this past summer.  And I hope you're all ready for more, because Megan and I fully intend on returning next year for another three months of mountains and adventures.

PS - I do remember that this is supposed to be an art blog.  Before I left, I gave each of my coworkers some Alaska-themed art to remember me by.  Some turned out better than others, but overall, they were well received.