Friday, June 5, 2015

The Beginning of a New Chapter...


As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel in Kenai, Alaska after a full day of traveling. It's almost 1 A.M. and only now just getting dark outside. Tomorrow I catch a float plane to remote Redoubt Bay Lodge where I will be living for the next three months and working as a bear viewing guide. This is something I have long wanted to do and I'm both excited and nervous. I've become certified as a level 1 guide in Alaska by Dr. Stephen Stringham (who I will be working with at the Lodge) and will be completing level 2 field training when I arrive. I'll be surrounded by so many bears that I'm not even allowed to have a pack of crackers in my cabin, so it will be an experience that even I will find intense. The end result will be invaluable, though, and I'll be doing a lot of writing this summer. I bought a new camera for pictures and I'm hoping to get another book out of this, even if only a photo book. Internet at the Lodge will be spotty, if not non-existent, so it may be difficult to provide updates. I can if I will, otherwise I will have a plethora of photos and stories when I return in September. Have a great summer!!