Summer Solstice!!!

Yesterday was Summer Solstice. It is the longest day of sunlight in Alaska. This day is celebrated more than July 4th in Alaska. Since it never gets dark and you can't do fireworks July 4th is just another day. To celebrate yesterday a bunch of us got together and played a very intense game of volleyball at 10:00PM. After that we went down to the river and had a bonfire until about 2:00AM made smores played a few games. We got home around 3:00AM and watched the sunrise.....which technically only went down for about an hour. Then came home and ate breakfast. It was a lot of fun! I have met so many people up here and I am loving every day! I hope everyone is doing well. I love and miss you all! :)

Home Safe and Sound!!

Erica and Abbey have been found safe and sound! They were found yesterday in the late afternoon after Erica was able to get a short cell phone connection and called her mother, they were located shortly after that. While they were extremely hungry and had a few bruises they are fine. Their excursion started in Denali National Park and was supposed to end where we live at the Homestead but they started to follow the wrong river and before they knew it they were completely lost. They had very little food and when they realized that they were lost started to ration it, they had one granola bar left when they were found. Both of them are going to continue working for Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Erica flew out today to go to her sisters wedding in Texas, she was supposed to leave last Sunday. There have been several calls from major TV show for follow up stories. Inside Edition and E.T. are a few including interviews with People magazine. They pre-recorded an interview with Good Morning America this morning. They cannot believe all of the attention they are getting, they don't really see it as a big deal! I am so happy they are safe, Erica came to see me this morning at work. I gave her a huge hug and then yelled at her, I don't think she knows how bad she scared me! Anyway thank you everyone for your concern....the last week has been very "sureal".

Praying for a Safe Return

This is Erica and Abbey almost 3 weeks ago.
So far there has been no updated information. It has been almost a week. I still cannot believe this is happening. Please keep them in your prayers.

Sureal.

A few weeks ago I traded rooms because an opportunity came up to live with my friend Tiffany who has a bathroom in her room....while I was sad to leave my roommate Erica, it was good to get my own bathroom and Erica was excited to have her own room. I still hang out with Erica and we have become close friends.

On Saturday Erica and another one of my friends Abbey were announced missing. They had gone hiking/camping in the back country of Denali National Park on Thursday and were supposed to be back on Friday morning. They did not report back to work on Saturday which started the search process. We are required by our employer to fill out travel slips when we do any type of camping or hiking so that if this type of thing happens they know how long we are supposed to be gone and a round about spot of where we are going to be. Also the Park makes you take a course and get a permit to go back country hiking/camping. You also have to sign out a bear can to hold your food in from the park ranger....their bear can has not been turned in. Search and Rescue started today and their parents were notified that they are missing. I was one of the last people to talk to Erica on Wednesday night before they left. She told me that she was leaving and where they had planned to go. I have replayed that conversation thousands of times in my head trying to think of anything that would help. This situation is so crazy. Not knowing and just waiting to see what happens. I have been a little emotional today. Hopefully this story has a happy ending.

What an Amazing Week!

Last Friday I had the opportunity to take a flight tour around and above the summit of Mt. McKinley! Words cannot describe the beauty and wonder of this mountain! It was amazing! (to say the least) We took a little eight seater plane and basically did figure 8's around the mountain, flew in between the two peeks, flew along the Alaska range and saw some amazing glaciers! This tour is normally upwords of $400, because I work for Princess I got to go for free but we are requred to tip the pilot and let me tell you it was the best $30 I have ever spent! I went with one of my co-workers whose name is Matt he is a lot of fun. Because the airplane has large sightseeing windows it is not pressurized and we are required to wear oxygen masks. Once we got within view of the mountain the pilot told us that that week some Japanese mountain climbers had been lost on the mountain for 12 days, there bodies still have not been found. That makes 37 bodies that have not been recovered on Mt. McKinley....kinda creepy! We were able to see several base camps at different elevations and when we came upon the summit there were 4 climbers that were about 2 hrs away from reaching the summit, which according to our pilot is a rare thing to see! I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to do this, it was such an awesome experience!!!