Take Off

I've been in Denali for 4 full days now and I can't believe how much I've done already.  Tuesday we had orientation and then reported to our managers for the rest of the day.  We didn't do a lot at the front desk simply because it's so busy right now there wasn't much time to spend explaining stuff.  The newbies mainly stood around and watched and asked questions.  Then we all got to go to the train depot to pick of the guests arriving from Anchorage.  When we got back our manager approached us and said, "Denali Air has some openings who wants to go?" Not knowing what I was volunteering for I was the first to put my hand in the air.  Turns out myself along with 2 other girls got ourselves seats on a flight seeing tour over Mt. McKinley!  We had 10 minutes to grab our cameras and get into the van.  

For the past few years I've had repeated anxiety attacks on planes and have become more wary of flying that I was when I was younger.  All of a sudden it dawned on me that I'd be getting on a really tiny plane and I started to regret being so eager.  The other 2 girls had been last year and reassured me that it's really safe and a smooth flight.  As we walked out to the plane, a Piper Cheiftan with a total of 9 seats I got a little anxious.  I knew what a unique experience this was though so I took a deep breath and got on the plane. Our pilot was the Chief pilot for the company with over 20,000 hours of flight time.  He told us it was a beautiful day for all the flights they'd done so far and expected the same for us.  As we took off I was overwhelmed by the scenary and quickly forgot about any bumps or shimmys of the aircraft.  We climbed to 12,000 ft and headed for Mt. McKinley.  On our way we flew of glacial valleys and the spine of the Alaskan mountain range.  All I can say is breathtaking!  In our orientation that morning the activities coordinator mentioned that how the park looks now will change completely in about a month.  Right now it's the end of winter and other than the evergreens there are no leaves on trees.  I'm hoping to take another flight mid-summer or the end of the summer to see the change of colors.

As we approached McKinley the size of the mountain overtakes you.  Until you see it for yourself you can't even begin to fathom it's size.  It's 20,320 ft tall with the largest vertical rise of any mountain in the world of 14,000ft.  It felt as though we were merely a few hundred feet from the mountain however we never got closer than a mile and a half!  We circled the mountain and could see the summit on the south peak through the clouds.  The pilot really impressed on us what a treat we had in the weather.  He told us we couldn't have asked for a nicer day, smooth air, patchy clouds and beautiful sunshine.  As we circled around we flew over the glacier that the climbers use to approach the mountain.  We were able to see the 9,000ft base camp with climbers approaching it.  As we turned more we saw 3 parties of climbers headed up to the 14,000 ft camp.  During the entire flight we listened on headphones to an audio tour with information about the park as well as the mountain.  I can only remember half of it simply because I was so focused on what was outside of my window I didn't really listen!

The flight got me so excited to be here and made me realize what I have the opportunity to do this summer.  The company was so happy to have us because as front desk staff we get to recommend tours and businesses.   As soon as I got back and went and met some more of my co-workers at the dinner theater at our property.  As employees we can get a delicious free meal and show. I had forgotten how hungry I was in all the excitement over the flight.  The family style ribs, salmon, potatoes, corn and the best of all the biscuits was not lost on us hungry employees.

Yesterday we began computer training.  The computer system can be confusing but for the most part we're picking it up pretty fast.  After that the entire front desk staff was invited to a local restaurant which is the local hangout and the famous restaurant in glitter gulch. We were granted a meal by the owner so we could tell our guests about the resturant and how good it is. I am happy to report that the food was just as good as he said it would be.  I had the signature dish "Salmon Bake" with garlic mashed potatoes.  Dad- these were THE best garlic mashed potatoes I've EVER had!  Everything was so delicious I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

After dinner we all hung out and I was able to meet everyone which was really nice.  So far everyone's been really cool and a lot of fun.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of this summer and what it has to offer.  We have our last day of computer training tomorrow then I have Saturday and Sunday off.  I don't know what I'm going to do yet but getting to the post office will defiantly be one of them.  I'm also going to go to the kennel inside the park.  They have dogs that take the rangers and supplies around the park in the winter there.  Unfortunatly during the summer these Huskies don't get much exercise so they have a program where you can adopt a dog for the summer.  You come 3 times a week in the evening and walk the dog.  They pair you up with a dog that matches your personality or an activity you want to do. I've decided I'm going to take the dog running but chances are I'm going to have to run no matter what when walking it.  These dogs know no commands other than "GO!" they're whole job is to pull heavy sleds and I will be no different than a heavy sled.  Two other front desk staff have are doing this and really love it so I can't wait!

I'm heading to bed a bit early tonight because I've been up late the past few nights and have gotten up early so I want to catch up on some sleep.  Tomorrow after training we're going for a group hike to horseshoe lake then I might try and get to the kennel.  I've posted pictures from the flight seeing tour on my flicker page.  I was really eager to get them up so they aren't cleaned up very well but you'll get the idea.  Hope all is well with you in the lower 48!