Dad and Danielle in Alaska

Sept 10

I left Montana on August 20th, with my father, and flew to Alaska. We spent a few days roaming around Anchorage, and one day driving a rental car all the way down to Homer and back! We went to a wildlife center and saw bears and moose and caribou, we watched beluga whales surface in the ocean, and we drank white Russians at the Salty Dog Saloon in Homer. We drove through Soldotna and got a little better idea of where I might be living in the fall. When we finally got back to Anchorage that night, it was very late (actually, very early the next day) and we couldn’t remember where dad’s friend, who we were staying with, lived. Needless to say, we got to know Anchorage very well that night, and the rest of our experience driving in that town was made simpler because of it!

On the 22nd we got all our stuff together and went to the little airport to get on a Great Northern plane and fly to the lodge. We waited all day, but there was dense fog and it trapped the pilots in several places around the area, and no one was able to make it to Silver Salmon. It was so disappointing; after waiting for two and a half months to see Oliver, I had to wait some more! But we spent the night with dad’s buddy Ben again, and in the morning hopped on a plane as scheduled.

It was so good to see the lodge again! And so much fun to show my dad around. There were a lot of guests that first day, and things were pretty hectic getting us settled in and trying to keep the people organized who needed to fly out. But over the next week we were able to help out and experience a lot of things that make this place so special. We caught silver salmon in the creek, and dolly vardens in the lake, and halibut in the ocean. Dad even caught a big chum salmon up Johnson River that we released. We saw quite a few bears and at one point, when both dad and I had a fish on in the creek, a pair of bear cubs ran off with my new coat! Oliver had to chase them off, and they were so bold they just kept coming at us.

I think all in all we both had an awesome time, and my dad was able to get a better idea of what I have gotten myself into. But before he left, you can bet my dad had a few things to say to Oliver, and they all ended with, “And you better keep my daughter safe”. First aid kits and flare guns and bear spray… oh my.

So now that the last of my family is back in Montana, I am really “alone” out here. This is the first time in my life that I have been farther than an hour and a half’s drive away from mom and dad and Tyrell. And with the internet down most of the time and my phone not working, staying connected isn’t easy either. The idea behind this blog was to keep everyone in touch, but as I am typing this, I have only made one actual post! But I’m trying to get them ready in Word, so that the moment the internet kicks in, I can post for you all. Hopefully I’ll have more luck soon!

`Danielle