First couple of weeks up here

Hello there everyone! :) I have been in alaska for close to two weeks now and i am loving every minute of it!:) It is light here all the time but to be totally honest i dont really notice unless i stay awake late. Most of the time I am so exhausted that i get to bed by 9 or 10pm. i actually kind of like that it doesnt get dark. My cabin is pretty good as far as lighting goes, we have 3 windows and they are all covered all the time so it makes it easy to sleep. Let me clarify on the not getting dark part. when it is like 2 or 3 in the morning it is just barley dark... still light enough to see though. kind of like it is about an hour after sundown. it stays that way for just about 2 or 3 hours max and then it gets light again. We have what we call East wind days here. Those days are kind of the crappy days. They usually make for a pretty bitter cold day.


Since being here there has only been 2 days that i have not seen a bear. usually no matter what there is a bear around. They love to walk right through the camp by the lodge the bathrooms, etc. Most of the time they are down by the river or on the beach. Most of them walk around the camp, but some just dont care where they are, which sometimes causes a couple of surprise encounters. So far i have not had a surprise encounter. There was a time that a couple of friends and I were down on the far end of the camp and had a bear come in really close to the workshop where we were at. Well me and another girl ended up walking down to the other end of camp shortly after the bear left and looked over and noticed that the bear was walking parallel to us. He was very aware of our presence but just kept going. We ended up taking a corner that eventually led us and the bear to cross paths. We got probably 30ft away from the bear and then stopped. The bear stopped also and then ended up turning around and walking the opposite direction so he didnt have to cross infront of us. The bears up here are so used to being around and seeing people that they for the most part just ignore our presence. That is what it seems like anyway. i will probably be eating my words when the salmon start running, but we will wait and see :)

There are so many cool people up here... lots of people from the eastern side of the USA, and a couple from the west coast. My roommate is originally from England but lives here in Fairbanks most of the time. She is such a genuine girl. Her name is Trey, she is 26 and she has traveled all over the world, with intentions of traveling more. What she has done in her life are things that I really want to do. I have a couple of pretty close friends and the rest I am still in the process of getting to know.

I have already lost weight since being here... its kind of hard not to. Most of the employees here have. We work lots and while at work we walk tons! from one end of camp to the other TONS of times a day! Its not small by any means, especially when you are hauling loads of stuff in little hand carts all over. :) My job is a Lodgekeeper. I clean rooms, make a ton of beds, the wait tables and cover for the bartender. Havent been able to unload planes yet, there is a group of guys that do that part.

In my spare time I do TONS of hiking and a little running. I have never been a huge fan of hiking but here that is a totally different story! It's impossible to live in Alaska and not hike. There is a mountain right next to camp called Dumpling. I have been here just shy of 2 weeks and have already hiked that Mtn 6 times! it is amazing exercise and lots of fun to hike with friends. When you finally get to the top is the best reward. The Scenery is AMAZING!! I will post pics of that. Not only can you see the Lodge, you can see 2 different lakes and a couple of rivers! It is amazing! The funnest part is when you get to the top there are clouds that are at your level covering the mountains across the way.

A couple of days ago I got to go to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. Most people think its a pretty boring trip and that all they get to look at is a bunch of barren land with old volcano ash all over. Well they are totally wrong! All they have to do is hike a couple of miles back in and they are in for a life changing experience! There are some of the most amazing formations, waterfalls, rocks and ash there ever! I cant describe the beauty of it! I also have pictures of that. I have a couple of videos also but dont think I will be able to download those cuz it takes forever to get a video downloaded on here. By the end of the year i would like to hike clear to the volcano Nova Rupta itself and camp over night there. My friends who have actually been to the volcano say that what I have already seen is nothing like what that is. I am going to experience that first hand for myself. Seriously, I cant imagine the beauty of the volcano.... especially after what i have already seen! Mountains of hardened Ash, furious rivers that flow SUPER fast, and amazing formations! I never knew just how interested I was in this type of stuff.

Well for my family and friends who are reading this I sure hope you enjoy!:) I miss you all so much! I have only been here 2 weeks and if it wasnt for my Bestie getting married I am not sure if I would be coming back as soon as i planned. Dont worry Rikki, I will for sure be back for your wedding!:) This traveling place to place to work for temp periods of time could get super addicting! ;)

Ash I hope you are doing ok... I think about you daily! I hope everything continues to go well. I can wait to get news of that beautiful nephew of mine being born!:) I have the cutest little Brooks Lodge shirt for him that I will be sending home shortly!:) I wont be able to Skype from here due to the internet situation and i am sorry for that. :( PLEASE send me tons of pics when he is born. ;)

People I love to get letters so if you would like to write please feel free to do so :) My address is: Kristie Grisham

C/O Brooks Lodge

P.O. Box 278

King Salmon, Alaska. 99613

As far as the phone situation goes I am pretty much not able to call anyone for quite a while. The reason for that is that we only have 1 satelite phone here and it costs $45 for a special phone card and access to the phone for 30 minutes. Its pretty expensive and the boss here uses that phone for emergencys. So phone calls are pretty much a no go for a while until i can get into King Salmon and get cell phone service.


I have pics to post but will have to in a seperate post.  please be patient so i can get these posted :)