Abby’s been hard at work this week finishing up some last minute tasks before the rest of the new employees get here, which leaves me fending for myself in the Last Frontier. Yesterday she set me free with her black compact car and I took off for a day of solo adventuring and photo hikes. (It was nice for an hour or so and then rained for the majority of the day.) As I drove away Abby said “It’s impossible to get lost.”

Indeed. The road out of Juneau to the south only goes for 4 miles. Then, like a Quentin Tarantino film, it ended without warning. It just stopped. I laughed outloud and turned around. The road to the north of Juneau, however, goes for 60 impressive miles before it ends, although I only went about 10 of them as to not warrant Abby to replenish her $3.80/gallon tank. Meandering down streets like Glacier Highway and Forget-Me-Not Road, I eventually found my way to Wal-Mart, which has the best backdrop of any Wal-Mart I’ve ever seen:

I ran some errands with Abby earlier in the day and made her pull over. I can’t get over these snow-covered mountains and the early morning fog. Sometimes I can play it cool and pretend not to be impressed, but yesterday I chose to embrace my inner tourist.

Most of the afternoon and evening was spent walking around, forging the cold, damp weather, and introducing myself to the town. Last night Abby (and a new friend, Kate) and a I went over to Douglas Island and had dinner. You really can’t get a bad view in this town since everything is surrounded by water or mountains. Then today I went over to our tour site and did some manual labor (painting, cleaning equipment) and met another co-worker.

This morning I woke up in a surreal fog of “I am actually living in Alaska. Alaska! What am I doing here?” The realization of it all has sunk in and I’m feeling a bit intimidated, but confident still. Just like any new thing, I know there will be a learning curve, a fair bit of mistakes, and great discovery. The apprehension is normal, I suppose. All is well.

…now, if I could just find some thick enough socks to tolerate this icy climate. The last time I remember having warm feet was last Wednesday in Oklahoma. But I’m not complaining.