Alaska time

If you've ever watched the movie "Tuck Everlasting" then you might recall the scene where the Tucks teach Winnie about the speed that life moves at in their world. Things just move a little slower there and they take the time to do things right, because they're afforded that time by their lifestyle.

This is the way I feel about Alaska. We have the time to slow down and take our time doing things. We don't have any pressing obligations to hurry off to. We spend our days walking up and down the trail setting the markers for the route and patrolling the trail corridor. There's no rush to our work and really no time constraints. We move at our own pace. I take my time on the trail to look around and notice what has changed even in the few days since I last walked the trail.

When you take the time to slow down it's amazing to watch how nature changes so much every day. The first time I walked the trail, most of the upper half was covered with snow. Now there are only a few snow patches left and the flowers have really started to grow. It seems like every trip down the trail there are more Columbine blooming and the Cottonwood trees are raining their cotton down everywhere! In some places it looks like the snow has come back because there's so much cotton around.

Our trail mentality also relates to our town life. We rarely make time contingent plans and getting together is more of a "whenever you can stop by" idea. We have 21 hours of daylight now, so it's not like light is a commodity. All but 2 of the stores in town close at 6 o'clock, so there are no late night errand runs. We just accept you'll have to wait til tomorrow or depend on your neighbor for that cup of sugar. It's a really great life.

This lifestyle is exactly what I needed to step back from my life of going to school full time, patrolling and working 2 internships for the past few years. I needed to learn how to slow down and this is the perfect school for that. I take nightly walks by the river that flows by my house because I can and why not? I don't have tv or internet to distract me, so I take the time to read and go on daily hikes and runs. I'm learning to appreciate the simple life again. I wonder what it will be like this coming fall when I'm back in the "big city" and whether I can continue to feel this sense of contentment or whether it will be back to the old grind. Regardless, I will have my memory of my summer in Alaska and hopefully I'll be able to tap into the lessons I am learning here and bring some of them back with me.

Happy in Alaska,
Liz