The only thing to do

I am at the Anchorage airport, waiting for my plane to Houston. My three weeks in Alaska is coming to a close. It has been a great trip. I have gotten to see a lot of new things and try new things, like kayaking. I am really excited about kayaking and want to continue to do it when I return home.

One of my favorite authors is Lawrence Millman. In one of his books, he writes that when you complete a journey the only thing to do is start another one. So when I get home, that is exactly what I will be doing. I will be heading for Montana via the Badlands of South Dakota. Last year, I read several books on Crazy Horse. I became quite interested in him and am wanting to visit the black hills where Crazy Horse lived. I will also be visiting the fort he was killed at and the battle field at Greasy Grass (Little Bighorn). I will then be going to Montana. I will spend time in Glacier National Park as well as the mountains around Bozeman. I am looking forward to my next journey.

Even greater will be the one after that.

Get Off the Bus!

On the 17th, I went hiking at Denali National Park. I didn't know any of the places to go hiking, so I picked up a trail guide from a bookstore. I found a hike for a place called Stony Dome. To get anywhere in Denali, you have to take the bus. The bus sytem is great and anytime you want to get off, you just tell the driver. When you want back on, you flag down a passing bus and jump on. i rode the bus out 63 miles to a place called Fish Creek. I then hiked Stony Dome, a 4 mile hike with 1,500 foot elevation gain. It sprinkled part of the time and the temperatures were in the 30's on top with a strong wind.

Summit of Stony Dome

Creek along base of Stony Dome

When I got back on the bus, I was reading the introduction part of the guide book. The author says he wrote the book to help people get off the bus. He wants people to not just see the park from a bus, but to experience the weather, to feel the tundra under their feet, to smell the tundra, and feel the cold wind on their face. It reminded me of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitude. In that book, Abbey wrote that a man can see more in a mile on foot than hundred miles in a car. He is absolutly right. From the bus, I saw moose, caribou, and grizzly, but on the hike, I saw grizzly, felt the cold rain and wind, got my feet cold and wet, and smelled the smells.

Moose

On the bus, a family got off at Polychrome Pass, before we got to Fish Creek. A gentleman asked the driver what they were doing, as if there was nothing else to do in the park besides ride the bus. The driver said they were going hiking and the gentleman responded "wow!"

Being outside is being free. Being on a bus is restricting. Get off the bus!

Black Bear Wifi

I am on the internet thanks to Black Bear coffee shop in Denali Park. We have been on shore for two days now. My cousin and her husband flew back home yesterday. It was nice for them to be with us when we were on the cruise ship.

This was really the first time I got to meet my cousin. She lived only 4 hours away from me when we were growing up, but our families never did anything together and we haven't seen each other since we were very young. We got to learn about our different families, swap all the family gossip, and just learn about each other.

In previous posts, I wrote that for me, my family is just my direct ancestors. I will add a second cousin to that list of family members. She is the first family member my age that I have had any type of connection with. Any one else in my family even close to my age I have either never met or haven't seen in years. Perhaps for me, family isn't as much the relationship as in family connection, but the relationship in knowing the person who happens to also be family.

A Violation of the US Constitution

I am pretty sure that one of the bill of rights is that if you are paying for a service from a company, and that company also offers wireless internet, you get the wireless internet for free. Perhaps because we are in Canadian waters right now, the cruise ship has waived that part of the constitution. Last evening, I used my computer to connect to the router for the ship's wireless network, but wasn't able to connect to the internet. This morning I found out why, it is $.50/minute. That is obscene.

A Big Airplane

That is how I feel about this cruise ship, it is just like a big airplane. I see it as a means of transportation from Vancouver to Alaska. I have found refuge in the library. It has plenty of books to read and a big window I can sit by and read. I have also enjoyed the gym. I went this morning for a good workout. That is about all I have liked about the cruise. I feel almost trapped in it and can't wait until tomorrow when we pull into Ketchikan and I can get off. It is like when you sit on an airplane for a few hours and you are stared out the window all you can stare and you just need to stretch your legs!

Things Not To Do On a Cruise Ship

On this trip, I have learned important lessons in what NOT to do. Things such as telling the border guard that you are traveling alone, then tell him you are traveling with family. Things such as telling the border guard you do not know the name of your ship or hotel. Things like not bringing a knife on the cruise ship.
I had packed a knife in my bag for when I do some fishing. No, I am not going to try and spear the fish, but use it for things like gutting and filleting. My bag was well past the expected time and had not arrived in my stateroom yet. Security final called and after translating the broken english on the other end, I finally gathered that I was the owner of a knife and they had my bag. I went to the security desk where I was given a claim ticket for my knife. I can have it back when I leave ship.

Weigh Anchor!

We are currently weighing anchor.

We boarded the ship, Coral Princess, a little bit after 12. We got our rooms. I am on the Dolphin Deck, starboard side. We ate lunch at the Horizon Court. It is a buffet that is open 24 hours a day. I had a salad, chicken on rice, salmon salad (salmon, potatoes, and mayonnaises), zucchini, and a slice of bread. After lunch, my aunt took us for a tour of the ship, showing us where the theatre, casino, gym, restaurants, and lounges were. The only thing I plan on using is the gym and restaurants. I may venture into some of the lounges as well, provided they have free wifi!

We depart from Vancouver in a few hours, sailing for our first port, Ketchikan. We arrive in Ketchikan on the 11th at 6AM. I will be hiking Deer Mountain that day in the Tongass National Forest. I read about the Tongass in National Geographic a few months ago and really wanted to see it. This 5 mile out and back hike will be all I can see. I am looking forward to the hike though. It will be much better than the bus tour the rest of my family will be taking.

I am reminded of the writings of Lawrence Millman, one of my favorite authors. In A Journey in the North, he writes that given the choice between a fast boat or a slow boat, he would take the slow boat. Given a choice between walking or driving, he would take walking. I certainly agree with him. I like to ride my bike around Midland, though do not do it as much as I should. Instead of the cruise I am on, I would prefer to take the ferry. Mainly because the ferry goes to every single town along the inner passage. I read on article about using the ferry when hiking. They will let you camp on the deck and you can just disembark at any of the towns to go hiking. I would love to spend a week in each of the towns we visit, instead of the 12 hours they give us.

It is almost time for our safety drill.

Rule #1 of Gambling, I Always Win

I am not the house, but I won BIG today. We went to the River Rock Casino for dinner. The hotel had free coupons. The coupons were amazing, they were for a free $5 bill! I went, got my money, then ate at the restaurant. I had a bowl of chili for $4.50, pocketing the left over $.50. I won!

Papers Please

When passing through immigration, do not answer "I don't know" to their questions. It slows things down and raises suspension. I didn't know the name of the boat I am boarding tomorrow and also didn't know what hotel I was staying at tonight. When he asked how I would know where to go, I told him I was with a group that went ahead of me. Well, none of them claimed me when going through, so he questioned me on why noone said I was in there group. I made it though, but it took a while.

T - 12 hours

In 12 hours, I will be boarding a plane to Vancouver. I will stay in Vancouver for about a day before boarding ship and sailing to Alaska. I have no idea what I will do in Vancouver during the day.

Today I drove to Kline to stay with my aunt and uncle. I am traveling with them to Alaska. I went to a near-by middle school to work out. They had the gate to the track open. I ran and also did my normal workout. While there, I saw killdeer on the football field. When I ran by, one did the fake broken wing dance. I then noticed three little ones that she was trying to lead me away from. I am sorry I disturbed the birds, but it was neat to see the little ones.

One Bread, One Body

This morning we took communion at church. I wish my church did it every Sunday. I believe it is very important for a Christian to not only participate in it, but to also understand it. These are a few thoughts of mine about communion and the United Methodist understanding of the real presence. First, it is a mystery. Paul mentions several mysteries of the faith, some revealed, some not yet revealed. Many we have some understanding of, but not all understanding. An example of that would be in Ephesians 5 when he speaks about marriage and it representing the Church and Christ. He says it is a profound mystery. We are given the idea, but not the full understanding of it. Communion is the same way. We are given a lot about it, but we are still unable to completely grasp it. But Christ will give us full understanding when we share the meal with him at the heavenly banquet. Part of the mystery is that Christ shares the Last Supper with his disciples before he is dead. He gives them bread, calls it his body, then gives them wine and calls it his blood. The bread being his body and the blood being shed for our sins. He has not died for our sins on the cross yet, but he gives his blood to the disciples. Christ tells them to do it often in remembrance of him. So we do communion as a way of remembering. This is similar to things we have seen in Exodus, where God tells the people to take the bread as a remembrance, or erect stones as a remembrance. God gave specific rules for these remembrances. He does so also for communion. Paul expounds on these, particularly in 1 Corinthians. He tells the people that if we take communion in an unworthy manner, we profane Christ. It would be hard to profane Christ if it was just bread and wine. He tells us that when we take the cup and take the load, we are participating in the blood and body of Christ. Now it is still bread and wine, and we do it to remember Christ's death, but somehow we are also sharing in that supper with Jesus 2,000 years ago. We are sharing in his death. We do not see it has a requirement of saving salvation, but it is certainly something that is good for followers to do. Christ tells us that he is the bread of life, that is being represented in the loaf. We know his blood is sacrificed for our sins, represented in the wine. When we take communion, we take bread and wine to remember Christ, we join with him and all followers in his death, and we partake in his body, the bread of life, and the wine, the blood spilled for our sins. Christ is with us in communion. We take symbolic bread and wine and somehow are sharing a meal with Christ many years ago and remembering what he has done for us.