Staying at the Lodge

Oh good grief! This is just too good not to write again already! I got ALL moved today. I did most of it myself - by shuttle bus but on the second load, the last load, Suzie & Al picked me and my last stuff up and brought me over. I tried to help them unload too, but Al had it covered. Probably just as well - somehow I had hurt my back lugging my big suitcase upstairs to my new lodging. The view from our room is Denali National Park - and it's incredible. We can hear the roar of Nenana River with the window open and my back hurt - but I had everything unpacked and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching the scenery. After the glass of wine, my back stopped hurting. Still, I needed just one more glass of wine. I seem to have dozed off by the time Riley got there with my roommate's personal small fridge. It's night now. At the homestead, I would go outside to see if the northern lights were out but there it was very, very dark outside (recently, that is) and there was no one else around. Since we've seen bear in the neighborhood this week, I tended not to stay outside long.
Tonight, here at the lodge, there are people quietly roaming the area. It's SO beautiful here! I've wandered clear across the campus to the main lodge. I had planned to practice piano on the grand downstairs - but there are still too many people about. I've been practicing for about 1/2-3/4 hour each night since I got back from Oregon. I have a piece that I need to play for Jan's memorial service. I haven't played in 25 years. At the homestead there was a grand piano tucked way back in the employee dining room. I could hit it any late evening and have time by myself to play. Here it'll be a little trickier. I can't stop practicing, though. Jan would understand that I need to play this piece for her. It's helped me each day to do this in her memory. There is cloud cover tonight so no northern lights are showing - yet.
We have had a grizzly on campus here - but not recently and somehow (I'm sure it's not the wine!) it doesn't worry me one bit here. The lodge lighting is SO pretty!
Every day I'll save the extra time the shuttle would take to get to work. All of us outfitters appear to have been moved here to the lodge. It's like old home week! It's so much fun.
I'm sitting in front of a huge fireplace in the main lodge just writing away - the fireplace is roaring and it's 25' tall.
Ahhhh,
this is a very fine summer job. I hope Laurie and Maria will consider coming to Alaska next summer to work too!
I have to be back at work by 9:am. That means I need to get up by about 8:am. Before today that would mean I'd need to be up by 6:30 - to meet the shuttle and all. In the evening, the shuttle would leave on the hour. If I happened to spend a few too many minutes with a guest at my quitting time, I'd have to wait an extra hour to go home - and that happened at least half the time! From now on, whatever time I'm done, I'm about 3 minutes from "home".

I'll try to get some pictures of the lodge campus by night. We haven't had night here very long - but we sure are getting more nighttime fast - and the leaves - the hills are yellow and red where they were green all summer.
Not all is happy here. Srdan is leaving to go home to Serbia and his visa won't allow him to return. My friend, Dobry, has returned to Bulgaria. She and I have been playing duets at our hideaway piano. She was so delightful.
I have not had a roommate for some time. My old roommate was not able to handle the "isolation" here and left earlier. Today I do have a roommate again. Her name is Kacey. She is from a town called Tok. She has been helping me try to learn to do pictures and is the one who originally told me the story about the town of Chicken. (They couldn't spell Ptarmigan - so named the town Chicken - no joke!)
I'll miss my neighbor, Marilyn. We've been playing Rummy each night. She beats me nearly every time. I'll miss that! This is just one more small adventure before the end of it. I talked to Laurie tonight and she'll pick me up from the airport.
I miss my family.
It'll be great to get home.
But this sure is one nice big fireplace
g
nite
love,
barb