Messick Mayhem: Random Alaska Post

Well if any of you know Don and I well you know that we miss Alaska like crazy. We talk about it all the time and reminisce on amazing memories we have of this summer. This morning while I was getting ready we were talking about it and I found this journal entry that I had written while we were there and I thought I would share it, so here you go...

Alaska is one of those life changing times for Don and I. We will never forget the crazy/funny people we have met. There is something about the environment and everyone working together as opposed to competing, that will just captivate you. I can honestly say this place is the most beautiful place I have ever experienced. Whenever you take a picture and look at it later it looks just like a picture out of National Geographic, but the funny part is you don't even need a great camera to capture the beauty of Alaska. We thought of 13 memorable moments and these are another reason we love working with the tourists in Alaska. Top 13 Tourist Questions or Moments in Ketchikan

1. “At what age does a deer become a moose?”

2. One day a lady asked Don “how long it takes for the ice from the Glacier to be exported to her house in California so that she has ice in her fridge?”

3. There were bears below the platform the other day on the ziplines and a lady asked “do those bite?” when we said “yes I probably wouldn’t put my hand anywhere near one” she said “wait those aren’t tame?”…"no mamm we don’t let them out of their cages for you to see them, you are in a National Forest."

4. After hiking up a set of about 15 stairs to get to the ziplines people often say in a winded voice “oh my gosh this elevation is killing me.” At that point we just look right out at the ocean and say “interesting because you are only about 200 feet above sea level.”

5. “Where can you buy totem pole seeds?”

6. “Is the Rainforest Sanctuary Walk outside?” I usually answer with “yes rainforests are typically outside” and then you get the iritated answer “well then I am just not going to go because it is raining out here.” (let me remind you people sign up for these tours on their own)

7. The other day on one of the zipline platforms we told some people that if they look across the water (tongass narrows) to the land on the other side it is Russia. They were so amazed and all of them took pictures with “Russia” in the background.

8. One of my favorite guides to work with told a group we had that if they scratch the bark (which looks like bacon) and sniff it on a Sitka Spruce it smells like bacon…..8 out of the 9 people did it and a couple were like “oh ya your right.”

9. “What is the exchange rate here in Alaska?” (this is coming from an american)

10. “I have noticed that there is a lot of moss here in the forest…what do you do about that?”

11. At low tide a lady asked Don “are you guys in a drought?” (she asked this while it was raining)

12. “What elevation are we at?” (as Don is driving along the shoreline)

13. People seriously believe that there is a bigfoot up here..which leads to the serious question “have you ever seen bigfoot?”

No these are not just rumor questions that we have heard but all of these have been asked directly to Don or myself. We always laugh with the people when it happens and then laugh even harder in amazement when we get home and talk about how serious they were. Don’t get me wrong we love the tourists and the excitement that they bring to our jobs.

Here are a few photos that some friends took or we took that are breathe taking and I wanted to remember it.