Mountain Mama

I found myself southbound again after an amazing 5 months in Alaska. I felt that other places I've been its' taken a long time feel comfortable living in that place. Alaska was a place that captivated me from the moment my plane landed in Juneau. Southeast Alaska is a place that one remembers with awe it's savage beauty and at the same time gives the place a health respect. After living there I felt that all land was supposed to be like that, big and open. I've decided that I need to live in the mountains. I feel like I can't breath in a city. New York City is fun but coming from Alaska I felt closed in and a little claustrophobic.

 I have a theory that people weren't meant to live in boxes, thousands of years of careful slow evolution wasn't meant to put us behind a computer. Machines, tools and buildings were never meant to become our lives but rather were there to make us more comfortable. While one could use the internet to educate themselves on a particular topic such as politics or why something works, the vast majority of the people who use the internet check their facebook, and snoop on what is going on in others lives. We use it to send little messages to one another which don't ever say anything but make us feel connected. And so those same machines, tools and buildings which made our lives more comfortable have become the norm. I'm not going to argue that I do like a hot shower and bed at night. But I also spend most of my time outside, communicating and connecting to others and nature. Being in the mountains with their vistas and challenges reminds me that the world is a big place that I am part of.

...And They Made Me Their Cook

So I've been nominated as cook the last couple of days from my manager. 

It all started almost a week ago we were on the glacier ending our season and starting to take down some tents. My manager stopped and asked me to cook dinner since the person who normally cooks dinner had to help do other things. So I cooked up some food and they ate it. No biggie. I offered to cook breakfast as well since everyone else was also busy doing other things. It seemed to make sense. I then found myself cooking for them all the time. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. This didn't bother me so much, but it was odd. 

Then everyone and everything got off the glacier and we started to unpack some stuff and I received a message from my manager saying that everyone enjoyed my cooking and asked if I would just cook during the time I was there for everyone. And so for the last few days other than packing up my stuff and tying up some loose ends I've been cooking for everyone. Which is a double edged sword. I really do enjoy cooking for others its' nice to share food and make food for other people but I also have to clean up after everyone. I'm still not too sure how I was volunteered to do this project but I'll take it. 

I've been having to get creative with food since I'm trying to use up what we have. Tonight will be tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches after that, I'm done! Leaving for Juneau tomorrow morning.