New Year? When did that happen?

If it weren't for the fact that I've incorrectly written "2009" on a lot of things the past week, I wouldn't rememeber that it's now 2010.

The year started off with:

1) Black out - the Highway 706 corridor from Tahoma Woods, through Ashford, Longmire, all the way to Paradise woke up to a power outage the morning of January 1. Power was restored at maybe 2:30 p.m. I believe Paradise operated on its generator the entire business day.

2) White out - snow was blowing and swirling all day at Paradise. I gave my afternoon ranger-led snowshoe hike with very little visibility. I think everyone still had a good time, thanks in part to VIP "St. James, the Magnificent". I just love some of the retirees who volunteer out here in the park! James has a terrific sense of humor and was the 'caboose' to my snowshoe train of 26 people, making sure we brought everyone back to the visitor center cold, tired, and (of course) safe.

3) Job applications. No, my internship isn't done for another month - and the park has found the $$ to extend my stipend and housing until around April 7, so I can help get a few of the new park interp/ed folks trained. But I'm looking forward to this summer. My goal is still Alaska. Those vast, colorful, open areas call me. Like nothing in the Lower 48. (Yes, I still love Rocky - it's my home.) If your back yard looked like this, wouldn't you be called too?

So, as of this afternoon, my NPS seasonal application tally is sitting at like 28 applications, 13 of which are for positions in Alaska. I have four more for Wrangell that I'm hoping to get out tomorrow. Thankfully, these are all on-line and don't take THAT much time.

After that, I will just wait to hear. In the meantime, our first school group of the spring semester is tomorrow, and I'm taking these 3rd and 4th graders snowshoeing at Paradise. I'm hoping the weather holds, although it's getting cloudy out there right now, and the forecast calls for snow...