reemergence of kenny!

6/16-7/4

Empty camp dining room, too late

Sorry all followers of the blog, I got b(l)ogged down a bit with work and life here, making it hard for me to find the space both time wise and mentally to gather thoughts and write. It’s been a whirlwind of training, guest arrival, helping people learn on the fly, and improvising a bit too. So I’ll just catch you up a bit on what’s happening here with me and some of the highlights of the last several weeks.

The visit of mom ruth and aunt Joan, which is where I’ll start:

After hearing about the beauty of Alaska and the serenity of the spot I spent last summer, my mother’s curiosity about Alaska, her inclination to the outdoors, and I’m sure, her interest to visit and see me in action spurred a week long northern adventure and four day stay at Camp. And my aunt Joan’s adventurous spirit, traveling nature, and more than passing interest in photography made her a natural partner in my mother’s adventure. Their trip began with a stopover in Seattle to view the sights, followed by a day in Anchorage, where they enjoyed a local craft market, But, certainly, the nuts and bolts of it all was the trip up into Denali Park and their three days at Camp.
I was a bit nervous, as the combination of poor weather and mosquito assaults could easily last for three days without interruption. Fortunately, the weather was glorious, they had fantastic views in the ride in, and saw an abundance of wildlife in their ride in . Jeff, one of our guides here, drove them and the other guests the ninety miles into Camp from the park entrance in our big Denali school bus, identified wildlife, gave Denali natural history lessons, as well as specific park history. Education is considered a key component in what we give our guests, and all guides know the park so well, and are talented educators to boot. My mother, ever the chronicler, kept a small journal and took notes of their sightings along the way. She and Joan arrived at camp, tired but incredibly enthusiastic from their ride. The clouds cleared from the Alaska range just soon after their arrival, and the three of us all enjoyed the magnificent view of Denali and its sister peaks. My mother duly noted that Denali was only out 20% of the time, as guides often note as a consolation to travelers, so she was humbled and excited to enjoy its appearance.
The first full day of their stay was to spend the day with Pete, one of our more senior and knowledgeable guides, with an encyclopedia of the tundra and taiga ecosystems buried into his consciousness from several decades of experience in Alaska. Pete’s been involved in preservation and educational causes in Alaska for many years, and really just thoroughly enjoys sharing his enthusiasm with visitors of the park. So Mom and Joan got a nice workout while I toiled in the kitchen preparing dinner for them and all the other guests. So they dined on some fantastic, lean bison tenderloin, a hearty refueling for the next’s days hiking regimen.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to work every day they were here, and got to spend the following day with them which included some fantastic highlights of my summer thus far. The first was a canoe in Wonder Lake, our brilliant body of water located just two miles from the base of camp. Wonder Lake stretches three miles and basks completely in the shadow of the Alaska Range. The water was nearly still that day, and the reflection of the peaks on the wasters’ surface accentuated the scope of the range, sitting behind the rolling hillsides dotted with spruce trees. We spent a good two hours out on the lake, took legnthy breaks to recline in the canoe, and chat. Joan took many pictures, hoping to capture the beauty and stillness of the moment, and did so quite successfully as one of her photos now provides the background on my laptop as I write these pages.
My mother, whose energy seems endless, then joined me for a bike ride up several long hills to see a bit more of Kantishna. We really enjoyed taking it slow, cresting the rolling hills on the park road. It was the perfect pre-feast exercise, since I had the rare pleasure of eating guest dinner with my mom and aunt that evening, and savored Matt’s cooking. It sure was great to be served the three course dinner I usually find myself the creator of most days. It certainly felt good to see from the other side how professional the food looks and how appreciative the guests are of our efforts in the kitchen.
It was sad to say goodbye to them, the three days they were here seemed to fly by, and I’m sure they felt the same way. The whole aura of the state of Alaska, with its sense of wildness, pioneer spirit, and plain beauty touched and interested them greatly, and I felt very happy and proud to have been a reason for them to have that experience.
The last three weeks since mom and Joan left have been packed with work, as usual. I’ve been picking up dinners, a breakfast shift on occasion, endless cleaning, and teaching. Much of the stress I generate comes from the drive to not only provide top notch guest dinners, but also unique and varied staff meals, elegant hors d’oeurves, and quality vegetarian food. The combination of my ambition and perfectionist nature seem to collude to eliminate the break that is supposedly fit into my daily routine, and also requires me to work at a fast pace which leaves little left in the tank at the end of the day. In that way, I certainly take after my parents, brother, and just about all my family! There have been good rewards to the hard work, as guest feedback has been tremendous, and staff appreciate the special touch on their meals as well. Truly a labor of love...
Despite the hard work, there have been some fun, spontaneous evening hikes, fishing on the lake, pickup games on our makeshift basketball court, where I show people my New York “skills”, and some fun social evenings, and, of course, my lovely porch.
One fantastic highlight last week was the visit, in the evening of a cow moose and her two young calves up out our little pond in the middle of camp. Mom and her two calves just strolled on in at about 9:00 pm, and proceeded to wade and chew grasses for close to an hour, attracting the majority of our guests and staff. For all involved it can only be described as a peak experience to be so close to the personification of innocence, as those two calves were, both in their appearance, and behavior as they fed and played, never far from their mom, somehow equal parts stiffness and grace. All three were relatively ambivalent to the throng of people viewing them, and eventually just strolled up from the pond, right past the dining room, not more them ten feet from our faces behind the glass. Everyone was touched, and the collective awe from the experience was quite palpable.
I’m finally going to get out into the park to do some camping next week, as mine and Simon’s friend T.R. will be visiting us next week. So I’m gearing up, getting my camping stuff together, and studying the maps to find that perfect spot to hopefully enjoy the wildflowers, snow fields, and see some bears, hopefully from afar.
So I promise to get out my next report sooner than later, and I’m still trying to get to get pictures up on the web! no promises as the connection is quite inconsistent. So adieu friends, send news, Kenny