Just Call Me Goose

It's official. I am no longer in the Great Land. I have left Alaska behind and flown south to warmer climates. Just like a goose. It's nice to be back around fast food, friends and my truck again, yet I will miss some of the things up north. For example.

Rivers full of fish.

Even the dead fish.

Curious bears.

Hungry bears.

The Rainforest.

Coworkers and friends.

These lovely ladies.

New friends.

And old friends.

It was a wonderful time up in the AK and it will always have a special place in my Hobo heart. But I can't complain about the ride home because once we got above the clouds it was about as gorgeous as you could hope for. 

Flying above the marshmallow sea of clouds.

No More Boats

It has happened again. The last cruise ship of the season has sailed off into the sunset, not to be seen again until April. The town of Ketchikan expels a long awaited sigh of relief as they transition into the long winter. For many of us, we will be leaving in the morning. For others, they will stay behind and keep an eye on the town. Preparing it for next years fleet of cruise ships. It is the cycle of the seasonal worker. We get the best of whatever town we are in, we watch it bloom, blossom and flourish all season long. Only to abandon it once it loses its shine, leaving it to the real locals to nurse it through the off season months. A fair weather fan is all I am. But like a loving mother, I know that Ketchikan will always have a place for me should I ever want to come back.
I ended this season as well as I could ask for. I had a wonderful tour. In fact, there was a film crew there. They were making a new promotional video to show on the cruise ships, meaning thousands of people are likely to see my furry face as they voyage through Alaska next year. On top of that I had a very lovely lady from Dallas Texas who was in a wheelchair because she only had one leg. She was an absolute delight, complimented me many times and convinced her son to push her in a wheelchair race with another chair bound guest. Later in the day I had a family from Sydney Australia, I must say that they had the two most polite children I had ever had the pleasure of meeting. A six year old and a four year old. They started every single sentence in a little Aussie accent with, "excuse me mister bus driver sir." It was absolute gold. They asked me all sorts of things, how to drive a bus, if they could be the bus police man, where I came from, why are cruise ships so big, and things of that nature. They were also very willing to tell me stories about their lives, where they lived, when they went to school, how old their parents were. But every single time, "excuse me mister bus driver sir." Undeniable adorable.
So I sit here writing this, enjoying the sounds of raindrops on window panes, I am sad to leave this place behind but happy to have been able to be here at all. I have made new friends, seen old friends and I'm happy the way this all turned out. I am the luckiest kid in the world and I love my crazy hobo kid life.

The BQ

Yesterday I was posting about the end of my time in Ketchikan. In all the nostalgia and excitement I got the hunger for something delicious. One of my favorite burger joints that I have ever been to is here in Ketchikan. Burger Queen. It is a locally owned burger joint and they are absolutely fantastic. I mean, I'm already biased because I love hamburgers, but they also have some of the best french fries I have ever had. And that's saying something because I'm a boy who loves his potato products! On top of that the sun was out so I did a little walking around and I have to say that I'm going to miss this place. Especially on these sunny days.

In the BQ

Outside the BQ

So good

Sunny days

End

End of the road.

All good things must come to an end. Whoever said that is a real jerk. I mean, they are right in a philosophical* sense. But if we are going down that road, ALL things come to an end if you look far enough down the line. Speaking of roads, the picture above is the literal end of the road in Ketchikan. They only have about 30 miles of road but its all pretty nice road that I enjoy driving on. That is one of my favorite things about driving bus, it gets you up higher than the average car, you sit at the very front behind a huge windshield. It's one of the most fun vehicles I have ever driven. I'm getting off track here, this post is about an end of things and beginnings of others.
I haven't been in K-town long. In fact it has only been a month, but it feels like I just got here and I'm going to have to leave again. Which is ok with me, there are other things to do, new adventures to tackle, snow to find (hopefully more than last season) and people I look forward to spending time with. But some recap of this short time in the Great Land. Got to drive around a bunch. Made lots of new friends from all over. Saw the sun. Felt the rain. Played in the wind. Snorkeled with starfish. All sorts of good things happened this short time round. So as I prepare myself to say goodbye to this wonderful little town I have to smile. It has been great. It always is. I know I will be back someday.

Rainy days on dock 1.

Air Marine Harbor

* I spelled "philosophical" correctly on my first try. Win.

Weather Delay: Part 2

The winds have yet to let up so once again the two cruise ships that were supposed to dock today have decided to pass us by. But today I remembered that even though I don't have my camera cord, I can at least get a few photos with my phone to put up on here.
Another thing, today we had a high tide of about 18 feet. Which is not abnormal for K-town, but with the storm surge the water ended up getting pretty high. I was walking around downtown during that time and was able to catch some pretty cool shots of Creek Street, a boardwalk built up over Ketchikan Creek. I'm not really sure when the storm is supposed to let up, but if it keeps going on like this I might not be able to work again for the rest of the week. That is ok with me, I'll just continue wandering the island somewhat aimlessly while enjoying the fall rains. When the wind is blowing 50 mph, the rain is coming down in sheets, and the temperature is in the mid 50's it makes you appreciate hot cocoa that much more. Something I've been missing since the winter went away. But enough of these words. PICTURES!

Doesn't look so bad from up here.

Fish! Fish! Fish!

High tide under Creek Street.

Did I mention the tide was really high?

Looking south into the Tongass Narrows.

Twas breezy.

A seal about a 1/4 mile upstream eating salmon.

I like my rain boots.

Rainy days.

Weather Delay

Well, today was an interesting day. Woke up to a phone call from the boss. Apparently the cruise ships don't like stopping in Ketchikan when the wind is blowing kinda hard. It was only like 65 mph at the most. Not even bad. But with the day off I was able to go for a very nice walk. Rain gear on and head bent to the winds I trudged around for an hour or two just enjoying the feel of nature tugging at my coat and raindrops pelting my entire person. I need more of this. More times where I feel connected to the real world. But it's human nature to take these things for granted. To feel the rays of the sun but not to stop and enjoy them. To witness the moon beaming down on a cloudless night. To really feel the wind with open arms. Taste a raindrop. Breathe in the air. I've got to get back to what is real. Back to enjoying the simplest of things. The bare bones of human experience. I have made my life too complicated as of late thinking about all sorts of things, work, the future, money, what I look like. All the while there is this big beautiful world full of experiences waiting for me. It only took gale force winds for me to remember it. Today was a good day.

After reading what I just wrote I dare say I had a Pocahontas moment today.

5-0 Shakedown

Isn't it strange how we get nervous when the police are around, like somehow they are the bad guys who are going to get us? That happened to me today. There I was, driving my bus when I noticed an unmarked police car on the side of the road. I figured it was just a speed trap, waiting for the next unfortunate speeder to pass in front of a poised radar gun. I thought this until I watched the unmarked car pull out and start to follow me. Then continue to follow me. FOR TWELVE MILES! I am doing my best to drive perfectly, the best driving I have ever done. Do the exact speed limit. Stay between the lines (harder to do in a bus.) Signal early. I think this can't go on much longer. We are almost to the end of the island for the love of Pete. I turn. He turns. I turn again. He follows. Uh oh... I park my bus to wait for my passengers to board, but I've still got about a fifteen minute wait. He gets out of his car. 

Me: How can I help you officer?

Officer: Well, I'm new to the Island here and I was wondering where you guys park your buses?

Me: Well we have a shop at (address)

Officer: Oh, well I'm not really sure where that is.

Me: Is there some kind of problem that I can help you with?

Officer: No no. I'm just doing routine commercial motor vehicle inspections.

Me: Oh, ok. Well do you know where (gas station) is? It's across from that, kinda hidden in the trees.

Officer: Alright, I know that place. Well while we are here do you mind if I do an inspection?

Me: *Shifty eyes* Go right ahead.

Officer: License, med card and registration please. 

So I hand him all the paperwork, we get to talking and it turns out Officer Brooks is a pretty rad dude. He's only up here for a little while so he is trying to inspect as many commercial vehicles as he can. After I pass inspection he asks if he can follow me all the way back to the bus yard to check some of the other buses. I say sure and once we depart he follows me all the way back to town and then to the yard. About 18 miles in all. On the way back I radio ahead to my boss that he is coming in and when I get in they are all standing out front as if I've brought home a special lady for dinner. They are all smiles and handshakes and "yes sir, no sir" and being polite. The entire thing is a little surreal. 

It is just funny that a normal guy like Steve Brooks gets treated differently because of what car he drives and because he has the "officer" title in front of his name. His job is to make sure that the vehicles we drive are safe but we still react to him as if he is the bad guy. Just an interesting thing to think about. But I guess not that interesting, he's just another guy doing his job and every job comes with stereotypes.

Snorkel Alaska!

Today I was lucky enough to have the day off and even luckier that I was able to head out into the ocean to do a little bit of snorkeling! I was accompanied by the great team out at Snorkel Alaska and was able to have an amazing time. Unfortunately no pictures because it was quite rainy and cameras don't do well underwater.
But for anyone interested in checking out Snorkel Alaska this is the link to their site.
Snorkel Alaska

Some things I'd like to mention before I go. I don't know why I ever stopped scuba diving and snorkeling. I'm pretty sure I belong in the water, so look for more posts in the future about being underwater.

Life as Liquid

Apologies for not posting in so long. I have been busy. I have been moving. But most of all, I have been lazy about posting. Sometimes you just don't feel like taking the time to put words on a page. Other times you convince yourself that you have nothing worth while to say. Worst of all, I have misplaced my camera cord so we will all have to wait on the photos. So here we go, lets get up to speed and back on track!
I have left the great plains of North Dakota. I bailed out of there on August 3rd simply because I was unhappy and I had made plenty of pocket change to get me by. But the leaving wasn't easy. It is always hard to walk away from that kind of cash, but at what point do I stop sacrificing happiness for money? That wasn't a road I wanted to go down. Anyways, August 3rd I woke up and still had to go to work. I had told my boss two weeks prior that this was going to be my last day. So after a 12 hour work day I packed up the truck and headed out at 5:30pm. Just me and the lonesome road for about 1,000 miles of North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. I'm not sure what it was, the excitement of changing my stars or that I knew once I got out of ND I would never have to go back. But there was definitely something different about that night. I was unstoppable. 14 hours of driving. Through the middle of the night, through the middle of nowhere and I was giddy. I rolled into Park City right as the sun was rising and it was one of the best sunrises I have ever seen. I mean, beautiful. From PC it was another 30 minutes down to the house. I get back, shower, hop back in the truck and it's off to the airport. Catch a flight east. Transfer. Make it on the next flight to NY where the lady is there to pick me up. After about 40 hours of being awake and 24 hours of travel I was able to relax with a nice dinner, a lovely lady, and a long awaited shower. I can't explain how great that shower felt after a summer of 3 gallon 60 second showers. It was as if the heavens themselves had invented such a divine way of cleansing oneself.
Fast forward a few days in VT. A wonderful time. Beautiful weather. Beautiful lady. But all good things must come to an end. Time to head West. Load up the car and start out for the 36 hour drive to the land of the Salty Lake. As weird as it sounds, I loved this drive. It wasn't all that exciting. It wasn't that it was grueling. It was just a learning experience. About myself, what I want, what I had and where I was going. For the past few years my life has been extremely liquid. I go with the flow, changing course when I meet resistance. Never staying on the straight and narrow. I love this life, it leads me to some interesting places. But the best part about being so liquid is that I can change this life of mine to resemble almost anything. While the last few years as a transient have been great, I might try my hand at creating a bit more of a foundation somewhere...
Unfortunately, things aren't always as easy as they seem. Two weeks in SLC, the weather is hot and I am not well adjusted to being warm. I get a phone call, my boss in Alaska wants me to come back and finish the cruise season. Basically the entire month of September. Keeping my life as liquid as possible I agree and three days later I'm on a plane heading to the great land. So here I sit in Ketchikan Alaska. Writing about how I want to be more grounded, but truth be told I'm just not very good at that yet. It's going to take some practice on my part.
I feel like this post has been fragmented. Disjointed. Awkward to read. And that is probably because it is. Hell, I don't really like the title of the post but I can't think of anything better. This entire post feels like trying to put your right foot into your left shoe. But I imagine that it's only because I'm out of practice. I'm searching for the right words. Maybe I'm searching for more than just words. The winds of change are upon me and I haven't quite figured out what that means for me yet...