Seeing as I've done a bit of travel recently and hope to do even more travel soon it's about time I started my travel blog again.
Most of the past two years have been dedicated to the lovely city of Juneau, Alaska. Population approximately 30,000. Founded by Richard Harris and Joe Juneau during the Alaskan Gold Rush of 1897, Juneau is a city surrounded by water and limited by its geography. Not all of that water is liquid however; a large portion of it is ice. The Juneau Icefield to be exact; a little less than 1,500 square miles of crystal clear blue ice (approximately the size of Rhode Island). Why might I know so much about Juneau and its massive amount of ice? Because I was highly involved with all of the interpretive work at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center (MGVC) for about 8 months. Although on paper I was just an interpretive ranger, my boss, the Director of the MGVC, let me call myself the Chief of Interpretation, because I did so much around there. I loved my job and the people I worked with. After 3 months of being asked why the glacier is blue, I can finally answer with a lot of certainty, "I don't know". However, I'm fairly certain that it has to do with light waves and the density of the ice. If you really want to know the answer,... visit the Mendenhall Glacier yourself; before it's gone. It is an incredible sight to see, and scientists estimate that in 50 to 80 years (if the rate of retreat remains stable) the glacier will no longer be visible from the visitors center.
This winter I was given the opportunity to stick around Juneau and write/update the Master Interpretive Plan for the MGVC. I chose to stick around, live in a beautiful apartment, with a very loving boyfriend... until I went on a trip to Australia in October. While I was there, I realized that I had an opportunity to see more of the world instead of waiting for my perfect stepping-stone job to become available. With having turned 28 years old (2 years away from 30), freeing myself of debt, and the feeling that I was stuck in Juneau, I knew it was time for another adventure. I'm headed back to the wonderful world of Oz on a Work and Holiday Visa. From there I hope to visit Japan, China, Indonesia, India (where my dear friend Amanda will be for over a year), and hopefully a few other countries.
First stop is Sydney and from there most likely Melbourne and then Brisbane. I hope to call Brisbane home-base for at least a year (the length of my visa).
As I have pictures I will try to post them as I feel motivation to. I'm truly looking forward to the new year, 2011. I know it won't be perfect, but at least it will be full of adventure.
