ROAD TRIP! Yellowstone National Park- got a summer job with my best friend working at Old Faithful. Shared a tiny cabin and had to look both ways before stepping out the door- BUFFALO! Hiked almost 100 miles that summer. 1991.

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THEN I went to Vail, Colorado to work as a lift operator. Chair 4!

THEN I went to Montana to work as a wildland firefighter. First ride in a private jet!

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I bought a one-way ticket to Alaska with no job, no place to live, no plan- only my backpack and $200. I bought a bike, lived in my tent all summer and worked at a Bed & Breakfast and a sporting goods shop in Homer, AK. It all worked out!

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Then I finished my college degree. (See above.)

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Outdoor Skills Center, Sheboygan, WI: Outdoor Educator/Guide, 1998. National Forest Service, Sitka, Alaska: Recreation Assistant, Camp host, 1997, 99. Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska- Rec. Manager/Guide, 2000-02. US Army, Ft. Greely, Alaska- Recreation Manager/Guide, 2010-12. 

 

 

Winter Homestead Caretaker, Bering Sea/North Pacific, Aleutian Islands near False Pass, AK: 1999-2000. Boated alongside Orcas, made homemade salmonberry wine, caught a 80# halibut, paid $17 for peanut butter.

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Guide- Alaska Lograft Adventures on the Yukon River, Alaska: 2000. Floated several hundred miles on a giant lograft in complete wilderness. Assisted with cooking, guiding, fishing, & navigation. My happy place. 

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