Too good to be true!

This is my third attempt to post. The combination of writing on a palm and operator error is horrid. There may be a numbr of post installments.

Right now I'm waiting in denali for the train so my tour can make its way to fairbanks. The past couple of days have been beautiful with mt. mckinley out in all its glory. Only 20 percent of visitors get to see the entire mountain.

Yesterday was summer solstice and holland america had a party for all of us here in denali. The night before, some of the workers stationed in denali put on a modern/alaska version of romeo & juliet in celebration of solstice. It was a lot of fun. I've gotten used to the constant sunlight. I've conditioned myself to watch the clock and go to bed at a decent hour. If I waited for the sun to go down, I'd never sleep.

My tours have been going well. I love the people and have no regrets. Alaska is my office, and I couldn't ask for more. There are few guests that I wonder why thy even go on vacation since they seem determined to have a bad time. Those people are my personal mission; they will have a good time.

My prudhoe bay tours have gone well. The conditions going from fairbanks up to prudhoe are very rusic - real-deal outhouses until our first night in coldfoot. At coldfoot - the farthest north truck stop on the dalton highway - the hotel is a double wide. The following day as we travel on the gravel/dirt highway, the scenery changes immensely, and we see herds of caribou, wolves, dall sheep and moose. The accomadations are upgraded in prudhoe/deadhorse to a morton-style building. prudhoe/deadhorse do not have residents, but thousands of shift workers. We stay at the arctic caribou inn eith a number of workers, but the food is great ... cafeteria style, but great.

During my prudhoe tour last week i did the polar bear plunge in the arctic ocean. The water is like liquid ice at 34 degrees. My guests loved that i had the guts to do it.