Steamboat Hill

In honor of not being able to go to Alaska this summer, I feel the need to share a story with you that only family members and friends...as well as many of my tour groups in Alaska...have heard and it's epic. It may not be as huge as my hubby and I's story, but it's one of my favorite memories from Alaska.

It all starts with one of my favorite people, Shelby. She was accompanying me to Alaska on my 2014 adventure. The way we travel to Alaska when we drive is up through Canada on the Alaskan Highway, also known as the Alcan. It's a very long, very tedious drive...however, it is also GORGEOUS and incredible. I definitely plan on driving along it again in the future. And I think that you all should do it at some point as well...or at least go to Alaska. You won't regret it.

ANYWAYS! I'm getting distracted.

 So Shelby and I were driving along and having a great time. Our first night we made it to Edmonton and stayed at a friend's home (thank you, thank you!). As we got up to travel the next morning, it was beautiful. Our second stop was planned to be in Fort Nelson that evening and we were making great time. As we got closer to this town, it started to snow. (Don't freak out yet...) As we pulled into Super 8 to get a room it was coming down pretty hard and we hoped that it would stop before the morning and the roads would be plowed quickly. We enjoyed our night and got up bright and early for our drive to Whitehorse. THERE WAS SOOO MUCH SNOW! Holy cow. So much. However, I know how to drive in snowy conditions, so I wasn't afraid to get going. We got a few mile out of town and it started to snow again. Nothing too crazy, but it was making it a little foggy. Out of nowhere we could suddenly see this black line that literally went straight up to heaven. I glanced over at Shelby and told her that I really hoped that was not the road. So much for hope. Talking myself through it out loud to my awesome passenger I stated that as long as we kept a steady momentum and took it easy, we would make is up this hill just fine.

Lucky for us there was a huge semi partway up this hill that forced us to come to a complete stop. (Remember, it was too foggy for me to safely just pass him.) Well, after we came to that nice stop, my little car decided that it did not have the horsepower to go forward anymore. Throwing on my hazards I slowly started to reverse down this hill...in the fog...in the snow...very slowly. After going a short distance I would stop and try to get some forward motion, which failed multiple times. Finally we made it to an almost flat pull-out, and were able to flip my little Toyota Camry right around and head back to the Super 8...I'm pretty sure it wasn't past 8 am yet. Depressed, we spent the day in a town that I'm positive is only 2 miles long, has no entertainment, and has a Boston Pizza place and an A&W. :( Commence the longest day ever.

For dinner we decided to go to A&W. While there, the manager asked what we were up to traveling the Alcan, so we told him about HAP and our little adventure that morning. He proceeded to tell us that hill was referred to as Steamboat Hill and had the steepest grade throughout the Alcan. (Great.) Also, the roads hadn't been plowed forever because they hadn't had snow in months and had changed all their plows for road cleaners. (Double great.) So he wouldn't be surprised if we were stuck here for a few days. :'(

We were determined to leave the next morning. As we were checking out, the supervisor said she wouldn't be worried if she were us because we have snow tires. After a quick glance at Shelby, obviously displaying the fact that I definitely did not have snow tires, she said she wouldn't be going anywhere if she were us. However, she printed out a weather report to let us know where we would hit clear areas, and we were on our way.

As we start to get close to this Steamboat Hill, Shelby kept saying that we should just turn around now. However, we had said a prayer and I was determined to give it a valiant effort. Now, driving on snowy roads always gives me a knotted stomach...no matter how safe I know I am. So after reassuring Shelby that I would turn around if I got nervous at all, I said another prayer. I was very specific in this little plea...I asked that if we should turn around I needed a bigger sign than a knotted stomach. If it was the right choice, would you please send us a moose that we can see. If I see a moose, I won't ask any questions and I'll turn right around. After my amen, I told this to Shelby and she instantly looked out the window and said, "Here moose!" Haha, at least we got a laugh! :)

As we started up this hill we had some music plugged in and I kept it pretty low so I could focus. However, a song by Jason Mraz came on called, I Won't Give Up. I was quick to turn it up and adapt it to our needs, and Shelby was quick to join. "I won't give up on you" was turned into "I won't give up on this mountain, even if the snow keeps on falling." We belted it out and just kept hitting repeat! It helped us to stay calm, keep a light heart, and have some fun. And guess what? We made it to the top of that hill! Yay!! And after this uphill...was a downhill! Double yay!! As soon as we made it down the other side I turned to Shelby and said, "Well, there's no turning back now, because there is no way we're making it back up that." She laughed, but I'm not so sure it was genuine. :)

After a few hours we cleared any snow and it was a beautiful drive again. We made it to Whitehorse without any issues. We waited until we were safely in our hotel room to tell our parents anything that had happened that morning. Needless to say, our mothers freaked out! The next morning we headed to Fairbanks. We were about 4 hours out, and guess what we saw? A moose. Two of them actually. I asked Shelby if she wanted to turn around now, but she didn't find much humor in that one either. :)

I'm so glad she came to Alaska with me that year! She was so fun to have an adventure with and room with. And she's going back this year! I'm a tad bit jealous, but I couldn't be happier for her. She's going to have a blast, and I'm pretty sure she's flying this year. :)

I Can Do Anything Revisited

Some of you probably though I had given up on this blog. Honestly. I had lost my inspiration. I kept coming here and starting to click that new post button and write my heart out, but nothing would come. Especially after I told you about my hubby-- I didn't know how to compete! However, I was hit with with a thought as I was emailing Elder Dennis Squared.

Fist off, Elder Dennis Squared are my two brothers. Cameron is serving in Peru and he's got just under a year left, and Brandon is serving in the Philippines and he just left last August. Yes. I was a basket-case, but that's not the point. I am incredibly proud of them and I wouldn't want them to be in any other place. I try to email them once a week, and I'm usually pretty good about it. Most of the time I try to add a quote with it and my thoughts on it. When Cameron first went out I shared a message that I shared with Brandon once he was out. I've also shared this with you previously, but I wanted to readdress it and add some more thoughts.

 You can do anything for six months.

This was what my grandma told me when I vented to her about my struggles. And it's actually something I think about quite often, but with a little twist.

You can do anything for (insert time here). Whether that be one more minute of my workout, one more hour of my shift, one more day of the week, one more week before a break, etc. When I sent this to Elder Dennis Squared I really stressed changing the time. I know how much I struggle with going somewhere new, so I definitely can relate a little to them, but not really. I kept telling Brandon that he could do anything for a day or a month or a year (or two)! However, sometimes all we have strength for is the next minute. And after that minute is up tell yourself you can do it for one more. Before you know it, it will all be over and you won't know what hit you! So, here are my thoughts to you. Be the little engine that could...even if it's only one minute, or one second, at a time. With that attitude, anything is possible. :)

Life as a Driver.

Hello!! My name is Courtney, and I'm going to be your coach commander today!! I promise I'm big enough...I passed my license exam this morning and I need an adult with me at all times--that's why you're all here!

Welcome to the beginning of my tour (or at least a variation of it) that I gave for 4 months while I worked for Holland America-Princess Cruise Lines. Summer 2014 was when I decided to go to Alaska again and work; however, instead of working at a front desk I decided I wanted to be a driver/guide. Not a problem, right? Right! It was the best decision of my life (for many reasons, but some of those will come in another post). However, you probably noticed in my little speech at the beginning that I mentioned I was big enough to drive. For some reason all of my guests would question my ability to drive based on my size! I wonder why they thought that...

Anyway...that's not what's important. What is important is that I LOVED this job! Of course you have your normal ups and downs, but it was so much fun. I fell in love with Alaska last year, but I hadn't fallen in love with my job. This year showed me that I could love being in Alaska even more.

I would find out my schedule the day before (that was a little crazy sometimes, but you get used to it). When dispatch came out you'd know your start time, coach number, tour, and number of guests. The next day you'd come check in and go pre-trip your coach. Now here's the best part, then you got to go drive! Sometimes you'd only have 1 person with you and other times you'd have 55! Most of your guests are seniors, but they are adorable! We would always joke that now we have a couple hundred sets of grandparents to help us out.

I know this isn't a normal post that I usually do, but I just wanted everyone to know how much I loved driving and Alaska. I'm so grateful for this experience and I'm excited to hopefully go back up next year!

Our Story

When you're dating, one of the biggest questions is "how did you guys meet!?" Well, mine is a little surprising to most, but it's still the best. I met Hayden up in Alaska while we were driving tour buses, and our guests loved to hear our story. I started out by telling them just a little bit about us.

Hayden would usually be driving in front of me, and I would introduce him as my boyfriend. After the oos and ahs, I would usually get some questions. Where did you guys meet? Oh, we met up here in Fairbanks! How sweet! (By this point they already knew I was from Idaho) Will you guys be able to see each other when you go home? Actually, yes! We're from the same home town. What!? No way, did you guys know each other beforehand? Wait. You said you met up here. That's crazy!! Well, it's a little more than just crazy...there are a few more things. He graduated the year before me, I had a class from his dad in high school, and my mom works with his mom! After many shocked laughs and unbelieving comments I would go into my Alaska commentary. After the halfway pit stop, I would have some guests ask more details about how we met, and I would tell them I would go more into it when everyone was back on the bus. Once I had my head count and we were back on the road, I would ask them if they were okay to hear our story. There usually was an enthusiastic and resounding yes, so I would jump right in....

Well, Hayden and I got to know each other a little bit through training at the beginning of the season because first years are all grouped together. As we work we are required to keep track of our hours in a log book, and there's actually a law that says we cannot work over 80 hours in 8 days. At the start of the season Hayden had about 30 hours available, and he was scheduled for a day off. Now, he had come all the way to Alaska to earn money for school, and he wasn't getting as many hours as he wanted. In order to fix this he went to our boss to see if he could get a shift. She kept telling him that she would have scheduled him if she had something, but there really wasn't anything for him to do. Hayden kept telling her he would do anything--he would wash coaches, he would clean the office, etc. After much convincing, our boss finally told him that there was something he could do, but most people didn't agree to it, so there were no guarantees. Well, Hayden wanted to work so he quickly agreed. She sent him to the closet and he started to pull out a bundled mess of brown fabric. When he realized what he was looking at he was a little incredulous, "are you serious?" Our boss laughed telling him that most people said no, but it was the only thing she had that he could do.

After all, wildlife sitings were guaranteed on some runs so why wouldn't a moose suit be an option?

Questioning what he was getting into, Hayden agreed and really got the suit out of the closet ready to go. However, there was another setback. It was a two-person moose suit. Guess who happened to be walking past the office right then?

You got it, that's where I come into the picture. Hayden yelled after me and explained the whole situation. I laughed and told him no way. I was doing just fine on my hours...I did NOT need to wear a moose suit. I headed out to my car, but Hayden's persistent, so he followed me trying to convince me the whole way. Now I was kinda crushing on him, and while he was trying to convince me I thought it might be a good opportunity to get to know him better. Don't fall for that. However, I agreed and we went back to the boss. As you can imagine, since it was a two-person moose suit we needed someone to be heads and someone to be tails. (like it was even a option!) Hayden decided that flipping a coin would be the most fair agreement (again, like he even had a choice).

Luckily for him, I got heads. My boss was explaining how everything would work as she handed me a radio. We were told that we would go out into a field and wait for the coaches to come by. To make sure we were ready, the coach would radio something along the lines of, "Coach 1239 crossing Antler Creek." Guests would assume it was a checkpoint if they heard it, and we would know it was time to start acting like a moose...whatever that meant.

We got everything set and headed out to our field. Sure enough, a coach radioed and Hayden told me to start acting like a moose. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was doing.We just stood there because the whole leg thing was way more complicated than it should have been, and I acted like I was eating grass or whatever was beneath my head. Within a few minutes our lucky coach came into view and rolled to a stop. I would lift up my head and see all of these flashes going off through the windows. Apparently we were far enough away they couldn't really tell what we were. After a couple minutes the coach pulled away, and we continued the evening.

This went on for a few days, and, by the fourth day, we were doing pretty good. You might even say we were a little cocky; we had gotten the whole leg thing down and could actually move around when the coach showed up. Our evening was beginning and our coach radioed their location. Hayden and I got ready and I started 'eating.' Again, the coach stopped and the excitement was visible to us through the windows. After a while the coach was still sitting there. I relayed the information to Hayden and he asked if they were still taking pictures. No...I didn't think they were. So Hayd told me to look around to see if I could tell what was going on. I don't know if I mentioned this, but that suit was hard to see out of! However, I started to swing my head around and that was when I started freaking out.

Trying to remain calm, but I'm sure Hayden could tell my whole body was tense, I told him there was a bear across the field from us. He didn't believe me.

I quickly convinced him that there really was a bear, and he took charge. He decided that we should slowly walk away and maybe we weren't noticed. We slowly started walking while I kept checking over my shoulder. We kept up everything moose-like because we had a coach full of guests watching us. Unfortunately we were noticed and the bear was not taking the slow approach. As soon as we were both aware of a bear running towards us we decided to start running. Of course the only place we could think to run to was the coach, so we were booking it for all we were worth. A fact easily found out by anyone is that Hayden runs faster than me, so you can imagine what the guests were thinking as they saw the back of the moose accelerating past the front.

Too quickly we felt a solid mass hit right into us. I was pretty sure I was going to die, and my obituary was going to say I was killed by a bear while wearing a moose suit. On the other end, Hayden was throwing punches left and right. All of a sudden he got a really good hit in and we heard a gasp. All I could think was, wait a second. Before anything else was figured out Hayden landed another punch and we heard, "Cut it out, or you're going to get us all fired!"

That was my trainer. As we turned in the suit for good that night was asked our boss when she was going to tell us about the 'bear.' She just laughed and said it always gets the first years. However, it turned out pretty well for Hayden and I after we decided to stick to driving. I still tell him he's a pain in my butt though. :)

At least that's how we told it to the guests ;)

Needless to say we've been dating all summer and plan on dating for the rest of our lives. We came home to Idaho and met each others families and kept falling in love. I might have possibly given him a little pressure to finally just ask me, but he wouldn't give me any information. I told my friends that I was just ready to have a ring because I love Hayden, but also because I wanted to not get dressed up every night. :)

On September 28, 2014 my mom came home from a weekend trip, and we were just enjoying the evening. I hadn't heard much from Hayden that day, and I wasn't sure what he was up to. My brother and sister-in-law came over with their son and we were all chatting in the living room. After a knock on the door, Lexi jumped up to find Hayden at the door. She closed the door on him to be funny, and I went to go get him. He gave me a little hand-made book and told me to read it. I headed into the office for some privacy, but he asked me to read it in front of my family. At this point, I had no idea what was coming. Earlier that weekend Hayden had asked me if he showed me that he loved me and didn't just tell me. He does, and I figured this was him making sure he was accomplishing that. I began reading the cutest story. It was about me and how I have gotten out of my shell and moved to Alaska. It told of how we fell in love and how great he thought I was. On the second to last page I started crying because it was so heart-felt. As I finished the book it said that Hayden did what all boys do when they're in love. He asked a very important question...(Now look at Hayden).

And that's when he asked me to marry him. And that's when I said yes. :)

(And you can see that I ended up not even being dressed up...yay for sweatpants!)

Life is Like a Camera

Have you ever made a decision in your life that you regret?

I know I have.

I also know that sometimes it's hard to move on from this--or to have others not be able to forgive you for your decisions. Sometimes I feel like it would just be easier to just stop and forget everything. However, this will not help us. Life is all about moving forward--progression, new adventures, accomplishing goals, educating ourselves, experiencing emotions, and enjoying every moment. I came across this quote a few months ago and haven't been able to let it go---and obviously I haven't had enough inspiration until now to share it with you.



We are constantly taking mental pictures, and, just like a real camera, we have images we want to keep and images we would rather not see again. We can always keep those positive images and look upon them with fond memories and share them. When we have negative images we must choose to learn from our mistake and move on. This is the hardest part. We can't let our own thoughts hinder our progression; however, we also can't let others opinions of our past hinder our progression. We will always be able to 'just take another shot.'

I've shared many times that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through my church we learn of the Atonement that Jesus Christ performed in order for us to move on from our sins and be completely forgiven. I have used this saving power many times in my life, and I would like to testify to you all that it is true. Jesus Christ died for us because He loves us and wants us to have the ability to return to Him one day as a perfected being. I know that through the Atonement we can 'develop from our negatives...and take another shot.' We are not perfect, but we can become perfect through Christ.

Don't stress about past mistakes. We are meant to learn and become better people through decisions that we have made. You are worth everything; don't forget that. There is always room for more shots, and we can always look back on our positive images for motivation and great memories.

Technology Fail

In my last post I mentioned that I relied on technology too much, and it got me into trouble when my nephew was born. I figured I'd enlighten you on this little story. My nephew was due to be born on June 6, 2013. I was unable to fly home for this, so obviously my only connection was my phone.

Well, a few days before this, I was carrying around my Samsung Galaxy S2, and I had to use the restroom...yes, it's one of those stories. It was in my jacket pocket and just slipped out before I could grab it. Epic fail. Needless to say, I was frantic. I got it as dry as I possibly could and I stuck it in a bag of rice. I got onto Google and searched for what I needed to do. I used a vacuum to get out any extra water that was in there, and I was freaking out. I called my mom through the home phone and told her to keep in touch with me through Whitney's phone and we would figure things out from there. So there I was, no phone, my nephew about to be born, and I'm 2,600 miles away. I left my phone to sit in the rice for a couple nights and had no results.

Josh, my brother, texted Whitney to let me know that Reagan, my sister-in-law, was going into the hospital the night of June 5. Whitney was great, and made sure that she was near me so I could receive any and all updates.

Early on June 6 Whitney woke me up telling me Josh was on the phone. Instantly awake, I started shoving questions at him. He was freaking out; he was almost a daddy! All I could do was cry and try and calm his nerves for the big day. We hung up, and I went back to sleep for a couple hours--occasionally interrupted by updates on how Reagan was doing. When it became a decent hour I called my mom and we filled each other in on our morning. FYI, my mom is amazing. While I was stressing about everything and my phone she mentioned that I should say a prayer and try to turn on my phone again. I did, and guess what? It turned on! I would have cried if I wasn't already!

Well, Reagan kept dilating, but no baby nephew yet. The day kept moving along and I had to go to work. Well, work is crazy, I was emotionally strung up, and the baby still wasn't born. About a half hour into work I was texted with 6 pounds 8 ounces!

 

Now I'm a proud aunt to Krew Justin Dennis!!

The moral of this story is--never take your phone into the restroom with you. Or near any water at all, just to be safe :) And don't be so reliable on it that it throws off your whole day!

Also--I have a pretty dang cute nephew (:

I Can Do Anything.

Remember how I went to Alaska?

Remember how I loved it?

Well...that love wasn't instantaneous.

Once upon a time I told you all about my issues with change. It's hard for me, and, since I've written that post, I've realized that it is something I will always struggle with. I can't get my mind to just be okay with it right off the bat. It takes a lot more time for me to be okay with something. 

Anywho...back to Alaska. 

Here I am, making a six-month commitment to live with people I didn't really know, work at a hotel with people I didn't know, live in a place I didn't know, on top of getting there in a 49 hour (just driving) car ride. Bytheway...the car ride was with someone I knew, but that's a heck of a long drive! Needless to say I was a little <caughlotcaugh> overwhelmed. However, I followed my little change routine and I went. 

Can I just say I cried when I got to the Johnson's house? I literally got out, gave Alicia a hug, and balled my eyes out...while the missionaries were there! Needless to say I was not ready to be in the Land of the Midnight Sun. At. All. However, I couldn't just turn my back on everything, so I went ahead to begin my adventures. 

You're probably thinking that I quickly learned to love it up there. That is not the case. My first week of work was overwhelming, and the tours hadn't even started yet. Once those started I was like a chicken with its head cut off. People were grumpy, I was still learning, and I still hadn't adjusted to my new home. My mom had told me that I needed to give it at least a month before I gave up, and I was giving it a valiant effort. I instantly loved the people I lived with, but they had already started to try and get me to commit to the summer of 2014.

HA. Yeah right.

Thus began, what I thought would be, the longest six months of my life. Now you're probably wondering what the point of this story is. I have a problem with talking a lot--and that goes right into writing a lot. So, deal with the length or just move on to the next blog. I promise I won't be offended :)

Technology is an amazing thing. It kept me in touch with loved ones and friends, and I relied upon it heavily. Which got me in trouble when my nephew was born...but that's a whole other story. I remember calling my Grandma Esther after I had been in Alaska for a couple weeks to just catch up. Of course, I got into talking about how I was struggling and not sure it I could make it through the summer (I'm a wimp...I know). My Grandma is awesome. She understood why I was struggling, but she did not think my mindset of 'not being able to make it' was good enough. As I continued to vent to her she stopped me and said, "Courtney, you can do anything for six months."

I agreed and we finished out conversation, and I continued to be caught up in my change-crisis. After a couple more weeks I really thought about what she said.

You can do anything for six months.

I tend to shorten that into, you can do anything; no matter what comes your way, you can do it. And that is when I started loving Alaska--after a whole month of pretty much committing to the worst summer ever.

And guess what? I'm going back for summer of 2014.

Want to know what's even crazier? I'm getting my CDL to be a tour guide and drive a HUGE bus. 

And...I'm going to love it.