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. :)

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!)

Alaskan Adventures

Hello! It's been a while, and I have been BUSY!! I moved to Alaska to work for the summer. My friend Whitney and I got jobs up here and hopped into the car and drove 49 hours to get to the little town of Fairbanks. We've been here for a few days and we start work today, which I'm a little nervous for but it will be good!

I was definitely nervous coming up here, and I kept stressing over everything. Right before I left my mom showed me this quote...

 

I think this is great because it is SO true (at least for me it is). I really try hard to enjoy each day as it comes, but I usually get hung up on the future and what it has in store for me and how my decisions now are going to affect everything later...and so on. However, I need to remember that I need to find joy in the journey. If I don't do that, then there is no point in living because we will just be worrying our days away.

Approach each new day with the attitude that everyday is an adventure. If you start out like this then you can't help but focus on the day and what's happening all around you. Don't forget the finish line, just remember to enjoy getting there. We have all the time in the world to reach the end; life isn't a race. Which reminds me of a quote from one of the apostles from my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So get out there, and have fun enjoying your journeys!

My Roomie ♥

Last semester I was getting ready to move in with five new girls...needless to say, I was a little worried. I moved my things in and met two girls right off the bat. Katie and McCall were crazy, but I already loved them. I was working a couple jobs and helping substitute, so I was hardly around for the next few days. When I finally was able to come organize my things, Karli had moved in and we became great friends. We were going to have six girls, but the sixth one didn't move in for a couple weeks, but I love Kadi just as much!

My room-roommate and I were never home at the same time so I had yet to meet her. Now let's have an honest moment... I was a little worried to meet her. I walked into my room and was bombarded with pink and Hello Kitty all over the opposite side of the bedroom. All I could think was...I don't like Hello Kitty, and I'm pretty sure pink is my least favorite color. However, I had signed a contract and I was going to be living with her for 14 weeks.

Finally I met Anna and I was a little overwhelmed. She'll tell you any day that her emotional range is WACKO, and I did (and sometimes don't) know how to help her. However, we soon became good friends and our semester was awesome.

We're both on the same track here at BYU-Idaho, and so we were signed up for another 14 weeks of good times. I absolutely love Anna, and I knew we were going to have fun. We're only 4 weeks in and we have become so close. She's already counting down the days until she can go see her family, but I'm so sad that I won't see her for five months after we say goodbye! We definitely have our moments....crazy, happy, sad, hungry, emotional, and the list goes on, but I'm pretty sure we have the best of times. So, this is a shout-out to one of the best roomies ever! Love ya Anna!

And I still don't love Hello Kitty, but maybe pink has gone up a couple notches on my favorite scale...

Change.

Those that know me will already agree with what I'm about to say (especially if your names are Mom or Dad ;) ).

I hate change.

No...not the kind of change that I put in my piggy bank... the kind of change that means you are going to have to do something different in your life. Now I'm not afraid to make little changes in my life; getting up earlier, eating something different, buying clothes, and the list could go on for a while. I hate the kind of changes that are going to alter your life direction.

Here I am doing just fine on my little road of life when this sign shows up. Change? Wait. I don't need to change. This road is going just as it needs to... I don't need to get off that exit. No worries enter my mind until I keep seeing the sign and then I start to understand that change is the only way to go. Denial is usually how I deal with this. What!? I'm not ready to change!! Maybe I'll be okay staying the way I am... I mean, it's gotten me this far hasn't it?? Yeah, that's right. I'm going to be fine on my little road. However, as the miles pass behind I slowly start to realize that change is inevitable. I keep cruising along thinking about how different things are going to be when my worst fears are confirmed.

I really have no choice about this exit and it's coming up too fast for me. Now saying that this is my worst fear is a little over-exaggerated. I know change isn't going to kill me, and I know it's for the best. In fact, while I was coming to the conclusion that change is inevitable I considered everything that will be positive from this experience, how much I will benefit, what I will get to see and who I will get to meet. Logically, I can understand why I want the change and I'm almost okay with it until I almost reach the turning point.

Okay. This is really happening. This... this is really happening. There's no way I can stall now and I'm pretty sure that I am not going to be able to handle this. Breaking point begins. I'm usually a mess and I can't keep myself under control and I hate it. Remember the part about being able to think through all the positive things logically? Yeah, pretty much I feel like that part of my brain decides to malfunction.

I take the exit and lots of new things bombard me and I'm not quite sure how to handle it. However, pretty soon I start to get the hang of things and I'm okay with the changes. In fact, I even start to enjoy them.

Now, I'm writing this post right before the start of a new semester, new roommates, new apartment, new classes, and me not even being sure where I am in life right now. Do I want to change my major? Go to a different school? Country? Let's be honest. I have no idea, and I don't plan on figuring it out right now. But I know those change signs are going to come up in my life and right now I'm ready for them. Right before the exit...not so much, that whole malfunctioning will kick back in and I'll be a wreck. However, it's for my own good...right?

Attitude

Life. In short, it's all over the place and you never know what's going to happen. It could be great, or it could be down-right awful. However, it's how we view this craziness that determines how much we enjoy life.

When it comes to roller coasters screaming and enjoying the ride are basically simultaneous in my book. When it comes to life, on the other hand, they are definitely separate chapters.

There are ups and downs every day. Whether they be big downs and small ups, or small ups and big downs; or maybe even big ups and downs, or small ups and downs. Those ups and downs are always there, but it's up to us how much we focus on them and make them a part of our life.

Imagine a day where everything is going wrong... I can think of multiple. Some of them I wake up feeling on top of the world, and then I actually get out of bed and everything that could possibly go wrong does, and I don't know how I'm going to handle it. This is when you need to focus on the ups.

In an earlier post I mentioned that we need to enjoy the simple things. This is so true. Think of anything positive in your day; anything. Great hair day, sunshine, you talked to someone cute, you got to class on time, someone smiled at you... maybe you can't pick out anything little, but at the end of the day think, 'hey! This day is over, and tomorrow can bring something better!'

Yeah... a little bit cheesy and a lot a bit cliche...but seriously.

You have so much power over how you view life. Of course there are things out of your control; your car breaks down, you get sick, group members don't help out, issues with people, too much to do and the list could go on forever. Literally. It's easy to focus on these downs and pretty much be miserable. But we are not here to be miserable. We are here to live the best life that we can.

Attitude is everything. Wake up each day saying 'I am going to rock today.' No matter what comes your way you are going to make the best of it. I'm not saying this is easy to do. Personally, I epically fail at this most days. Nevertheless, when I do have this positive attitude it makes all the difference.

Let's be honest. Everything could be going wrong in your life. You have no hope, and nothing is ever going to be the same again, but choose to love what's going right, because I guarantee that there is at least one thing going right and whether that one thing be big or small; it's worth it.

Nerve.

 Remember what I said about adventure being out there?

Well, I just wanted to remind you that it's still out there; go find it! Plus, I think this little quote is a good motivator for doing things, even if you're nervous.

I mean, honestly. What is the worst that could happen? Just go for it.

Adventure is Out There!

I hope all of you have seen the movie Up.

If not, it would be beneficial for you to go watch it right now and then come back. :)

I love Up, and I love the little messages within it. My favorite is "Adventure is out there!" I love this so much, because it's true! Everyone always wants to go on an adventure, but they never seek it out. This little phrase implies that YOU need to go find an adventure! It's 'out there,' just waiting for you!

I've decided that this should be my new motto when I am confronted with something new. I should go for it! I mean, you only live life once, right? Right. I think if we try and do everything that we can, we won't regret it. One of my biggest adventure this far in my life is that I attended Brigham Young University-Hawaii for a semester. Yeah, I lived in Hawaii. Pretty much it was one of the hardest things I've ever done... being away from my family for 3 months (and a week), being in a TOTALLY unfamiliar place, and having none of my close friends to confide in person. I struggled, and I am not afraid to admit that. However, now that I look back on it, I loved every day I was in Hawaii. I loved the weather, I loved the people, I loved saying aloha to everyone,I loved the adventure! I'm definitely going back to visit one day!

Another adventure that I decided to go on is snowboarding. Now, let me give you a background of my life on a snowy mountain. I did ski school 3 times, and each time I skied. Each time I skied I almost killed myself. Result? Never ski again. So, my snowy mountain experience consists of that and sledding. So what inspired me to try snowboarding, you may ask? I'll be straight-up honest with you. First off, a cute guy was involved. Definitely a plus. And that's pretty much most of my reasoning. :) My brothers snowboard and I've thought before that it might be fun to learn, but I've never really done anything about it. So when this attractive guy (yes, he's a double-take) asks if I want to go and he'll teach me, of course I'm going to say yes!

Well, that day was today. I was scared. I was nervous. And I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. However, no worries. I made it to the resort, and I made it to the bunny hill... where I fell, and fell, and fell.....and fell. After many unsuccessful attempts to remain standing for longer than 3 seconds, my teacher asked me if I wanted to get on the lift and just go for it. "No. I don't actually. Have you seen how well, or in my case, horrible I've been on this teeny tiny hill?" Of course, that didn't work so I found myself on a lift going up the mountain. It's safe to assume that I almost threw-up. I started to learn on this bigger, yet still beginner, mountain and I could not stay standing. However, I'm a little prideful and I wasn't just going to sit there and complain that I couldn't do it.

Once we got on the bigger, yet still beginner, hill I realized that it was a lot easier to stay standing once I got there. This does not mean that I did not fall, because, trust me, I can feel every single fall that happened... and there was a lot. We started this craziness around 9:30 in the morning, and I worked my butt off trying to stay standing so that this guy wouldn't think I was an idiot, until 4 in the afternoon. Can you say long day? I. Am. Exhausted. And sore. I'm scared for the next couple days because I will definitely be feelin' it. Overall, I think I did alright, and by the end I wasn't falling nearly as much. But don't you fret, I still got my epic biff in at the very end. As we were heading back, I fell asleep and then we went to Wendy's. After I was dropped off I thought back on the whole day.

It was worth it.

It was worth every fall, every face-plant, every belly-flop, every embarrassing moment, every person I ran into, every fence I ran into, and every single sore part in my body for the next few days. It was worth it.

Although I cringe at how I will feel in the morning, I would definitely do it again. In fact, I plan on going again because I really enjoyed myself (and not just because of the guy). It was so much fun to learn something new, and I consider it an accomplished adventure.

Life is full of adventures and we can't always sit around worrying what might happen if we take one on. Just go for it, and you'll never regret it.