I'm back in Fairbanks after three weeks in Western Alaska. It was an event-filled time. We hauled water, sang songs, swam in 58 degree water, accidently set my hair on fire, canoed, hiked, watched a muktuk (whale blubber) eating contest, picked berries, and ate a dangerous amount of s'mores.



Our first stop was Kotzebue where we held a 4-day Girl Scout camp for girls ages 6-12.

We created solar ovens, decorated t-shirts (which Alanna models is the adjecent photo), made clay refrigerators, and had a crazy hair fashion show (Goody donated 500 of its new hairbands to our office last month!). Yes, that is a side bun on my head:)









After Kotzebue, we headed to Nome for our high school girl camp. We stayed at a cabin on Salmon Lake, 35 miles outside of Nome. There was no running water or electricity, and the girls complained about not being able to charge their iPods.



We canoed on the beautiful lake, and the water was so clear that I could see my toes when I was neck-deep.













After Salmon Lake we headed to Camp Dexter, which is a camp owned by the Girl Scouts, five miles out of Nome. We hosted camps for Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts, the photos for which are on a memory card I have yet to upload.

Our last few days in Nome were spent at the home of a gracious Nome family, the Horner's. They fed us real food and let us shower! They also took us sightseeing to Anvil Mountian and the Train to Nowhere.

I'm currently traveling to camp in Kotzebue and Nome.

Check back at the end of July for pictures.

I hope you're having a great summer!

As a thank-you gift for running an errand at IKEA when I was home earlier this month, my co-worker's husband took me up in his plane on a siteseeing trip over Fairbanks. We saw the city, the rivers, and about 8-10 moose hanging out in remote ponds. This trip was definitely a highlight of my time in Alaska.
The longest day of the year just passed, and Fairbanksians go crazy for Solstice. There is a huge downtown fair that runs from noon until midnight with a dunk tank, climbing wall, bands, food, crafts, and a midnight sun baseball game that starts at 10:30pm and is played without artificial lights.
I ran into this "Taste of Chicago, Fairbanks, AK" truck and I had the owner take my photo. He asked where I was from, and I told him that I'm from the north side of Chicago. He said, "Oh, you must be a Cubs fan." I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me that he's a Sox Fan from the south side. He was already holding my camera, so when I found out we were cross-town rivals, I told him not to "accidentally" drop my camera. He took my photo and invited me to visit his restaurant that is decorated in all Chicago paraphernalia.

I'm back in the Land of the Midnight Sun after a fun trip back home to Chicago to see the Liz graduate from the University of Chicago.
Congratulations Liz!!

Kirsten recently visited me in Alaska and we toured around Anchorage with our gracious host Rich.We also took a fun glacier cruise with my friend Chris off the coast of Whittier, AK, just south of Anchorage. We also hiked, visited the Alaska Pipeline (which carries oil 800 miles from Prudue Bay to Valdez) camped in Denali (still freezing!), kayaked down the river (got sunburn), hung out with friends from church and AmeriCorps*VISTA, shopped, and relaxed in a Hot Springs.

It was a great week!!

Sunset at 9:58 pm

Girl Scout Annual Meeting

As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Girl Scouts is required to have an annual meeting. The Board of Directors conducts official business, and we hand out Adult Volunteer Awards. The staff all wear official Girl Scout outfits. Look closely and you'll see my nametag and pins. We were all teasing our executive director (in the middle) that she was once step away from looking just like Shelly Long in the all-time classic movie Troop Beverly Hills.