Alaska, The Final Frontier?
Not the final one for me!

What on earth? That’s what I kept saying to myself as I was driving the last 200 miles. The mountains were getting bigger as I got closer to my destination. Snow covered peaks were glistening as I drove passed them in the cool summer night’s breeze.
I arrived in Haines, Alaska on Friday, July 14, 2017.
The reality of arriving in Alaska made me think about my journey so far and what I am really doing. Is this all real? (I’m not going there now, to that place where I ask if any of this is real. That’s for another time).
I’ve been asked if I’m running away from something. Sure I am, in a way. I also feel I am also running towards something. Not able to put my finger on what that is though. Sure I can speculate and get lost in thought about it, or I can just go with it and see what happens and where I end up. Mindfully!
Being aware that I am doing this is the key for me. So far it’s been a real pleasure and privilege to get out of my own way and slow down a bit. For those that know my ways, slowing down is a challenge for me. I’m the guy that likes to jump into things head first, and then see how deep it is. Taking a few deep breaths and then being present here and now, is the best way to describe being here.
I then thought of the word destination, and all the sayings that could fit my trip.
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination”
“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination”
“Success is not a destination, but the road that you’re on. Being successful means that you’re working hard and walking your walk every day. You can only live your dream by working hard towards it. That’s living your dream.”
I even looked up the definition and got this:
des·ti·na·tion noun the place to which someone or something is going or being sent.
“Or being sent” now that sounds spooky. I do feel like I am being sent somewhere. When I feel like this I ask myself what am I really feeling. What happened along the way to here? Who did I meet on this journey? (I don’t ask why, I have to let that work itself out). What was the initial gut feeling I got when I arrived.
Well, I couch surfed for my first time, through Canada. Connected with some amazing beings, (some of whom were human) maybe that word should really be re-connected, as I feel somehow I already knew them. Carol in Edmonton, Alberta and Russ in Fort St. John, BC. I also allowed the universe, God, guide me the last 2 days as I had no plan, no GPS, no phone. I stopped often, got out of the car and looked to the sky giving thanks to my maker for the guidance and protection I received on this and all my journeys. I also stretched, a little roadside yoga :)

I camped out in a tent in places that had these warning signs. Funny how being behind a tent wall less than 1/8" thick makes you feel protected.
Ha, even the mosquitoes found their way in.
That initial feeling. It feels like I am supposed to be here. Like a dream come true. I had to stop and refocus often on my way up. Stevie Nicks said it like this” Dreams unwind, love’s a state of mind…” I say life’s a state of mind!
I was guided to the house I will be spending 3 weeks (or so) in.
A lovely, sprawling ranch.




Mountains in the background
Large plot of land.
Raised beds with vegetables growing.
And beautiful flowers.



Unbelievable scenery.
No words…..

Kristen, my host, had arranged a tour of the Kroschel Wildlife Refuge here in Haines. Mario our guide enlightened me on a number of things.


Falconry, is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey.
(A falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle)
Mario with his red tailed hawk.
Mario led us through on the tour.
This lynx is so beautiful.
Those paws are designed for walking on deep snow.
Love the surprised look on the moose. This is Karen, the orphaned moose. (That’s me on the right).





So why did I come to Alaska? Maybe it was to meet Mario. During the tour he made us aware of a 2 horrible pieces of legislation in the works. One is to allow for the exploration of oil and natural gas in our national parks, and the other is to eliminate 75% of the bear and wolves in the parks in Alaska. This latter one by means of inhumane traps and aerial shooting. It also allowed sport hunters to crawl into bears’ dens and using flashlights to wake and kill mother bears and their cubs.
On March 28, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to review or rescind a number of critical policies that protect our national parks from the adverse impacts of oil and gas development, including the National Park Service 9B rules.
These commonsense policies set safety and enforcement standards for oil and gas drilling within the boundaries of more than 40 national parks, including Everglades, Grand Teton and Mesa Verde. Reversing these 9B rules would pose a serious and direct threat to the ability of the National Park Service to protect our national parks for future generations.
While NPCA supports commonsense opportunities for hunting in national preserves, Alaska’s state approach to wildlife management aims to encourage killing more bears and wolves to bolster the populations of moose and caribou, which can then be harvested by sport hunters.
This “predator control” approach presents a clear conflict with the Park Service’s mission to protect natural diversity inside park boundaries, yet between 2001 and 2014, NPCA documented more than 60 instances where the Alaska Board of Game ignored Park Service requests to keep these practices out of our national preserves.
Click on the links. You have not heard the last on this from me! :)
