Surreal

The time has almost arrived. This Friday morning, it begins - the adventure of a lifetime. I will be traveling into the great northwest wilderness in the interior of Alaska to Denali National Park for the summer. I am both nervous and excited. The chance to experience the wildness of America's last and most enduring frontier is something I never thought possible. It has become not only a possibility, but a reality.

I am looking forward to learning about a new time era and putting everything I can into meaningful, informative presentations to the public. My impression will be a 1940s park ranger and spending a lot of time when working at the Savage Cabin. This was one of the first structures built in the park and is still used by rangers during the winter as a way station while patrolling the snow-draped backcountry with their sled dog teams. The history of this area is so different to what I have studied throughout my life here in the southeast. It is a far cry from the American Civil War, Revolutionary War or the French & Indian War. However, as with any area, there is HISTORY. The local indigenous population, Athabascan ( sp ? ), is involved with interpretation in the park, there is Gold Rush history AND to the southwest in the Aleutians, WWII was felt when Japanese troops landed and fought a series of brutal, mostly forgotten, engagements against American troops. Though my concentration on historical research has mainly centered around events in American history east of the Mississippi, my interest in history is of history itself, regardless of the time frame.

The hardest part will be the separation from friends and family here at home. However, it is only a few months and there WILL be a homecoming. It is not like I am being deployed for 12 months, or more, to a war zone where the possibility would exist of me not coming home. In addition, with today's technology, I can keep in touch via cell phone and Skype.

I truly do not know what to expect and realize I have a LOT to learn, both with my position and the way everything is going to work. My wife worked in Yellowstone for four years before I met her and she is able to share some insight, but even that was not recent and things may have changed. Not only that, but Yellowstone and Denali are two separate NPS sites.

Friday morning will be a bit rough with parting ways, but I will not say goodbye for I will be returning. A great experience, a foot in the career door, and a great addition to my resume. I pray God will keep me safe as well as my family, and have faith He will help me to do my utmost and totally ROCK this position.

Even with it being so close, for the moment, it has not sunk in. It probably won't until I am at the airport and even more when I actually arrive there.

For now, it is very --------- surreal.