Where is the light switch?!!...

I suddenly realized tonight how extreme things are in Alaska. When we first got to Anchorage, it was light out all night. We would be throwing Frisbee after dinner and circle, and someone would look at their watch and it was, Whoa, I can't believe it's 11:30! I even had trouble falling asleep at first. After a little while, though, I got used to it, we all did, and it became normal to expect to be able to see well into the night without trouble. We have been out here for almost six weeks, and I am closer to these people than I am even with friends back home I have known since I was a kid. I can't imagine not being with them. I feel like I belong out here, with everyone.
-Kevin

Kayaking with whales!!...

We reached our campsite pretty early today and took our kayaks up beyond the tide line. We set up tents and the kitchen and were just really getting settled when we heard this great blast from the water. We rushed out to the beach to see a humpback whale spout again. Suddenly, there were three more right next to it! Though we had seen a few whales when we were out on the water, these ones were right off shore! They were like thirty feet away from us, going right along the beach, keeping on spouting. They came up for air about fourteen times, which meant that we got to take lots of pictures. It is really amazing how big they are, I cannot believe they were so close! When they spout for air, it is a little bit frightening because it is so loud, but you forget it when you see the whales coming out of the water. I hoped they would breach, which is when they jump up and crash back into the water, but these whales were just cruising along. I will never forget seeing these huge creatures, so close to me.
-Thomas

Falling glaciers on the Black Sands Beach...

I am pretty tired today, partly from a lot of paddling, but also because we didn't get a lot of sleep last night. We were camped at the coolest campsite I have seen on Black Sands Beach, and there are these great spots for tents. Across the fjord from us is this huge glacier. In the middle of the night last night, we heard this huge crash, louder than thunder. A bunch of us got out of our tents to see what we could see. From the waves hitting shore, we could tell a big chunk of the glacier had calved into the sea. The night was perfectly clear, and there was a really bright almost full moon out. Brandon and I woke up the rest of the people still sleeping, and we all climbed up onto this big rock to watch the glacier, which was an eerie white in the moonlight. We watched these pieces of the glacier as big as houses or buildings fall off into the water. It took a few seconds for the sound of each to reach us. Also, we could see the stars and the moon for the first time all trip and so we stayed up for a couple of hours, just taking it all in. I did not mind being tired at all today, how often will I get to experience that night again?
-Tara

Wildflowers in Alaska...

Coming down the pass into the meadows in the middle of the Cottonwood Trail was like walking into a new world. The trail began in a forest where the trees were so dense you couldn't see a tent that was fifteen feet away. Then, we had been up in the tundra in the mountains, hiking across windy, winding, rocky trails and camping up high where we could see for miles. As we came back down through the trees, it suddenly opened up into maybe the most beautiful meadow I have ever a scene. Maybe I just didn't expect it to look like this, but it was all this soft tall grass and wildflowers, wildflowers, wildflowers. The land was so open in between the mountains, and the ground was so flat. It was really astonishing, so we just hung out for a long time. There were also these bear stomps, which are foot prints from the bears stepping in the same exact place year after year. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who have enjoyed this oasis before.
-Dawn

Looking down into the great abyss of ice....

Today we climbed the steep ice walls near base camp. There were overhangs in each of the three climbs that made the climb very difficult. Upper arm strength was definately required to get you over the overhang. The highlight of the day was probably when we repelled into a couple of moulins and climbed out! Looking down into the great abyss of ice was probably nerve-wracking for each of us, but everyone made it through ok. The day ended with a nap and cous-cous for dinner. Today was an exciting day!
-Michael