Change... is a good thing!

Sometimes, I realize that I have an AMAZING life. :) Moving to Alaska was the best decision I've ever made. The things I have learned about myself since coming here (and the friends I have made) will have a lasting impact on my life, and I have no doubt of that. I remember trying to make a decision about where my life would go since I was graduating... and now I realize how foolish I was to think that I was directing my life at all.

I have learned this lesson at many different times in life, but I just recently re-learned how important it is to turn your life over to God. Once you do that, the small details and decisions don't matter as much. Life has so much more meaning and purpose because everything is leading you to the ultimate goal of eternal life with such a loving Heavenly Father.

I'm not proclaiming to be a pro at this task, but I like to think I'm getting better at it :) And as such, I've decided to take another leap of faith.... and MOVE! Again. Haha. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason, and for some reason my future didn't actually end up being in Alaska.

However, Alaska helped me realize that, and so I realize how crucial it was for me to come here. So, my last day of work is this Friday, and I will be leaving on Sunday to make the crazy drive back to Idaho! My parents are flying in on Saturday night, so I hope they can handle the quick turn around. This might be an interesting drive, and I hope we can make it safely.

I'm so excited to get back and see all the people I care about. This is going to be a wonderful change!

Here's my Tuesday throwback picture :) Taken at Kolby's wedding reception nearly two years ago. Timing really does make all the difference. I'm appreciative of the things that I've learned in the last two years! We all have a journey to make, and I'm super excited for the next leg of mine! :D

We're makin' memories, my friends! Makin' memories...

Holy Smokes! I'm obviously horrible at blogging. I've been trying to think of the best way to update you all on what I have been doing, and I decided to go with PICTURES! Enjoy!!

First of all, I'm OBSESSED with camping in Alaska. I didn't get to go as much as I'd like, but this is from a YSA campout at LaDaSa. It's a camp that is owned by the church, and it was such a beautiful spot! It was so much fun!

                                                                Beautiful Lake!!

 These are from a hike that I took (also an Alaska obsession). I couldn't believe how close we got to this goat!

 This is the plane I rode in to Mountain Village. And below is a picture of Alaskan tundra. It's very different, but beautiful in it's own way! Mountain Village was an interesting experience. It was such a small place, and it made me so grateful for what I have!

 This is the "Hilton". It's a man camp, and they use it as their hotel. Let's just say it was.... interesting :)

 This is what Yupiit looks like. It's the Alaskan native language that is spoken in Mountain Village. CRAZY!

 View of SE Alaska from my plane to Petersburg! SUCH a beautiful trip.

 Another hiking picture. This was right outside of Anchorage.

 This is the town of Dutch Harbor on the island of Unalaska. I was stuck here for a day when we were weather out of Akutan. (More pictures of Akutan below). I was blown away by the beauty of this little island! We had a really interesting experience getting to Akutan, and leaving Akutan. The Aleutians are a very hard place to travel from (I found out the HARD way).

My YSA ward made a backpacking hike to Gull Rock. This is one of my new friends, Tana! We were all smiles at the beginning, but after hiking 5 miles in the rain, we were ready to set up camp. We decided to be tough Alaskans and sleep in a man made shelter... which we did! But we weren't able to set it up the way we had originally planned. It was a little different than we expected, and it started to snow on us in the middle of the night haha. Luckily, we stayed dry and warm! Overall, it was such a fun night! Tana brought some moose meat that we roasted over the fire, and it was delicious! The scenery was beautiful (as you'll see below) and I was surrounded by good people. Doesn't get much better than that!

 Snowing!!!

 This girl is AMAZING!!

 This was taken on our hike out.

 Can't really see them, but there are Beluga whales right there! Glad we took a break to look at the ocean. What a lucky find!

 I was able to attend the wedding and reception of one of my very best friends!! It was such a perfect day (The weather was SO warm for an October day) and she made the most beautiful bride! I just love the Idaho Falls Temple. I hope to be married there someday!!

 Mrs. Kallie Matson! Congratulations Kal!

 The beautiful village of Metlakatla! This is the last "indian reservation" left in Alaska. It was amazing to see their culture, and to associate with the locals. I really do have an AMAZING job :)

 My Taxi :) I'm obsessed with small planes! They are THE funnest to ride in! Especially float planes like this one!

 This was by my house. It's kinda fuzzy, but I had to share it! I love my city!! My friends and I went to Kincaid park to call in some moose (this park is in the middle of the city), and we saw so many of them! After calling a several cows and a few bulls, we saw the Northern Lights! I found out that they are very hard to take pictures of. I guess I missed some great lights while I was in Idaho. I'm super sad about that, but I guess it snowed too, and I'm not sad I missed that! haha

 Meet Jared Lane Talbot! The newest addition to our family. I was so lucky to be able to come home and meet this sweet little boy! I am now the proud aunt of 8 nieces and nephews! We had quite the loud reunion, but I simply loved EVERY minute of it.

 This plane is called a "Goose". It's an amphibian, meaning it lands in water but can drive onto land from the water. This is the only plane that can get you to Akutan. The weather getting to Akutan was perfect! They hadn't been able to fly there for two weeks. We were really lucky to make it. However, we weren't so lucky getting back! We ended up having to take a boat that left at 3:00 a.m.! It was torture for this girl (I LOVE my sleep), but it made for quite the adventure!

 There are no roads in Akutan. Only board walks. They ride 4-wheelers everywhere, and it was quite the culture shock! It was really fun, though!

 This is how they lifted us on and off the boat, haha. It was legit.

 This is the boat.

 This is the plane that we took to Akiachak. They only have board walks here, too. BUT, it wasn't quite as pretty as Akutan, haha. Very primitive. These people amaze me!

 This is the plane we took to Haines! Haines has probably been my favorite location. We went to this river and saw Grizzly bears feeding on Salmon! I'm all about seeing wildlife, so that won me over. Not to mention, it was Stunning!

 I didn't get any good pictures of the bears (sad day!), but this is the lake that the river came from. So pretty!! And that bear sign made me feel legit!

While we were able to fly to Haines, we weren't able to fly out (Alaska weather is so unpredictable). We had to take the ferry, but I was all for it! It took much longer, but it was really fun! South East Alaska is completely spectacular! I love it!

It's amazing to me that I've been able to travel and do so much in Alaska! I know I'm so blessed. This has been the best experience of my life! I don't even know how to explain all the things I have learned and the person I've become. Also, visiting home was so wonderful!! I love my family, and I can't imagine being away from them for much longer, but I am loving my life in Alaska! I'm still working on finding a good balance. I'm excited to come back home for Christmas, and stay for a couple weeks! I also promise to be better about blogging. That way, it won't be so vague. Haha. 

~ Ashley

Thoughts...

I'm not sure where to start. There are two parts to my life right now. I'll start with Alaska.

Alaska has been AWESOME! I have learned so much about myself, about what I want, and about my chosen profession. I haven't had any regrets in coming up here. All of the traveling that I have been able to do has been so fun, and sometimes I just sit in awe because of how blessed I am.

Idaho has been on my mind a lot. Not necessarily the place, but the people that I love that are still there. Some big family events have occurred, and a lot of heart ache has resulted. I love being here, but I miss being able to be there for my family, and to have my family be there for me. I have been feeling very sad for my cousin and friend that are most affected by these events, and I feel very alone in that sadness. I have wonderful friends here who I talk to about it, but it's different. I miss talking to my Mom. Phone calls are wonderful, but they are not the same. I know that I wouldn't be making much difference if I was in Idaho, but it's hard not to think about it.

I was watching the Olympics with some friends tonight, and they were showing a Michael Phelps tribute. They mentioned that he is 27, and I realized something. I'm only 22. I have 5 years until I am his age, and that is more than enough time to do something amazing. I don't want to just work as an accountant for the next 5 years. Sure, I'll have money, but what else will I have? I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I've decided that I'm going to do something to help people. 5 years from now, I want to be able to say I made a difference. The situation I mentioned above has played a big role in this, and I decided that I want to help people who are suffering, or who feel alone. No one should have to feel like that. I'm not sure how to do that yet, and I would like to do it in a way that I'm good at, which is also going to be hard to find. BUT, be sure that I will find it. I've got a new life mission.

Saint Paul, Alaska

Well!
I have been in the small town of Saint Paul, Alaska for a full week now. We flew in last Sunday, and started working on Monday. Sunday night, we literally drove every road that exists on the Island haha. There are 438 people here, and they are all located in one small area. The roads basically lead to the airport, and to an observation deck on the other side of the Island. Nothing is paved, but they are pretty well maintained for dirt roads. I was really surprised at first by how baron the land was. There are no trees here. Not one. So it has a depressing type of landscape. On top of that, it is usually extremely foggy.

Fortunately, we were able to see some wildlife! A herd of 27 Caribou were brought to St. Paul in 1917. Last year, their herd had grown to almost 400 animals, but they had a very  harsh winter. Because there are no trees, the animals literally couldn't find food, and 2/3 of the herd died. They will not be allowed to hunt the herd this year so that they can build their population back up. We were pretty lucky to bump into the herd on our first day here! Some people have never seen them. (Not sure how that works since you can see everything here from the hills. They also have a huge Sea lion population! I had never seen one in the wild before! They are weird, and make a similar sound to a cow. Almost makes me feel like I'm at home haha. They also have small foxes here. They are called blue fox. I chose not to take a picture of the HUNDREDS of cats they have here. Hope the viewers at home won't mind that haha.

This is the airport! Crazy.

Our house! It is owned by the City, and this is where all visitors stay. This is supposedly one of the nicest places in town. They are working on getting a hotel. That'll be the day!

Tufted Puffin. I guess there are 206 species of birds here on the Island. People come from all over to see them.

This is the whole town. Yup. There you have it.

This is the street we stayed on.

Our flight was scheduled to leave Friday (yesterday) afternoon. The fog was so bad yesterday, and the locals were telling us that it was as bad as they had ever seen it. There is only one flight that comes to Saint Paul each day. They don't fly on Tuesdays or Thursdays. They always leave from Anchorage, and they have to stop in either King Salmon or Dillingham to fuel up. This is for emergency fuel purposes. It is required that they have enough fuel to get all the way back from Saint Paul in case they can't land. The plane left Anchorage yesterday and made it to Dillingham, however they decided not to even try and come to Saint Paul because of how bad the fog was. We found out at 5:00 last night that they for sure weren't coming. SO, we unpacked and went to the store to buy food for another day. My coworkers loaded up on wine (this is a damp down, so they couldn't get the hard stuff they wanted) and I bought ice cream :) I definitely stick out among them, but I don't mind it. They are very respectful, and we had as good a time as we could last night. We have been told that they are sending a second plane today to get the group that was delayed yesterday. The original flight for today was already full. We are really lucky! The fog is still pretty thick today, but hopefully we will still get out! It tends to lighten up in the afternoons. The plane won't be landing in Saint Paul until 9:30, and we won't be in Anchorage until 12:30. It's better than nothing! I'm really hoping we actually fly today. I can' t imagine being here for a few more days! The forecast says the weather will be the same for the next couple days... so it looks like I might just have to sit tight! haha. Here are some pictures of my adventure so far. More will probably be coming since sightseeing is literally the only thing to do here haha. Enjoy!