The Non-Continental United States

Wow - what a whirlwind of traveling activity over the last 3 weeks! Over that time I was as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska and as far west as The Big Island of Hawaii in the middle of Pacific Ocean. Pictures below capture, albeit only partially, the gorgeous landscapes and the fun I had.

I have been back to work in Seattle this week and it is crunch time for my project. I have about 5 weeks left here and time is flying by. I have been following-up with meetings and beginning to synthesize all I have been learning by writing out a first draft and presentation of my work. I actually have a tribal review council who will be looking at my project and providing feedback at the end of the month so I have a lot of work to do to get that ready. But, my trip to Alaska really did help to bring life to the native peoples I had been reading about and get me excited for rest of the summer. 

So, now to the adventures. First up, Denali National Park. I took the train from Fairbanks to the park and spent a couple of days there. I took the bus out to Eielson which is just about as far as you can go on via road. I saw all 5 big mammals including brown bears, caribou, moose, wolves, and mountain sheep. It was well worth the 8 hour round trip. Apparently you can have the bus driver let you off anywhere along the road and then just go out hiking in the wilderness. If I had had a buddy with me I would have done it in a heartbeat. Next time I guess.

Mt. McKinley's peaks - often visitors never get to see the majestic mountain but the clouds opened up for me multiple times along the drive out towards Eielson. 

There were some great hikes around the main visitor center too!

With some funny looking trees

Second up, Kona Hawaii! I attended an International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment which in its own right was pretty interesting. There were academic presenters from all over the world delivering their papers on a whole host of environmental issues and I made some great friendships with some students from Japan. I had an opportunity to enter into many of the hot debates and conversations and my pull from both natural and social sciences helped me immensely. It is not everyday that people mistake you for both a scientist and an economist. :) 

I also had the opportunity to bring up the importance of adopting a theocentric worldview rather than an ecocentric or anthropocentric one as we seek the best understanding of a right relationship with creation. The Judeo-Christian Stewardship ethic really provides the hope for final reconciliation and redemption which is so markedly absent in other efforts to "save the planet." 

But, the biggest highlight of the trip hands down was that my good friend Stephanie Althoff came out to spend a few days of sun and fun with me! She had been looking at all the adventurous things to do around the island and so we were never out of ideas, only time to fit them all in. We rented a jeep and had a blast off-roading and riding around in paradise with the top down. We got to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, beautiful beaches, the farmer's market, a couple of the historical parks and simply enjoyed the great sunsets every evening. She was such an encouragement to me and I am so glad we could spend even part of a week together.

Green Sea Turtles

Traditional fish pond system. Pretty cool. 

Let's just say the Luau was hot!

Who wouldn't be excited to walk through a Lava Tube?

At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - one of the world's most active volcanoes.

We rocked that jeep. 


Thanks again for all the prayers!