I am sitting at my desk, every file I use is packed in the banker box next to me, waiting to be loaded on the van that will make the 90 mile trip into Denali National Park tomorrow. My most pressing dilemma at this point is when to turn off my computer. With one hour to go in the workday, I have started making a list of important items that are likely to be forgotten, not packed and sitting in our winter office as we drive away west into the Park.
This is both an anxiously awaited and dreaded day for our year-round office staff. In one regard, we will be relocating to an office with a panoramic view of the Alaska Range and Denali (when the skies are clear). A home-away-from-home, living at Camp Denali & North Face Lodge is far from a hardship; handmade quilts on all the beds, exquisite meals prepared by our top notch chefs, and a vista that is breathtaking even after the 34th time seeing it out of your cabin window.
When viewed in a different light, this transition is taxing on ones patience, endurance, and personal relationships. My biggest concern going to bed last night was that I had not finished making the final curtain in my cabin. This wasn’t an issue all winter, but now the sun is shining 20 hours a day. The thought of leaving it undone as my partner continues to live there all summer drove me from bed. I poured myself a cup of tea, got out my sewing machine and went to work.
It is always surprising the things that come to light when faced with the reality that yes, you will be moving to a remote location for the next 3 months. If you forget your favorite t-shirt in your dresser, that is where it is going to stay until September. At least I didn’t forget to pack my pink floral letter opener, something that brings a fun flourish to my day when opening up mail. The stapler on the other hand can be left behind; there will be one waiting for me at my desk on the other end of the Denali Park road.
