Right now I am feeling pretty darn lucky in that I have only 12 fence pickets left to paint out of an original number of 112. Along with the ubiquitous homeowner chores, I am also getting ready to head north to Skagway, Alaska for another season as an archaeologist with the National Park Service, stationed at Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, or to put it more succinctly, KLGO. I will be working again with an incredible Park Staff, and will be involved in doing some “rescue archaeology” in an area where the Taiya River is washing out a Gold Rush era site. My comrade in arms Shawn, the lead archaeologist, and I will also be hiking up the Chilkoot Trail to do some survey work near a stop on the route to the Yukon called Canyon City. I expect that during the season we will encounter rain, mud, and the three “B’s” - bugs, bears, and blisters! Nevertheless, in spite of any corporeal inconveniences, I count myself lucky to be involved in such interesting work, especially in a setting of such breathtaking natural beauty.
As I think more about the phenomenon of getting to do exactly what I want to do, as far as work is concerned at least, I also consider myself lucky, in addition to having the job, to have a mind-set that “allows” me to seek adventures, to see possibilities, and hopefully to inspire others to follow their passions at any age.