The CLM internship is winding down like the leaves and weather in Anchorage and we are about to be whisked off to our respective corners of the country. Just now, I am experiencing my first snow in Alaska (besides the time I had my accident sliding down a snow drift). Since the last time I posted, our team has traveled to Nome, Fairbanks, and Central, where we performed the usual scouting, collecting, and other official protocol. In total, we made 222 collections this season.

Anyways, here are a few splotches of  interesting experiences from our trips and from our homebase in Anchorage:

Nome: Dan and I hitchhiked to retrieve our boss with 2 bearded local characters. The back of their vehicle looked like a junkyard from Star Wars: dusty and a large assortment of scrap parts. One recounted how he repelled bears from his premises by shooting them. Before depositing us at the airport, our drivers expressed how they would not have picked us up had there not been a pretty girl with them. Dan almost retorted that the pretty girl would not have gotten in the car with them without a big strong man. Haha. The tundra was heavy with blueberries, crowberries, and lingonberries. I gorged myself and filled bags full of the delectable fruits as I collected. We saw muskoxen, reindeer, a dead beluga, and the rare CLM intern (Genus: Copp; Species: Belton). Belton Copp and AK930 had a salmon/ falafel bonfire on the shores of the Bering Sea. Dan and I took plunges into the Bering Sea. At the conclusion of the trip, I was temporarily by myself stranded in Kotzebue– which is a small town situated on a peninsula north of the Arctic Circle. Fortunately and the relief of everyone else, I was able to return to Anchorage with a complimentary plane ticket.

Anchorage: Belton Copp paid his jedi mentor (kidding, his mentor is really an employee of the BLM) and us a visit. We brought him to the Alaska State Fair where I had a confrontation with a puppet.

Fairbanks/ Central: Carl Norlen (another CLM intern) and I made birch hats in our spare time. Carl also charmed 2 moose like a pied piper with his trumpet.

Anchorage: Our mentor Paul Krabacher had us over for a shindig last night. In the office, we are working on finalizing the fine details of our collections and producing reports/ posters. Additionally, we have our minds on conceiving the beginnings of seed transfer zones for Alaska.