work, work, work...and poutine?

It's been quite a while since I last wrote anything, but not without good reason - I've been working...lots. In fact, over the past six days I worked three runs on the train straight. Though I didn't write down the exact number of hours that I had on the clock, I'd say that I logged at least 80 hours in those six days! I had been working two days on, two days off pretty regularly, but I decided to pick up a two-day shift on Sunday and Monday, so that is why I've been working so much. Fortunately, a few of these days were pretty easy. On Sunday, for example,I was cooking on a car that did not have any passengers riding, so all I had to do was cook employee lunch; and yesterday my car only had passengers for breakfast. These slow days are pretty nice, because you can relax, enjoy the scenery, even take a short nap, and still get paid. It's not every day, though, that you get days like that, so I tried to take advantage of them.

One highlight of days on the train is something called 'the meet'

- this occurs once a day when the northbound and southbound trains meet each other. One of the trains will always pull off onto a siding, and the other will pull up and stop on the neighboring track.This gives our managers a chance to talk to each other about supplies or staff that each train may need and gives the stewards a chance to check out any issues with how the train cars are operating (as can be seen in this photo). The meet is also just really fun - staff will hopefully be done serving lunch so that they can take a moment to run out to a platform and wave at fellow employees as they pass, and it gives staff a chance to send 'meet mail,' or letters/packages to friends working on the opposite train.

Another cool segment of the route between Anchorage and Fairbanks is an area called 'the canyon.'

This is a section of the track that runs through the Nenana River Canyon and offers some great views of the river and the canyon walls. One day we were lucky enough to see a bunch of Dall Sheep on the opposite canyon wall. Occasionally there will also by rafters on the river below as we roll by, which there were yesterday as you can see in the picture.

About a week and a half ago I was lucky enough to finally get to go hiking here in Alaska. I ran in to the pastor of the Mennonite church here in Anchorage and he invited me to go hiking on the Turnagain Arm - which is an area just south of Anchorage. After church on Sunday we drove down to a small trail that was just off the road, but immediately (and steeply) went right into the mountains. The trail, which I unfortunately forget the name of, followed a small stream pretty soon we were high enough to see some great looking peaks in front of us, the water of Turnagain Arm

behind us, and a few Dall Sheep climbing on the rocks high above us. It was great to get out of the city and into the wilderness, even though our hike was fairly short. Hopefully I'll be able to get out and do some more exploring in the near future when I have some time off.

I have enjoyed enjoying the city on my days off as well. Today I walked to downtown and all throughout midtown. The highlight of my day had to have been lunch - a unique and unexpected treat in Anchorage, Alaska - poutine. Downtown Anchorage is well known for its hot dog carts (I saw three on the same side of one block on 4th Street today) which feature reindeer hot dogs, but I was surprised to see Smitty's Poutine stand. For those who don't know, poutine is a Canadian dish that originated in Quebec. It consists of french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy.

This may sound like an odd mix, or like a heart attack waiting to happen, but I definitely wanted to try it. I probably can't speak to the authenticity of the serving of poutine I ordered, but I can say that it was delicious. It was exactly what I expected - hot, crispy fries that contrasted with the texture of the cheese curds, and a gravy that seemed to permeate the whole dish the deeper into it I got. And by the end of the order, I was not only very satisfied, I also knew that if I ate enough of these delicious, artery-clogging snacks, I would be a heart attack waiting to happen. But you only live once, so splurging on a comfort food, even a foreign comfort food, every now and then can't hurt.

Tomorrow I head back to work for two days, but then I have three days off - which will feel great. I'll hopefully have some time to explore around Anchorage a bit more, and write another blog entry. Until then...