Change of Plans

I am, at this point, used to seasonal work: you spend four months in one park, six months in another, stop at home for a week or two in between - it's not a bad way to live.  In general, though, I am accustomed to keeping a position for at LEAST a month and a half.

Not this time.

I arrived here at Mesa Verde early in October, continuing where I had left off last season.  There are a bunch of great people working here, it's a beautiful park, we've had spectacular weather all month, and I really do like my job here a lot.  That being said - and I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say this - who in the world would want to spend their winter in southern Colorado, when they could be in ALASKA?

Therefore, a little over a month from now, I'm going to be starting a brand new job with Audubon Alaska (http://ak.audubon.org/).  That'll give me enough time to work a few more weeks here, go home for Thanksgiving, then head up from Portland to Anchorage, where I'll be working.  The position is as a GIS Biologist, which means I'll be spending my time making maps and analyzing natural resource data, which should be really interesting.  It's got a decent salary and benefits, plus guaranteed funding for at least a year, with an extremely good chance of continuing beyond that.  There are the minor issues of cold and darkness (http://www.anchorage.net/684.cfm), but the climate in 'the banana belt' around Anchorage is milder than in most of Alaska, and there are supposedly lots of good (lighted) crosscountry ski trails in the area.  Plus Anchorage itself sounds like a cool city, and I'll be living and working downtown, which will actually make this the most urban place I've lived in a while.  Now I just have to buy ice tires and a block heater...