Half Marathon

Last Sunday, I ran my first half marathon through Denali National Park! It was one of my New Year's resolutions this year and it is now complete! I did much better than I thought and ran the ENTIRE time!!! I'm super proud of myself and just excited that I had the opportunity to run it. :) We didn't take any pictures after the event because all of us were just exhausted, but here are some pictures from the bus ride to the start of the race and Ashley running ahead of me. Travis finished an hour before we did. Crazy! Ashley and I finished at 2.31 and 2.32. I'm finally getting over being sore. :) It was all worth it though.

Run of the Coal Mine, 10K

Last Sunday, my friends and I had the opportunity to run a 10K where all of the donations went to the local fire department that I am currently volunteering for. It was a blast and at least half of the run was uphill. If you know me, you know that I hate hills...haha, but I finished and had a really fun time! Here are a few pictures for your entertainment.

Highlights

Here are some highlights of my time in Alaska so far. It's been a busy season, so the updates I have are not as lengthy. Enjoy the pictures!

 Casey and I at Denali National Park.

 My friends and I at the Husky Homestead.

 The silly folks that I live with.

 Just hanging out at North Pole, AK and visited Santa's house.

 The Alaska Oil Pipelines.

 Me with some crazies after we conquered rising creeks, flooded machines, and scared customers.

 

I joined the local softball team!

 

We took a little walk to a spot my friends here have named the Hobbit House. 

And one more highlight to add, last month I got to go on a summit flight, met some cool people and flew around the summit of Mt. McKinley/Denali. It was quite amazing. The whole time I was speechless.

Peace.

I've been reading through Philippians and God is continuing to speak to me through these two verses.The first verse says that the peace of God is powerful enough to protect my heart and mind and the other states for us to not dwell on the past, but to press forward because it's better for us. That's what I am going to try my best to do because it's better and good.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

The Best 25th Birthday I've Ever Had

On the eve of my birthday some friends and I went out for dessert, drinks and dancing.

 I then came home to this wonderful cake made by Hannah!

 I took part in a Danielle sandwich...

 ...went on a little boat ride on our lake...

 ...played two games of softball and won both (no picture included)!! Woo!
...had this wonderful birthday cherry pie made for me by the wonderful Ashley...

 ...was serenaded with a guitar and harmonica at a bon fire...

...and then spent some time with God and then went to bed.

It was the best 25th birthday ever. :) Thanks everyone!

Into the Wild

Here in Denali, we have this brewery called the 49th State Brewery. They house the same bus that was used in the movie "Into the Wild." Last night, I had the opportunity to walk through it and meet a man who has made the crazy trek to the actual bus. He was definitely a story-teller and invited us to hike with a group in September (after the river lowers). We'll see if I can make it out to the actual bus where Chris McCandless died or not. But until then, here is the "Magic Bus" as they like to call it:

Volunteering with the Tri-Valley Fire Dept.

Every Tuesday night, the Tri-Valley Fire Department here in Healy offers training to those who are interested in volunteering for their department during the season. Last night, a few of us went to their training on how to rescue people from cars with the "jaws of life." It was such an awesome experience.

First, they geared us up in some EMT garb, took us out into a field of junk cars, and walked us through the steps that it took to use the jaws of life.  Oh, and I also got to ride back on their fire truck!!!

Here are a few pictures of the evening:

 Casey volunteered to be the "victim."

 Casey, Travis, Kyle, and I (all from Denali ATV).

The end! :)

Blessings.

We have begun our ATV tour guide training and I have been having a blast. Below are some pictures and at the end I'd like to share some answered prayers. I was specific and God answered in abundance. :)

Here is where I am living:

 

Here was a moose we spotted in a field near our house:

 This is called Sand Castle. I'm standing in a "dry" creek bed. There are quite a few creeks flowing behind me.

 A bald eagle flying over a lake when I went geo-caching with some co-workers.

 My new friend, Ana and I. :) I am so excited to work with her this summer. She and her bf are also from Portland!

 A cute little folk band played for us at a chili cook-off that we went to last night.

 Here is an overlook that we bring our tourists to with the ATVs.

 

Here are the new and wonderful guides/employees. :)

 

Here are the girls that I am blessed to be working/living with. From L to R: Me, Sarah, Casey, Ashley, Ana, and Hannah

 Shiloh, our new and adopted pet. Another couple from Portland brought their dog along with them and I am SO happy about it. We play fetch a lot and she just loved this massive stick.

Answers to prayer:
I prayed for at least one Christian to work with and guess what? There are 5!!!!! My employers, Kyle and Emily, are this cute Christian couple and I have enjoyed spending time with them. There are another set of brothers that are believers from Colorado as well! Within this prayer for Christians, I also specifically prayed for God to provide at least one female to work with because I wasn't sure if many girls would have applied/been hired for this guiding job. The other day Casey moved in and she is a believer, has done missions work, visited about 20 countries and is extremely cool! I am so excited to get to know her better. So, that's a total of 5 believers when I prayed for one and also there are a total of 7 females working here and I prayed for at least one. God is amazing.

The other cool thing is that Casey and I were able to go to church with Emily and Kyle this morning. We are excited to get to know people and get more involved in the community that way as well. It's incredible how much more comfortable I feel with this kind of support. I couldn't have imagined the summer to begin on such a strong note.

Thank YOU for your prayers and support!

9pm and "Sunburn" Sunny

It's seriously 9pm right now and I could get a sunburn/have one. No big deal. hahaha Last night I had a few hours of sleep and woke up a bit too early with the sunshine. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some sleep soon...

Yesterday morning I boarded the Alaska Railroad train in Anchorage and happened to sit next to a guy from Washington with an ATV helmet and found out that I'll be working with him all summer! We chatted a bit over the 9 hour train ride and it was just comforting to know I wasn't entering into this adventure alone. He shared similar feelings of anxiety and excitement. The train ride was absolutely gorgeous and I didn't sleep because I was too afraid I'd miss something stunning like these views:

 

Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America on a "clear" day! Typically the weather is bad and people have difficulty seeing the mountain. I was blessed!

 The view of the train!

Two Dall Sheep resting on the side of a mountain! Not to mention, I saw a moose, but the train was moving so fast that I couldn't take a picture in time.

---

Our managers picked us up from the train station and we headed to our new home. I moved into my little room, met what felt like a TON of new people, and we went out and explored the town.

Today I went on a 6 hour hike with 3 new friends/co-workers and here is what I saw:

 Moose tracks! It looks small here but it may have been slightly larger than the bear paw below... We also saw a moose from a distance.

 A bear track and a few small cub tracks as well, no bear sightings though.

 Mt. Healy! It was a beautiful sight and we plan to summit it when the snow melts.

Those are some glimpses into my life so far. I'm exhausted and sunburned, but am happy to get my vitamin D fill. :) I'll be posting some prayer requests VERY soon. But for now, please pray for my transition. It's a bit more of a culture shock than I expected. :) haha More on that later.

Alaska Details!

Okay, so this post will be brief. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to pray for and support me if you'd like. :)

Tentative Dates gone:

May 4-Mid September or longer.

Mailing Address:

Denali ATV Adventures

Attn: Danielle Moser

PO Box 593

Healy, AK 99743

Denali ATV Adventures Website:

http://www.denaliatv.com/index.html

Amazon Wishlist link (I will update it as needed):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2I5WE3BZ9CMO3/ref=topnav_lists_1

Prayer:

1. For God to have gone before me, with me, and after me to this new place.

2. To make some great friends.

3. To find rest in the midst of travel, adventure, and work/play. :)

4. To find a church.

5. For healthy relationships in the house I will be living in.

Thank you!!! I will miss you all dearly.

I'll keep you updated as long as the internet permits/exists. :)

Love,

Danielle

M.A.

M.A.---The new initials that will be after my name when ever I get business cards. :)
It feels good to have graduated from getting my masters in counseling and surreal at the same time. I haven't had a whole lot of time to process what this all means, but am hoping to make time for that when I'm on the long train to Alaska the day after tomorrow.... So, I'll write more later if something comes up, but right now I really just wanted to say:

Done.

The Revival Tour

Tonight I went to one of the most amazing shows that I have ever been to in my life. No joke.

Tonight I saw The Revival Tour at Dante's in Portland and I never thought that music could make me feel this good. haha But seriously, a few punk bands and musicians combined their talents and made music straight from something like heaven. Included in the set were Chuck Ragan (whom I saw last year with Social Distortion), Tommy Gabel (from Against Me! whom I also saw), Cory Branan, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Water Tower. I wish I had brought my camera to show you some pictures and videos, but it was too bulky to fit in my back pocket. :) Maybe next year? Anyway, I just HAD to write about it. If anything, this is just a reminder to me that I need to see this tour in the future. Mmmmhmmm.

Here's Tommy just in case you were interested: