Into the Wild Everyday All Day!

A glimpse of what I ride through everyday!

Every day is an adventure and a chance to explore. After a very hectic few weeks of training I have memorized the trails on both of our tours and am feeling pretty confident in my ATV guiding skills. Our Wilderness tour takes people 10 miles deep into the forrest on old coal mining trails climing hills that lead to epic overlooks and romping across mud pits and creek beds. Us guides know these trails backwards and forwards and have named every twist and turn. We ride down Moose Highway along bear pit to the mud holes, through Blueberry Alley that opens up into Fireweed Meadow.

Leadin a group through a mudpit!

 This particular area of Alaska is one of the highest populated moose populations and we always hope to get lucky and see a few on tour. Just today I was leading a tour and came up to a moose with her baby blocking the trail. Moose are seen as being much more dangerous than bears because of how protective they are of their young, they are larger than horses and can charge right through you! I crept forward reving my machine, standing up as I drove to try and appear bigger (I'm the smallest guide out here) and watched the moose trot into the bushes to the side.

At the end of the tour we end up at the base of a glacier merrain which is a huge carve mark that was made as glaciers were leaving the valley. It looks like a huge sand dune attached to a mountain. Streams criss cross along the dry creek bed, I point out which rocks are jade, which ones are volcanic, and which ones have small specks of gold mixed in.

Glacier Merrain

I do this tour 4 times an day and spend an extra hour afterwards checking drain plugs, powerwashing, and refueling all the machines. By the end of the day I am exausted but soooo stoked on life! Nothing like a hard day's work doing what I love!!

Just Go For It!!!! Regret Sucks!!

Everything I need on my back and my future behind that door!!

Man life is hard to figure out sometimes isn't it? But just when I think I've been out-smarted by my circumstance, Jesus will come through, figure it out, teach me something cool, and without having to try super hard in my own efforts I'll find myself in a sacred place where passions, talents, and dreams collide together and I'm swept away into another adventure. This is where I find myself now. Writing to you from the Black Bear Coffee Shop in Northern Alaska, Denali territory!

After 4 months of working a job that lead me into financial and worldly stability, while simultaneously dying down my passions and dreams, I decided to start looking for a journey. My potential and talents weren't being tapped into at all and if there is one thing I have learned about this life, you get out of it what you put into it. My biggest fear is a wasted life, I want to live, really live until Jesus decides I should come home. I don't want you to misunderstand, this is the course of my life, your purpose could very well consist of a more mainstream courrier and if so go for it, I'm only speaking for myself. Once you get the fact that you don't have to work to make God love you or accept you any more, your freed up to just chase whatever passion and love He has put on your heart!

So here's the lesson, here's the key that unlocked this next chapter of my life.... After 4 months of applying all over the place, from missions in the jungles of Peru to white water rafting in Colorado..

every single door slammed shut! I was trying with all my might and nothing was working out. I felt defeat and failure creeping up on me and finally was forced into a spot of realizing that God would work things out. One day soon after I was playing ultimate frisbee, had a 2 second convo with a friend about a cool job in Alaska, went home and applied for THE WRONG ONE and within 2 days the boss called saying I applied THE VERY DAY someone else dropped out. He told me I was welcome to come and work as AN ATV(4 wheeler) GUIDE IN ALASKA...that is, if I could show up in a little under 2 weeks!

I prayed for confirmation which happened for me in an equally cool way, I had a $400 flight voucher for Alaskan Airlines that I lost 6 months earlier and expired. I called the airlines and somehow they found it in 2 minutes and reopened it for me!

I quit my job, bought a ticket, went for one last road trip, and took off into the wild!!!!! I feel deeply that I am right in God's will, doing what I'm meant to do, deep in his most majestic creation, and playing around on an atv in the wilderness everyday!!! I encourage you to embrace life! Take risks! Do what you love to do! More to come...

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
                                                                   - Jack London

Looking into my new back yard :-)

God Speaks in Stars (part 2)

Before he gave me these revelations he gave me a very real and intense sign. This was because I needed an answer fast and my emotions were still too raw for me to think clearly and process. This really is an incredible testimony to how God still speaks to us when we ask Him to…

I would work hard all day, not being able to show much emotion because of the need to focus while working. It wasn’t till work was over and the sun was beginning to sink below the mountains that I would get a chance to be alone with my thoughts. I would grab my bible and ipod and pace along the boat dock and just listen for God to speak to my heart. I needed to decide fast what I wanted to do; do I fly home and try to save the relationship I had lost? What if coming to Alaska was a huge mistake? Or do I stay in the Alaskan wilderness and trust that this is where I should be?

I asked God a very direct question, it might seem too bold but I desperately needed to hear from him so I asked Him to send me a sign, a very clear sign to let me know if I should stay in Alaska. I told him I needed to hear it in the next few days so I could let everyone know if I was staying or going.

And God answered……..If you haven’t heard God’s voice before, in my opinion it sounds like your own voice but has wisdom or ideas that you know didn’t come from yourself.

Gently, clearly, he lifted my head to the heavens and showed me some stars that were miraculously not covered by clouds. He told me that He wanted to be my “North star.” The north star never changes, its constant, and unfailing. He revealed that just as the north star has lead people for hundreds of years He wanted to lead me and that if I could just keep my eyes on Him, I would be able to find my way anywhere else.

I waited, and I star gazed, and I stood amazed for a while….as comforted as I was I knew he was still going to make a direct connection between this North Star realization and Alaska.

The next day I found the north star and its constellation which includes the big dipper was seared into my thoughts. Later in the day my friend Jebadiah and I were walking through town when I saw something that literally stopped me in my tracks. I asked Jeb the significance of the flag that was flying just below the American flag on a flagstaff nearby.

He looked at me kinda funny as if I had asked a really dumb question. He explained that the flag displaying the NORTH STAR CONSTILATION was the Alaskan state flag!!!!!!!!! God answered and I have worked hard to not look back since. Alaska is where I’m meant to be meaning everything that has happened was supposed to happen. I’m not spending one more second of my precious time here looking to the past. 

I’m gonna live it up as never before!!! Sorry this entry is kinda lengthy but I desperately want you all to understand that God still speaks in real ways, he still gives us signs and speaks into our lives in tangible ways if we can just learn to trust Him enough to ask. 

God Speaks In Stars (part 1)

My summer took a drastic change for the worst and best when I least expected it. How do you react when one of the most stable parts of your life fails? What do you do when you thought you had the next part of your life figured out only to have it fall to pieces before your eyes and being completely helpless to stop it? These are questions I fought with during one of life’s valleys. We need these valleys though or else we wouldn’t really appreciate the mountain top times.

Too put it simply… a relationship I was in for over two years ended. As much as this season of pain absolutely sucked, I have never in my life needed God and been rescued by him in such a massive way. In the midst of my sorrow I found myself thousands of miles away from home with nowhere really to turn. My Jesus began to speak to me with such clarity and comfort that I’ve never felt before. It was during this time of confusion, chaos, and pain that I felt Him right next to me, over me, under me, all around me.

It’s not that God magically takes problems away, rather He used this time to give me what I desperately need. He gave me a peace that I could never have found in myself, He gave me this deep radiating joy (even though I was deeply saddened), and he didn’t leave me for one second. He was always there surrounding me, penetrating my soul. I have learned to savor this heart that’s healing.

Before he gave me these revelations he gave me a very real and intense sign. This was because I needed an answer fast and my emotions were still too raw for me to think clearly and process. This really is an incredible testimony to how God still speaks to us when we ask Him to…

Be Careful What You Wish For....or you just might get swallowed by humpback whales! (part 2)

It's hard to see but thats me surrounded by whale mouths

One day my friends and I took to our kayaks and headed out to chase our humpbacks around the cove for a while. Since we had been guiding for a while at this point, we knew how to read whale signs and track which direction the pod was headed. We would watch from a safe distance of 30 feet away with out a care in the world….until the whales changed direction underwater and headed straight for us!

Suddenly a loud, low-pitched creaking, moaning noise surround me. I barely had time to yell that I think the whales might be right below me before my kayak was completely surrounded by a huge ring of bubbles! There is a three second window before the whales lunge which gave me very little time to get the heck out of dodge. As I began to paddle as I’ve never paddled before, seagulls began to grab fish that were jumping all around my kayak.

As with all near death experiences, my thoughts were pretty simple. I obviously don’t wanna die yet but if I had to choose way, this was a pretty epic way to go down.  Second, I remember barely hoping they might grab my friend Becky too since she was close by and lets get real, no one wants to die alone.

I couldn’t clear the feeding circle, the ring was too big and my shaky arms weren’t gonna get me out in time. What seemed like grey hills started to appear on either side of me and the screams of my friends were silenced by the crash of whale mouths ascending 8 feet out of the water on all sides. Their throats expand to allow the intake of a huge amount  of water and fish as they disappear which is definitely enough space to fit a Casey. After clearing the chompers all I had to do was dodge a few 6 foot long flippers and powerful tales and I was home free!! As the whales descended, my friends and I who were totally hyped up on adrenaline totally freaked out!!

I finally got my whale encounter and to make matters even better, Jake’s kayak was perfectly set up about 10 feet away and we was able to capture it all on his camera! The only thing that beats that is the fact that a few weeks later I ended up with a picure on the front page of the Ketchikan news as the girl who nearly became whale bait! !

So the moral of the story is…be very specific on what you pray for or God might have a little fun fulfilling your dreams. Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. J

My day of fame in the Ketchikan news!! 

Be Careful What You Wish For...or you might be swallowed by humpback whales! (part 1)

Whale's lunging :-)

So I have been jinxed since the day I got here! I have the absolute worst luck when it comes to spotting whales. My friends and I will be hangin on the boat dock, I’ll leave for 2 minutes and three whales will pass by. My dear friends thought this was just hilarious and while everyone kept teased me, I started prayin for the coolest whale encounter ever! Not only was I asking to see whales up close, but I was also hoping to get a cool picture with them, like me smiling with a whale tale in the background!

The last two weeks of my time in Alaska a phenomenon happened. A huge pod of 7 whales decided to chill right in our tiny cove and feed. Whales feeding is nothing short of majestic! To sum it up they surround a school of fish, blow bubbles out of their spouts to create a ring of bubbles which traps the fish, and begin to surface to force the fish to the surface. This all happens below the surface, all you can see from the top is flocks of seagulls soaring just above the water lookin for the huge school of fish to start jumpin out of the water, the birds get about 5 seconds to grab the fish before a gigantic ring of bubbles appears at the surface. 

Seconds later the whales do something called a lunge which is where they leap out of the water, mouths open wide, in perfect synchronization! It sounds like thunder and looks like something out of Jurassic park as these 7 huge animals begin their feeding frenzy!

This was constant, live entertainment for us for 2 ½ weeks!! I’d fall asleep to whales singing within 20 feet of my yurt. I’d be watching whales pass by as I brushed my teeth every morning. You could see them from the zipline trees and every single kayak tour was epic!! But we needed a closer look… (to be continued tomorrow)

Sunsets, Kayaks, and Genuine Friendship

Although all these times represent some of the best parts of my summer, I think the past time that I really cherished the most were those rare, clear, beautiful evenings where we’d grab a beer and set off in our kayaks. We’d cruise to the middle of our little cove, link our kayaks together and just enjoy each other’s company as we rocked back and forth watching whales spouting along that golden horizon.

The girls paddling into the sunset

I wish I could of just paused some of those priceless moments where all I could think about was my glorious God and his epic creation and my friends so dear to me I’d trust them with my life. Sometimes I’d just sit there kinda quiet and take in the strawberry tinted ridge lines laden with the greenest trees I’d ever seen. I know it sounds selfish but it was times like those where I felt like I was God’s favorite.

How is it possible for Him to love me so much that he’d give me these amazing people and this incredibly view even if it’s just for a moment in time? My God is so so good to me, sometimes all I want to do is get on my face and thank Him profusely for a few hours but for now that sweet memory and a thankful heart will do!