Sgt. Pepper

So today Mike picked me up and we headed out to Hatcher's Pass and along the way we basically went treasure hunting. Lately every weekend Mike and his brother Stephan go out geo-cache hunting where people put the coordinates online and you download them to your GPS and you go looking for them.

It was a ton of fun. Sadly we were only 3 for 6 I think, but when you find one hiding under a rock or in a pile of bushes on the side of a mountain it is a rush. So when you find them you take something out and put something in it and hide it for another person. They are all over the country and world, I'm sure.

So the first cache we found I picked out me new friend that will travel with me, Sgt. Pepper. So you'll be seeing him pop up in pics now. We hiked up Fishhook Mountain today which was exhausting but magnificently beautiful, I forgot how pretty it is up here.

Enjoy the pics.

Flying Fun

It's been awhile since I have been around Alaska Natives, just the way they talk makes me laugh. "I'm going to go to bingo tomorrow." If you haven't heard them you wouldn't understand but it was nice to be heading back home.

I needed to remind myself of a task: "Show me one normal person." The hunt is on.

h0me

i made it home to wasilla, alaska at 2:47a.m. I am currently bombarded by my two dogs and am loving how bright it is right now. why am i going to bed? it is going to be a great time.

there is some snow still on Pioneer Peak; i am going to have to ponder a bit.

“The place of my origin had changed, and having gone away I had not changed with it.” John Steinbeck “Travels with Charley” pg.205

heading north

tomorrow i leave to go up to Alaska for a month. i am excited to get out of the house and Nampa. sometimes people need a break to appreciate others. let's see if it works. i am hoping to climb a couple of mountains and hitchhike down to Soldotna as well as work a youth camp and visit my dad and few friends.

everyone keeps asking me "what are you doing after Alaska?", i don't know yet. i have been job hunting but nothing has come up yet, but i have faith that something will come up. why worry?!

i need change right now.

A proud uncle

Yesterday our family changed with the addition of a new baby girl, London Ann Charles. I can't be any prouder.

new favorite

going swimming and jumping on trampolines at 1 a.m.

illiterate

On my great trek through Europe I had the opportunity to spend some time reading. I finished the book I started on spring break, "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac and thoroughly enjoyed it. I then read "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck and also liked it. I then read two small paperbacks, one about Hitler's last week alive and another about how Christmas kept both sides (Germans/Russians) alive during WWII. Why do I say all this, well I used to hate reading; was and still am slow at it, but I am finding more things that I enjoy reading. I like this.

Here are some quotes from "Travels with Charley" that I really enjoyed.



- "We do not take a trip; a trip takes us"
- "The memory is at best a faulty, warpy reservoir."
- "A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ."
- "Sometimes the view of change is distorted by a change in oneself."
- "The place of my origin had changed, and having gone away I had not changed with it."

These all are great quotes from Steinbeck and they applied either to my present condition, in Europe, or in my life. I am now mere pages away from finishing "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe. There is one quote that I would like to share.

- "I believe it is impossible to express to the life what the ecstasies and transports of the soul are when it is saved."

work in progress

here's what i have learned this morning:
- we are more valuable than the lilies and the birds
- worrying will aid in nothing
- things accomplished by ourselves are nothing like things accomplished with God

"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:11

Alas I learn more.

as usual

sunburned my left foot/leg. even when i put the same amount of sun screen on both sides. o-well

INspired

I liked Andrew's post so I thought I'd do the same. New things:
- new room
- new roommate
- job hunting
- no routine
- haircut
- music (Andrew Bird)

speechless

shocking for some, normal for others. i once considered myself a "blogging fiend" but right now i think i lost my direction and purpose for this blog. possibly i forgot it, which makes sense since i have one of the WORST memories ever. so i hope to get back to my roots:
- sharing my thoughts and feelings
- being totally random
- talking about what matters to me
- of course up-dating you with my current conditions

so lets do it.

Europa Trip 2 of 2

Well here is the second installment of our trip. I don't know if you are checking out the map cause I spent time making sure the pictures are were they are supposed to be. You can go to this website to see the slideshow and map:

*http://picasaweb.google.com/alexghackett/EuropaExtravaganza2Of2

enjoy.

Europa Trip 1 of 2

Well here's what I have for all of you: A URL to a place to check out an album that I made of my school trip. It is pretty cool. There are captions and if you click map you can physically see where I was in Europe and down to the footsteps too for most of the pics. So you can click either: slideshow or view map. Enjoy.

GO HERE!!!!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/alexghackett/EuropaExtravaganza1Of2

Prodigal Son Returns

After a month of backpacking through Europe I have finally made it home. It was a fantastic trip and plan to share as much as I can with you all. I have tons of stories, billions of pictures, two journals stocked full of whatever my crazy mind thought to write down, and more ticket stubs, maps, and other things I kept from the trip. I will see what I can do about sharing it all with you.

Stay tuned.