Where am I going?

I love Nome, AK. I really do. It will always have a special place in my heart. But last week, upon purchasing my final ticket out of here for October, I was flooded with a feeling of relief that seemed to wash a great burden off my chest unexpectedly. Along with this relief has come a new sense of hope for the future, rather than the grinding stress I've been feeling for months over where I'm going from here. It seems that the simple fact that I have a ticket out of Nome was just what I needed to spark my wanderlust again.

Blowing in the winds of early summer

So here's the scoop: I just bought a ticket to Anchorage via bush flight (it was cheap!). Where I'm going from Anchorage however, still remains to be determined with just 10 days to go. What the hell am I doing??

At this point, it's looking like I might end up in Spokane, WA to room with some old friends. It's a cheaper place to be jobless than Alaska, and I think it'll be a good place to adjust to normal life again. Sure, it would be cheapest to go straight back to Florida, but part of me really wants to break this cycle of going home every time I finish a job. I want to experience being a young adult on my own in a new place again, and see what I can do this time.

I feel so incredibly inspired and empowered right now to just travel and just be. It's possible that I might end up with a new job right away -- I just found out yesterday that the NPS office in Anchorage might be hiring, so I could very well end up there. Or perhaps I'll come to the conclusion that I really do just need to go home and get my sh** together like a intelligent human being.

Either way, I'm so ready to get out of Nome. I'm so ready for new faces, new community, new responsibilities, new challenges, new scenery. I love bush Alaska, but my future beckons greater horizons. Just thinking of moving to a new place has me giddy with excitement, wherever it may be.

So for all of you wondering where I'm going next, the plain and simple answer is: I don't know. And I don't have much time to figure it out (but it's going to be great!).

The seasons are changing again, into the brilliant hues of fall on the tundra. We had our first snow in town 3 nights ago, and I can already see new snow clouds gathering in from the east as I type this, looking dramatically dark against the evening sunlight. I sure am going to miss Northwest Alaska, but I can't wait to see where this winter's winds will take me next.