My Greatest Adventure

…Started in the unlikeliest of places, Whittier Alaska.  My roommate and I were out for a walk one evening when we passed by the boat harbor and a blue eyed dog started following us.  Since Whittier is such a small community I did not worry about her finding her home.  After awhile a black Mazda pickup drove past, the blue eyed dog took off after it.  When the driver noticed the dog running he stopped and climbed out to let her in, I was to far down the road to see or talk to the driver.  Two days later I went down to the internet and cable shop to pick up the router box for internet in the apartment my roommate and I just moved into.  I knocked on the door waiting for someone to answer little did I know there would be a surprise behind that door.  A very handsome young man answered my knock.  I almost missed his name when he introduced himself I was to busy thinking how cute he was.  He also introduced his dog which to my great surprise was the very same blue eyed dog that joined me on my walk a few nights ago.  I finally had a name for her and her owner, Bathsheba and Glenn.  I visited with Glenn for a little bit while he gathered my router box and cables.  He told me I was welcome to walk Bathsheba whenever I wanted.  I thought that sounded like a great idea, and one I was going to take him up on.

            Once I got Glenn’s phone number I was calling almost daily to walk his dog.  After every walk he would take the time to visit with me for awhile.  About three weeks later I had to fly home for a family emergency.  Glenn found out about it and was eager to do what he could he help. He was quick to offer a ride to the airport.  I already had one but told him I may need a ride back to Whittier when I fly back, he agreed to give me a ride all I had to do was let him know when to pick me up.  About a week later, April 27 2008, Glenn picked me up from the airport.  While deplaning I was talking to Glenn on the phone and he was telling me about his plans to move to Southeast Alaska in January.  I remember thinking; this guy is going to break my heart someday. Little did I know just how that would happen.   He took me out for a late lunch at the Peanut Farm on the drive down to Whittier he began to tell me about his past and how he ended up in Whittier and his long road to becoming the man he was.   I was blown away by his story, here was an amazing, generous, caring, honorable, and an honest to goodness southern gentleman sitting next to me in the car who had at one point been a homeless alcoholic and drug addict.  But that was old Glenn and this was new Glenn, who had turned his life around and over to God.  He liked new Glenn very much, and so did I.  As we were waiting for the tunnel into Whittier to open Glenn asked if I would like to go out with him sometime for coffee now that I knew all about his past, which was all information he felt I needed to know before he asked so that I could make an informed decision.  I suggested we go to Chair 5 for dinner on May first since that was when the tunnel started their extended hours.  So our official first date was set for the first of May, I was really looking forward to it. 

            After that day when Glenn picked me up from the airport we started spending nearly every evening together mostly just walking and talking.  Our first date might have been the first of May but in actuality we started dating the day he picked me up from the airport.  We stared spending all of our spare time together: we would go for walks, take his boat out in Prince William Sound and pull shrimp pots for supper.  We were content to just be with each other. 

            After five weeks of dating Glenn was getting ready to go to Ruby Alaska to build a garage for the company he worked for.  Two days before he left he went into Anchorage to get a few things he was going to need.  After supper that night Glenn went downstairs to get something out of the truck, he came back with a small wrapped package and told me he found a necklace in town for me.  Well, when I opened the box inside was not necklace in there but a ring!  In fact when I open the box I said that isn’t a necklace, Glenn said I know I lied.  He asked me to marry him.  He said that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, he wanted the third and final chapter of his life to be Glenn and Rachel.  He said he did not expect me to answer right away, I could wait to give him an answer two days or two years he didn’t care he just wanted me to know where he was at and where he wanted our relationship to go.  I was speechless, and a bit shocked, mostly because I was expecting a necklace instead of a ring.  I was not shocked that he was asking because I always knew he would ask I just never thought it would be right before he left for the summer.  I did not give him an answer that night, I did make him wait.  Not because I didn’t want to marry him because I did.  I just wanted to see how we handled being apart for most of the summer before I gave him an answer.  Glenn flew home from Ruby in mid June to help the mission group that came from Austin Texas to work on the church cabin, and he was home again in early August for a little bit while my dad was visiting, otherwise he was gone until September.  In late October or early November I gave him back my engagement ring.  Glenn asked why was giving it to him, I told him to ask again.  He got the answer he was looking for that time.  Glenn was so thrilled (as was I) he stated that everything was going to be okay because I would be with him. 

            In January 2009 we quit our jobs packed up our cars and headed on a cross country trip starting in Whittier AK down the west coast to San Diego CA, across to Miami FL, then back up through the Midwest, and ended in Gustavus Alaska, our new home.  We got on the ferry in Whittier with two fully loaded cars and an 80 lb dog.  Glenn’s car we left in Juneau for the three months we were going to be down south and used my car for the 11,000 mile journey.  It was a great trip we visited many great places as well as lots of friends and family.  Occasionally people would call and check in with us to see where we were or if we had killed each other.  We just laughed.  We never fought once on that trip, it was a great adventure.  We knew it would be a breeze to be cooped up in my little fully loaded Subaru with a large dog.  My mother told me if we still thought getting married after that trip was a good idea then it probably was a good idea.  After that trip I was even more certain than ever that it truly was a best decision I ever made to accept Glenn’s proposal of marriage.  

            March 31^st 2009 Glenn and I arrived in Gustavus Alaska, our new home where we hoped to buy property and build our own house.  When we got to Gustavus we had a place to live that would be available in a few weeks, but no jobs.  However we had faith that if Gustavus was where we were meant to live then everything would work out and it did.  Within two weeks Glenn was working all sorts of handy man jobs around town that kept him busy all summer and by winter he was working for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.  I started working at a local lodge and grocery store in June, when the tourist season starts in Gustavus.  By the end of July I was hired to work seasonally at the park.  In October we bought 10 acres in Gustavus and got married the same week. 

Glenn and I were married on October 4^th 2009 on the Mississippi River in a paddle wheel boat out of La Crosse WI.  We decided it would be easier for everyone if the two of us flew down instead of everyone flying up. Since we were not getting married in Alaska we wanted to get married on the water.  The weather that day was a typically damp, chilly, gray, and overcast Southeast Alaska day.  It was nothing like an early October day in Wisconsin should be.  We laughed and told everyone we had to bring a part of Alaska to our wedding.  Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life.  I had absolutely no reservations about marrying Glenn.  If fact the only time I was nervous or had butterflies that day was the two or so hours we spent apart before our ceremony.   As soon as he left to go to church I started to get nervous, and it got worse as I went to get my hair and make-up done.  All it took to calm my nerves was to simply seeing him standing there waiting for me and looking very handsome in his suit.  It literally was like someone flipped a switch in my gut.  I instantly felt better just be seeing him.  Later on I told Glenn it, he said that was exactly how he felt too.

After being married for six months Glenn was diagnosed with cancer on a Thursday by Tuesday he had surgery and Friday he was home again cancer free.  That was a terrifying experience.  Lucky it was caught early and action was taking fast enough that the tumor was remove with surgery.  He was one of the lucky few that only needed surgery and no further treatment was needed besides yearly check ups to make sure the cancer had not returned.  Once we survived that scare we figured we were good to go for the next twenty to thirty years at least.  How naive of us, if anything else it should have reaffirmed how precious every moment really is. For us it was such a short whirlwind of an experience that it didn’t seem all that real other then the scar he had from the surgery to remind us both it was real and it did actually happen.

We have spent the last couple of years planning out our home and this past winter on Christmas Day we laid down the first stick of lumber on the foundation of our home.  We spent everyday this winter, no matter what the weather, building our home.  By the middle of March we had 800 square feet framed, dried in, and a roof on.  Not to bad for only two people, of which only one was a skilled carpenter.  This summer I have another 300 square feet to pour cement for, frame, and roof.  The amazing and wonderful community of Gustavus wants to do a barn raising weekend and finish our home for me.  It is going to a beautiful home I am looking forward to being able to move into the home that Glenn and I worked so hard on. 

            Around 11:30 on Thursday morning April 26 2012, my worst nightmare became a reality.  I was at work when I heard the 911 tones on the radio. I stopped to listen to what was going on.  When I heard the voice on the radio I thought that is odd.  Glenn is working there today I wonder what is happening, and then she said Glenn was lying on the ground motionless.  I backup up from the radio so fast as if I had been bitten.  My coworker was standing by me she said I needed to leave I needed to go there now.  I could hardly move but she got me moving to the jeep.  She drove to town and where Glenn was.  I was praying so hard the whole way there.  I kept hoping he would be sitting up and annoyed that everyone was fussing over him, but then I heard the request for an immediate med-evac.  I knew then that it was so much worse then that.  When we got there I jumped out of the car and ran across the street.  I saw people performing CPR on my husband, I nearly collapsed my legs gave out from under me.  The district ranger for the park was already on scene when we got there and he caught me and told me it was very bad but they were doing everything they possibly could to save Glenn.  He had me go back to the car to wait, and he would keep me updated.  It seemed like I waited an eternity before my boss and the district ranger came to tell me that Glenn was gone.  My world had suddenly shattered into a million pieces.  The community of Gustavus has surrounded me with love and support which has been amazing and very helpful.  I am so very grateful that we chose to make Gustavus our home, we couldn’t have picked a better place.     

If I had known four years ago what I know now I would have still said yes to that first date.  To miss out on all the wonderful things we did and the love we shared would just not be an option.   Not everyone is as lucky as we were.  Most people do not meet the love of their lives, we did.  Glenn recognized it sooner than I did, but on some level I always knew.  It just took a little bit for my brain to catch on to what my soul already knew.  It truly is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all, no matter how clichéd that is I know for a fact it is true.  Four years is better than none at all and I thank God everyday that I was blessed with four amazing years.  I also find myself asking why we were only given four, when we wanted so much more.  Even though losing my best friend, husband, and soul mate is the single most painful and gut wrenching thing I will ever experience I would not have traded the last four years if my life, for anything because my life would never have been complete without Glenn.  I take great comfort in the fact that we made each other very happy, and he may not be here on Earth anymore but I know he is looking down from Heaven and watching over me and he lives in my heart and in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved him.  I will see him again someday when I am called home to be with the Lord.  I find peace in that knowledge and I hang on to it with every fiber of my being, and I am look forward to that day when I will join Glenn in Heaven.  I truly believe he was an angel here among us.  Just looking around our small community I see the pieces of himself he left all around town in the work that he did.  And in the packed church during the celebration of his life I could clearly see that in all the lives he touched.  I plan to honor his memory by completing our home, going on that vacation we were planning this winter, and going back to school to get my masters and PhD like we had planned.

Thank you Lord for the gift that we were all given by knowing and loving Glenn. He truly was a man of God, and I am truly blessed and extremely proud to be Glenn’s wife.

My husband, Glenn Chunn, died eight weeks ago today.  I continue to miss his terribly but I keep going one day at a time just like he would wish.  Today is one of the first sunny days we have had here in Gustavus since he died, I bet he had something to do with that. He will be with me always and someday I will be with him again.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I know it has been a long time since I last posted I am going to try and post regularly again.

R. A. Chunn 

Spring has Arrived!

     The first day of spring here in the panhandle was sunny and bright.  I sat on the porch this morning sipping my tea and soaking up the sunshine which we were able to enjoy for about thirteen hours.  The skunk cabbage and crocuses are starting to poke out of the ground.  Our snow is disappearing fast and along with it the moose have starting to move back up the mountain side.  Which has attached the attention of the wolves.  Last week around dusk I was outside walking the dog and not to far off in the flats a bone chilling howl cut through the air.  I have to tell you no matter how much I know about and respect wolves as the sun has slipped below the horizon daylight fading fast that mournful sound is heart stopping.
     We have been very busy getting our house to a stopping point where we could leave it for a few weeks while we focused on finding a place to live for the summer while we are finishing the house and then get as much of the major spring move out cleaning done before the busy summer season starts in two weeks.  I have time to work on cleaning the house and packing but also get out and enjoy the spring weather.  Once April comes around my winter vacation is over and it is time to get back to my seasonal job and my husband also goes back to work full time so we are going less time to work on the house.  The biggest challenge building a house out here means no hopping in your car a running to Home Depot to get what you need.  Nope we have to call Home Depot order what we need then pay a transport service to either drop it off at the airport it can be flown over or for larger items such as lumber and plywood then we have to wait a week or two for it to arrive on the ferry.  So by the time your $15 box of 5,000 nails gets over here you spent $20 in transportation costs.  The transportation cost to the airport is a flat rate and then the flight is $0.40 lb or $11 which ever is more so it is better to order everything at the same time. 

      Since it has been so long since I posted I will leave you with some of February's best pictures.  I will wait so long to post some of March's pictures.

Sunset in Icy Strait

A typical sight here a Bald Eagle sitting on a piling looking for a meal.

Road Warrior

Morning frost on the gate to the hydro road.

Old fish trap far from the beach now but it used to be right on the water.  Glacial rebound at work.

View of Gustavus from the top of the hydro rd.

Enjoy!
   

Happy Valentine's Day

It is hard to believe it is already the middle of February. This has been a month of warm weather and even warmer winds and snow thrown in just to remind us that yes it is still winter and not springtime just yet.  My husband and I are busy building our house.  We are at the property daily, we started framing the walls for the second story yesterday!  It is very exciting to watch it go up, and knowing we built it ourselves with wood from our property. 

Moose are continuing to be a common occurrence here at the end of the road.  At the very least we see one moose but usually we see more.  There are at least ten cows and calves hanging out in the flats in front of the house and lodge.  Several of the cows have collars, those cows are part of a study that the AK Dept. of Fish and Game is doing on the moose population out here.  Just last night moose 14 and her twins were in our front yard.  They decided to use our little foot bridge to cross the creek instead of getting their hooves wet.

Below are some of the photos from the first ten days in February, enjoy and please feel free to leave comments.

And I thought I would add a couple pictures of our building project as well.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I hope you check it out again sometime  Have a wonderful day.

R.A. Chunn



January's Pictures

Well it isn't Monday but here are some of the best pictures from the last half of January for your viewing pleasure.  Please feel free to leave comments.  In fact I want to know which photos people like the best and then at the end of the year I will post the twelve most popular photos of the year, but that will only work if people let me know which photos they like the best.

This was the sunrise here the morning before I got on the ferry. It was a cold morning with a beautiful sunrise that made some of the clouds appear to be on fire.

I took the top photo while I was on the ferry. It stopped in Hoonah on our way to Juneau. The sun had already slipped below the mountains by the time the ferry docked. The other photo is the sunrise from the airplane window shortly after take off from Juneau. The colors were so intense and vivid up in the air, this photo does not do the sunrise justice but it is hard to get a great photo from a small airplane window.

The top two photos were taken on the lake ice in southern Minnesota. I had to get a picture of one of the many shanty towns that pop up in MN during the winter.  Ice fishing is a popular past time. There was an oak leaf trapped in the snow and ice that was just begging to be photographed. With some software I played with the lighting a little bit and removed the color. I really like the effect that created for that photo. The large fox squirrel was in my Mom's backyard one morning. Mom calls him the sumo squirrel because he is quite fat and lumbers around instead of scurries. He probably makes the rounds to all the local birdfeeders.

These photos were all taken at the Blank Park Zoo which is located in Des Moines Iowa. It is a nice little zoo, although since it was winter a lot of the animals were not in their exhibits. In the summer it would be a great place to spend half the day with family. Because these pictures were taken in the Blank Park Zoo they will not be added to my portfolio of photos for sale, but I did want to share these photos.

Here are the last of the pictures. Flying home that was my flight from Seattle to Juneau. I was pleased to see blue sky. The weather in both Seattle and Juneau was very cloudy and wet so it was nice to see the blue sky along the way. The last two are of the many moose wandering around Gustavus this time of year. I see moose daily, in fact almost every time I look out the living room picture window I spot at least one moose out in the flats out in front of the house.

I hope you enjoy the photos don't foroget to let me know your favorites for the month.  This weekend I will post some of the best from the first week of February.

Week 5 - Home Sweet Home

     After traveling for three days on three different modes of transportation I finally made it home on Monday.  When I left Gustavus there was hardly any snow on the ground, two weeks later I come home to find there is around four feet of snow on the ground, more than normal around here.  So once I got done unloading the six months worth of groceries from my loaded down can, I had enough time to put away the cold and frozen foods, grab a quite bite for lunch and then it was off to shovel snow off of the house (it is lacking a roof so the floor needs to be shoveled when it snows, and the back stairs at the lodge so they don't collapse under the weight of the snow.  Since Monday the temps have been in the upper 30s to low 40s with no snow but rain.  Now there is lots of slush, puddles, and very little snow left. 
     I do have some pictures of my trip south and some since returning home.  I have been playing catch up all week with house chores and building our house so I have not had lots of time to go through those yet.  But hopefully I can get to them this weekend so I can post a batch of pictures by Monday for your enjoyment.

Week 3 Visit to the Midwest

     After traveling by sea then air and finally by land I finally made it to my Midwest destination of Southern Minnesota from the wilds of Southeast Alaska.  Turns out I traded one cold place for another.  The ferry ride over to Juneau was a beautiful one filled with sunny skies, a spectacular sunset, as a few large rolling waves but no big seas thankfully.  The next morning flying out of Juneau the plane was chasing the sunrise what an amazing sight that was.  Fortunately I was sitting in a window seat for the show.  Arriving in the Seattle airport midday felt like being in times square on New Year's Eve at midnight for a person who has lives in a small bush community of about 350 people.   Now that I am down in the lower 48 states I have to reacquaint myself with crowded spaces and fast cars.  I am so used to living in an area where the fastest speed limit is 45, so 70 on a interstate with semi trucks can be a little nerve racking at first.  I have been taking pictures all along the way.  Next week when I return home to my sleepy little village I will sort through my pictures and post some for you viewing pleasure.

Week 2

Well I have managed to take at least one picture everyday this year despite all the rain and snow.  Saturday was the first day it did not snow or rain or both since the day after Christmas.  So we are more than happy to put up with the cold if it means an extended period of sun.  The last three mornings have provided some beautiful sunrises.  To make up for the lack of posting last week I will attach some of the best photos from the last two weeks.  Next weeks post will not contain photos either since I will be traveling, but when I get back I will be sure to post plenty of photos.  Enjoy!