How did we get here?

Before my PhD research, Alaska seemed so far away. Tom and I had always talked about traveling there but hadn’t made it. Then in 2018, my research brought us to Fairbanks. We didn’t know what to expect. When we stepped off the plane that first time, it felt like home. During May of each year, with the exception of 2020 (COVID), we went back for my research. 2021 was the last year that I would be doing my field and lab research. Things were wrapping up. I teared up a bit when we left Fairbanks, not knowing when we would be back.

A position opened for a Fish Biologist in Fairbanks in summer 2021. I applied and was called for an interview. I was fortunate to be selected for the position and could start remotely from Michigan until Tom could transfer. Once the transfer came through, we began house hunting & planning. Summer of 2022 would be the summer of our big move.

Now, as I write my reflections and chronicle our journey, I am sitting in our new home, listening to loons, Swainson’s Thrush, chickadees, fixed wings & float planes. I look out my home office window to the dense woods and watch the occasional moose amble past. Trixie has never been so relaxed. Yes, there are people I miss from Michigan. But this is home.