When I was 9 my family moved from Boise, Idaho to Juneau, Alaska. From the sagebrush desert we moved to the land of dense forests, glaciers, rivers and ocean channels. I had much more freedom than kids do today and used it to explore the town and the mountain near our house. Juneau is landlocked by glaciers and huge mountains, so the only road out of town was a dead end. (We called it "going out the road.") For me it was a world of adventure. Dense old growth forests were full of things to explore. On weekends we went to Mendenhall Glacier, hiked, picked blue berries and had blue berry pancakes in the picnic shelters, and collected wildflowers. Even the frequent rain or the winters didn't faze me.
From these experiences my love of the northwest environment was born. My Juneau memories are very strong. We left when I was 11 and my memories of the next 3-4 years are minimal compared to my 2 years in Juneau. The childhood friends I remember are from Juneau. When we left these friends gave me a Bilikin for good luck.
