Postcards From Alaska introduces KNLS listeners to America's last frontier.  Remember, this is a broadcast transcript and so may include editor's notes.

Naturalist Newlyweds In Alaska

INTRO: Lots of Americans take working vacations… but a working honeymoon? During a recent visit to Alaska, the New Life Station’s Mike Osborne met a young couple spending their first days as husband and wife escorting others around America’s last frontier.

TEXT: Summer, 2001 will be a season Kirk Gentilen and Amy Palmer long remember. (See Kirk & Amy?) Not only are they newly married, they’re also being paid to honeymoon in Alaska.

TAPE: CUT 1 – KIRK :17
"We had a wedding at a light house. We had about forty friends show up. Saw some dolphins during the ceremony. It was great. It’s been two months, one week and four days…five days (Amy laughs)"

TEXT: The newlyweds spend those extra long far north summer days working as naturalist interpreters for a company called Alaska Nature Tours, shepherding sightseers through the wilderness surrounding the small SOUTHERN ALASKAN town of Haines.

TAPE CUT 2 - KIRK :19 sec
"There was this one guy the other day that came off the bus and he said, "I want to see goats!" and we found him some goats and he was up in arms and jumpin’ around and this guy was easily 70 years old. It was great. We get really close up views. We have spotting scopes and stuff so we get really close views without, like, intruding on the animal."

TEXT: One of the spots where it’s easiest to get up close and personal with the wildlife is at nearby Chilkat Preserve, home of the world’s largest concentration of bald eagles. At times more than three thousand of these majestic raptors can be seen -- and heard -- along a single short stretch of the Chilkat River.

TAPE CUT 3 - SFX: Eagle Screech

TEXT: Amy recalls the first time she saw a newly hatched eaglet along the river.

TAPE CUT 4 – AMY :32 sec.
"Kirk and I were doing a tour together. Our first tour and it was together, it was pretty exciting. And so we stopped at this place where we knew there was a nest and we got the spotting scopes out and looked up there and the adult eagle was feeding this little fuzzy thing a big piece of fish. And it was really exciting and I was jumping up and down and saying "Yahoo!’ and stuff."

TEXT: From the treetops to the hillsides below, Kirk says he’s never encountered wildlife in such amazing numbers. On his very first hike, he says, he was able to spot a grizzly bear with twin cubs.

TAPE CUT 5 – KIRK :15 sec.
"Everybody got to see it through the scope and it was just great. The two babies were just running around, the two cubs were just running around. That was the first grizzly bear I’d ever seen and it was my first day here and I knew this was the place to be. You never know what’s going to turn up, but if something like that has a possibility, that’s great."

TEXT: In spite of the hectic tour schedule, there’s always time for a little newlywed romance, or at least what passes for romance among naturalists.

TAPE CUT 6 – AMY :22
"Walking along this trail he was pointing out a few things to me that I would appreciate. He pointed out the splash cup fungus and pointed out some other mushrooms that he knew I would appreciate. And he always helps me out with the birdcalls too. You hear a bird call and I’m not sure which one it is and I just glance at him and he says (stage whisper) ‘Wilson’s Warbler." (Amy laughs)."

TEXT: Searching for fungi of any type may not be your idea of good time, but Kirk and Amy are clearly smitten by Alaska’s charms. Although they have jobs in the lower forty-eight states to return to this fall, both are feeling the call of the wild.

TAPE CUT 7 – AMY/KIRK :29
AMY: "There’s discussion about that. I could certainly see spending a winter in Haines or maybe somewhere else in Alaska. I think that would be a really good experience. Become…what’s the term? We wouldn’t be chee-chok-ohs any more. That’s the term for people who haven’t spent a winter here."

KIRK: "It would be awesome to spend a whole winter up here. From what I understand Haines is pretty mild compared to other places in Alaska too. I think we’ll be comin’ back. I just have that gut feelin’."

TEXT: Reporting for KNLS International, Mike Osborne, Haines, Alaska.

If you would you like to learn more about Alaska Nature Tours, the town of Haines, or the Chilkat Preserve, visit them online.

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Two towns on the Alaska/Canada border find peace as one community

The Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States has left many towns and cities along the U.S./Canada border rethinking security and point-of-entry procedures. As the two countries explore how to share a more secure common perimeter, the government of Canada recently announced a $165 million appropriation for new anti-terrorism and security measures including increased border security.

Perhaps no other area along the border better exemplifies the unique bond between the two countries than the towns of Hyder, Alaska (pop. 102), and its next-door neighbor Stewart, British Columbia (pop. 650). Nestled at the head of Portland Canal, where Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska meet, these two towns share not only a border, but also a way of life. Stewart has the only bank and ATM; Hyder has the commercial dock. Stewart has most of the stores; Hyder has legendary nightlife at its two bars. Hyder residents drive to Stewart to fill up their tanks (in liters) at the only gas station, which is easy to do because most residents carry only Canadian currency, also accepted more quickly than the dollar at most places in Hyder.

Customs agents at the border crossing acknowledge that they are very familiar with the townspeople on both sides of the border, and estimate from five to 50 residential border crossings every day this time of year. Stewart, BC Mayor Mark Edgson says security will tighten come this summer when more than 11,000 tourists come to town, but for now, he says: “We are really two countries, but one community. I firmly believe that the recent events will actually make us stronger because we now realize how much we depend on one another. It’s not about where the boundaries lie, but how we live our lives… We’re one big family and always will be."

(This story courtesy of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.  The official Alaska Vacation planner is now available from the Alaska Travel Industry Association, the state’s official tourism marketing organization. The planner is packed with information for anyone considering an Alaskan vacation in 2002. Potential visitors are encouraged to request the official planner by logging on to www.travelalaska.com or by calling 800-862-5275.)

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The New Life Station is pleased to provide transcripts online for a number of KNLS programs.  Please note that all scripts are the property of World Christian Broadcasting and/or SeedSower Productions.  They are provided here for your personal enjoyment only and may not be disseminated in any fashion without prior written permission.

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