Route 75 Flashback: Anchorage, Alaska Nature Snaps

Remember last year when I talked all about my awesome, epic USO Route 75 trip last year?

You know, the one where I got to travel around the country and tell the awesome stories of the USO for the organization's 75th anniversary last year?

Well, I was digging through my archives earlier this year and found some long-long scenic shots from our time in Alaska for Route 75 and just had to share. Although we were only there for a few days and were busy shooting most of the time, my travel companion (and fab former boss!) Eric and I had a few free hours to enjoy some of the beautiful sites and wildlife near Anchorage.

We actually headed to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for a few hours to make sure we saw some of the local (usually elusive) wildlife, leading to some fabulous shots!

Take a look!

More from the USO Route 75 Road Trip

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my day-job at the USO? Sometimes, between all the freelance photo/video gigs and Georgetown PR/CC grad school work, I forget to stop and think about how amazing my actual 9-5 is at the USO and how its this job that enables me to persue my side projects, like this blog.

Think about it: I get paid a big-girl salary with benefits to capture stories about an amazing non-profit that touches the lives of military members and their families.

I get to travel. I get to learn. I get to meet amazing people.

And, on top of that, I'm allowed the to pursue freelance opportunities and my graduate degree at the same time -- not many workplaces allow this type of flexibility! A not-so-much younger me would think this was pretty amazing/unbelievable/crazy cool.

Current me does too :)

Do you remember how I mentioned in an earlier post that I went on a mega USO Route 75 road trip with my fellow storytelling colleagues this spring? Well, now that its been several weeks since the final leg was completed, I'd love to share a few of the video stories I complied while on the trip.

This is only a handful of my videos -- there's a TON more I need to edit together. And I'll be sure to post more videos from my trip over the coming weeks!

Watch here:

A Note On My Lack of Posting: USO Route 75

This year has been a bit of an anomaly for me.

I don't normally post so few updates to my social media, website or even this blog. In fact, normally, I flood this blog with stories of what I've been up to!

Why the lack of posting, you ask? I blame a wonderful, magnificent, travel-heavy, time-demanding project I've been lucky to be a part of for the USO this spring: USO Route 75:

"The best military stories come up when you walk into one of our centers and start talking to people. So for the next six months, that’s what we’re going to do. 

To mark the USO’s 75th anniversary, we’re heading out on a road trip we’re calling USO Route 75. And we want to bring you along.

Starting Feb. 5, you can follow this map, our travelogue and our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds as we drive around America to learn more about the USO, explore issues like the military-civilian drift and military transition."

What does that mean exactly? Well, it means me, my boss, some colleagues all in a Jeep for six months traveling around the country hearing, telling and sharing the stories of the USO. There's essentally been a whole crew of us rotating on-and-off of the road trip since February producing content from our stops at different USO centers in the U.S.

Oh, can I just add on the fact that I'm still in grad-school part-time at Georgetown, too?

*Cue simultaneous pride and exhaustion.*

To check out some of the stories we've produced from the trip, you can go to the Route 75 page, but here is one of my favorites!