Wendy

Interviewed by Riley M

            What if you had the chance to spend your summer in a national park enjoying the pristine wilderness in all of its glory.  See black and grizzly bears , gray wolves, caribou, moose and the only actually white sheep in the wilderness, would you take it. For Wendy Hester, the answer is yes.
            Wendy, originally from the Wisconsin/ Minnesota area, has been living in Alaska for the last 36 years. She eventually works as a school bus driver during the months school is in session. Wendy is married and has 3 children and several grandchildren who all live in Anchorage. Wendy is the last of her siblings to live in Alaska, as the rest of her brothers and sisters now live in Colorado with one sister in San Diego while she remains and will remain in Alaska until she dies. Wendy told me her first impression of Alaska was that it was absolutely breathtaking.
            Now what is this about national parks and grizzly bears? Well, for the last seven years Wendy has been working as a tour bus driver in Denali National Park and Preserve during the months it is open. Wendy very much enjoys her job, saying there is never a dull day. With all at the free-roaming animals and interesting people it is hard to be bored! Wendy mentioned that same very interesting things she has seen on the job were animal kills and how the scenery never loses its ability to take your breathe away. One of Wendy’s favorite parts on the job has to be the people’s reactions of them screaming and yelling like giddy kids in a candy store, so happy to see the bear. The people stand up so fast they drop their cameras, forget to unbuckle or are so excited they can’t unbuckle. Yes the people’s reactions are definitely Wendy’s favorite part of driving a tour bus in Denali. Wendy quickly mentioned perhaps the only thing she does not like about Alaska would be the mosquitos, but hey who can blame her?