Work is work, but you need to have fun too :)

And what can you do for fun when you live practically in the woods? That's right, hiking! Denali National Park has a huge number of trails for tourists; some can be done in a couple of hours, while others can take all day. Rafting, floating on inflatable rafts down rivers, Husky Homestead (though the huskies there look a lot like Russian mutts :)), you can take a plane ride, and it's all free for employees. The main thing is that there are spots available :)

Besides these "nature" types of recreation, Denali hosts a large number of events - from J-1 parties to poker nights. The only catch here is that to have fun there, you need to be 21 years old. And there are no exceptions.

All the establishments located near our cabins were in a small town, consisting mainly of souvenir shops and hotels. It's quite interesting there, but the area is still very small; you can walk through the entire Gulch in about 20 minutes, and that's if you're going veeeeeery slowly.

When you walk through this town, you see hundreds of tourists every day. Everyone is very relaxed and calm; after all, people come to Alaska for peace and quiet, while they go to Las Vegas for entertainment.

As our manager said on the first day of training - for many people, this is practically the trip of a lifetime; they can't decide to take it for a long time or just don't want to, finding something "better." And indeed, people usually come to Alaska when they are over 50; often, when cleaning rooms, you just see bags of medicine and such. And yet, these people find the strength to get to Denali and go on a couple of hikes, to conquer some mountain. It's inspiring.

Some establishments hold various events, for example, a Knife Fight, open competitions for chefs where two mandatory ingredients are given - one is known in advance, and the second is revealed only on the day of the competition, and it is necessary to prepare two full dishes using both ingredients in an hour. It was very interesting and curious for me to attend this event. Also, in the same establishment, Flip Cup competitions were held every week. It's a drinking game; I'll attach an animation of how the game works :)

SOME TIPS!

If you are 21 and you are going somewhere, to a party or something else, take your ID with you. If you are under 21, don't even try to go somewhere where underaged people are not allowed. Never (NEVER) try to buy alcohol without an ID and never ask other people to buy you something in any establishments; you and your helper will have endless problems. Be law-abiding students, and your life will become a little bit easier :3