Pamela was working as an Au Pair in Finland when she received the opportunity to work for the Student Conservation Association within Denali National Park. She accepted the position to work in their dog yard for the summer of 2018. Kevin skipped work at Home Depot in Fairbanks one day and found himself talking to a stranger (Chris) at the DMV about driving commercially for Princess Cruises at Denali National Park. A couple of days later, he was offered a position as a transportation supervisor for summer of 2018. Both had recently decided to give online dating a shot. Kevin reached out to Pam after seeing her profile mentioning stop-motion animation. He inquired about which stop-motion animation studio she hoped to work at. He sent her some of his own stop-motion animations which she loved because she didn’t actually have any animation experience. They decided to meet at Black Bear, the local coffee shop. Kevin ordered a coffee and Pam admitted she didn’t drink coffee. She ordered a hot choccy instead. The conversation wasn’t too awkward but the “good-bye” handshake was. Still, they kept meeting up for several increasingly awkward dates. Despite their quirks they caught feelings. During one particularly notable date, Pam introduced Kevin to Topo. Topo proved to be Kevin’s favorite and even learned the sound of his walk coming down the path to the dog yard. With the dogs’ endorsement, Pam knew Kevin was the one.

As they continued to explore Denali, hiking and camping together, they grew closer and closer. They even made a stop-motion animated short with some of Kevin’s precious beanie babies. The park solstice party was a very exciting step forward in their relationship. They introduced each other to their friend groups and parents. Kevin made a particularly lasting impression on Pam’s dad (Art) while trying to match his beer intake at dinner one night (drums were tapped). He has vowed never to make this mistake again. By the end of the season, they decided to move to Colorado together to work the winter season in Breckenridge.

And then everything, except their relationship, went to shit. Kevin and Pam were very lucky to have each other in Colorado, where their first roommate threw them out and stole their car key causing them to have to work together to find a new place to live and problem solve. The work environment left a lot to be desired as well, with Kevin struggling to handle complacent management and Pam working three jobs to justify their living situation. The room issued to Kevin due to his supervisor status did not allow for non-management staff, despite them having been told she would be able to live there as long as she worked for the company (third job). The bed was not large enough for both of them and the key didn’t work so they found themselves sleeping on “floor bed” and climbing through their window to enter. Pam thought many times that someone would see one of them and call the cops. Winter didn’t prove all bad though. Kevin and Pam became much closer due to their hardships and were able to enjoy many offerings of the mountain town. They did a couple of escape rooms and now Pam is fully obsessed. They even had a week-long escape to Spain. On the way there, Kevin got to experience Pam’s whole family together during a New York layover. Luckily, this did not scare him away. In Spain, Kevin’s family came together for a Christmas celebration where Pam felt welcomed like one of their own.

In spring they were overjoyed to return to Denali for the second season. This time around Kevin remained in the same position but Pam missed out on the dog yard and instead took a position with Aramark as an Interpretive Coach. A much more lucrative but less full-filling job. She still made time to walk Topo at least three times a week though, with Kevin often tagging along. The summer included more visits with family, new adventures and friendships. Pam moved into Kevin’s room at Princess where, with the lessons of “floor bed” recent in their minds, they extended their twin bed frame to a full size using plywood… which broke two weeks from the end of the season. Kevin paid to replace it! Due to one of Kevin’s friends experiencing health complications he was reminded life is short and decided that he and Pam needed to see the world. He surprised Pam with the option of visiting China or India for one month. They decided on China because it would allow them to also visit Kevin’s family in Hong Kong.

They first drove the Alaska-Canada highway, stopping for hikes and sleeping in the back of the car along the way. This afforded them the ability to visit some more family members during the trip to New York. Once in New York, they secured their visas and were off on the adventure of a lifetime. Before their departure, Pam brought Kevin to “the lake” where they were able to visit Mistie together. In China, they explored various cities and fell in love with steamed buns which came in all sorts of varieties. They visited Shanghai Disney, spent two nights in the shadow of the Great Wall, visited the TerraCotta Warriors (with Bojan), and fed Pandas at the Chengdu Panda Sanctuary. Towards the end, they visited Elieen and Elliot in Hong Kong who gave them wonderful history lessons and toured them throughout the area. Upon returning to New York, Kevin got a huge dose of Pam’s extended family at Thanksgiving. Luckily, he wasn’t the only new boyfriend in town because Elise brought home Ryan from Kyrgyzstan. He had a great time meeting everyone and eating incredible homemade food. In December, Kevin and Pam were off again. This time their destination was Hawaii where Kevin participated in the Honolulu Marathon. They enjoyed the laid back attitude of the island and drove around the coast snorkeling. Pam waited for Kevin at the marathon finish line where he received his medal and showered him with kisses. As Pam went to collect her things a stranger asked if she was Kevin’s fiance. She unfortunately had to say no. But it was something they’d been talking about for some time. Christmas brought them back to New York. In Cooperstown, Kevin met more of Art’s side of the family and introduced a new card game to them, instantly becoming a favorite amongst the group. After both had secured their positions for a return to Denali in the summer they decided to take another winter trip and forego winter work.

They traveled to Europe where they spent time with Kevin’s sisters (Clare and Angie) and Pam’s Finnish family. Clare, Liam and Sona brought them to museums and great restaurants. They explored Efteling, the most magical place on Earth! Pam’s Finnish family helped her introduce Kevin to proper Finnish saunas and he bonded with Meri and Maija over their love of video games. In Ireland, Angie, Roger and the kids enjoyed hikes and bike rides together. They had a Little Irish Bake Off and Pam made fun for herself by putting together a scavenger hunt that the kids seemed to enjoy too. Hours before their flight back to America, they had the pleasure of meeting Kevin’s new niece, Ella at the hospital. Their flight home coincided with news of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after their return, the border to Canada was closed and the State of New York was on lockdown. Both of their jobs were eliminated and they determined the best thing to do would be to wait in New York until everything blew over. Of course, that’s not exactly what happened. The situation was not all bad. Kevin was given plenty of time to work on his proposal, after a botched attempt in The Netherlands. Pam’s mom (Sue) kept them well-fed with delicious homemade meals and good company. Twice a week they would visit Art where he worked on building a dog sled and Pam and Kevin pretended to be of service… but weren’t really. They made a couple of trips to “the lake” where Pam showed Kevin the Pirate’s Cove and they swam together. Kevin officially proposed April 15th 2020. With the help of some of Pam’s stuffed animals, he built an animatronic Baby Yoda to present her with the husky-made ring and a stop-motion animation. She cried a whole lot but through the happy tears she managed to say yes! Now they’ve moved back to Alaska where they intend to spend their winter and summer of 2021. They look forward to the new adventures and challenges that await them.