Back in the Lower 48

I am finally back in Sacramento after two weeks of my Alaska rotation. The time was amazing and I am so thrilled I was able to go. I got to see a good deal of what is arguably the most beautiful state in the nation, met wonderful people, and learned a LOT at the Providence clinic in Wasilla. I know that, in the past 2 weeks, I didn't talk too much about "work," as my blog posts were filled with accounts of Alaskan "adventures" and far more interesting non-work-related photos, but I really enjoyed my time working in the clinic. I got to see tons of same-day concerns, mainly pediatric patients, lots of older well-child checks, and even do a circumcision (I had another one scheduled on Friday, my last day, but the patient no-showed). I was able to read on various related topics in between patients and really improve my family medicine knowledge base.

My trip home, however, was not so amazing. Unfortunately, my 140 AM plane leaving Anchorage left at 340 AM, due to the plane arriving from Phoenix being delayed due to bad weather (I didn't know it rained/hailed in AZ?!). I was worried I wouldn't make my connection to Sac (and was concerned I might sleep through getting off the plane!), but miraculously, US Airways made up time in flight and I (AND MY BAG-- which I was amazed about-- I had a little scare on my way TO Alaska) made it to Sac on time!

I spent today napping, grocery shopping, catching up on mail, etc.

It's back to the grind: 24h shift at Stockton OB tomorrow!

P.S.. Blog Makeover Thanks

Here is a big shout out to Rachel, who worked hard and is responsible for my new and very much improved blog header. Don't you think it looks snazzy?! And a special thank you to Kenn, who took the very nice photos (including the fruit!) that Rachel incorporated.

Made/(Grown) in Alaska: State Fair #2 of the summer!

(logo from Alaska Feed Co.)

Yesterday evening, Sonja and I went to the Alaska State Fair, which is conveniently located right here in Palmer, Alaska, and not the state capital Juneau (which is near impossible to reach and unfortunately, not somewhere I could feasibly visit this trip :(. Because the state is so large, there are apparently four other, mini-fairs, which take place in Alaska at different points in Aug-Sept, but this is the main one). As I drove home from work that day (which was the Opening Day of the fair), I found hilarious the radio warnings of "lots of traffic" on Glenn Hwy from Anchorage and "in Palmer." I did not see any traffic-- this was "traffic" in the sense of when you see 2 cars on a rural MN road :)

The fair was awesome and somewhat different than the California State Fair which we visited in July.


There was lots of military stuff (Elmendorf Air Force Base is nearby outside Anchorage).
Here is Sonja with a large guy in fatigues.

There was cool animal stuff:

A real-life horse merry-go-round (no riders on at the time of the photo)

Stuffed two-headed goat (Taxidermy is BIG up here!)

There was a whole reptile room, which gave me the creeps, as well as lots of farm animals and even an alpaca.

There was lots of cool STUFF:

Wooden bears (I like the "Go Away" one) :)

They had Campers on display, which were really slick-- complete with queen beds, bunks, TVs, and showers! I would love to travel across and around the US/Canada with a camper.

Some weird stuff:

Wacky hair designs (check out this girl's dyed mohawk!)

They had a gambling rat-race game where you could bet on which "hole" the live rat would enter!

They had GREAT food-- I had a yummy buffalo jalapeno cheese dog. They, of course, had turkey legs, fried everything, cotton candy, funnel cakes, chocolate-covered-bacon (ugh... I am not a fan) and the usual fair fare, but also more "Alaskan" delicacies such as "creamed pollen" (I kid you not), "Denali" cream puffs (just about as big as the park!), various types of jerky, reindeer, oysters, salmon, and halibut quesadillas!

And then we saw what Alaska is known for: GIGANTIC vegetables. Because the midnight sun beats down for so long in the summertime, the veggies here can grow enormous; apparently the north-central city Fairbanks produces most of the category winners, including 18-lb carrots, 63-lb celery, etc. Anything to help the veggies grow (i.e. special soil, fertilizers, etc.), with the exception of injecting water to boost the fair-weight, is fair game.

At right is an 86-lb cabbage (the largest on recent record is something like 105 lbs!)

Apparently, cabbages can explode in transport, so they are a bit tricky to get to the fair intact.

There are some zucchinis (puny in comparison!) at left.

As you can see by the label, this is a winning "long gourd" (sorry I couldn't capture its length!)

Large mushroom (apparently mushroom-gathering is big up here, too)

Sonja won 3rd place (white ribbon) for the 4.8 lb Kohlrabi (turnip-type thing which I had never heard of before!) she grew in her home garden!

And... for the big 'un.... a LARGE pumpkin.

902-lbs-large, to be exact!

WOW!!!!

As you can see, the Alaska State Fair was very cool. Today is my last day of work (:( -- I love this clinic), and tomorrow (late, late night) I fly back to California to start a 24h OB call at Stockton on Monday (boo). I may head up to the little town of Talkeetna on a daytrip tomorrow before heading back to Anchorage. I am milking the last 2 days in this great state which I will miss very much...

Iditarod: The Last Great Race on Earth

Wasilla is not only the home of Sarah Palin, but also a recent re-start of the Iditarod Trail Race.

Before visiting the Headquarters Museum on Monday evening, I had no idea the scope and challenges of this Race. It started in 1973 to test sled dog teams and now is a highly competitive and featured event which starts the first weekend of March. It is also so remarkable because the spirit of the race commemorates the 1925 journey led by a relay of sled dogs which delivered antiserum across Alaska to Nome (on the northwestern coast of Alaska) to curb a diptheria epidemic.

Mushers (human leaders) lead teams of up to 16 dogs (interestingly, you can start with fewer than the max, and "drop off" dogs along the way, but can't add them) about 1100 miles from Willow (formerly Wasilla, but it got too "warm" (!)) to Nome. This takes anywhere from 8- 15 days with dogs running through the artic tundra and withstanding harsh weather, avoiding moose and injuries, and taking at least three "required" stops (one 24 hour stop, and two 8-hour stops) along the way but otherwise getting about 3 hours of sleep before moving onwards to run 125 miles or more per day.

Map

It is truly amazing. The dogs are born and bred to run this race, and are raised from puppies as racing dogs (unfortunately, there were no husky pups for me to hold when I was at the HQ). Despite PETA's concern, the dogs love it, and are great at it. Vets examine them before the race (to rule out arthritis, heart problems [they do doggie EKGs!], and pregnancy), as well as PRN along the way. Some dogs run up until the time they die! They wear doggie booties when the weather requires it, and are carried by their musher to the next stop if they get injured on the trail.

While it is hard to "dominate" the Iditarod, there have been a few winners in the past 30 years who have led the field. The winner of the past four Iditarods, Lance Mackey, is a throat cancer survivor who came from humble beginnings to be the recent favorite in this amazing challenge.

I loved the entrance sign to the Iditarod Headquarters, which reads at the end,

"through Alaska's wilderness, over mountain passes, down frozen rivers and along the windswept sea coast, .... [the Iditarod Trail is] truly the majesty and mystery that is "The Last Great Race on Earth." '

What a sight it would be to see! Now, maybe I can come back here in March to watch some of it :)

Sun, Hikes, and Glacial Ice!

The sun finally came out in Alaska! While it is still a bit chilly (i.e. 50s and 60s) in California terms, it allowed me to go and explore the outdoors! This is your warning that there are a TON of pictures in this post! (Above is Exit Glacier)

After work last week on the first day the sun came out, Brittney took me up to Hatcher Pass, which is just outside the town of Palmer (pop ~ 8000) where I am staying. The area has old gold mines, a beautiful lodge, is used unofficially by wintertime snowboarders, and has beautiful alpine hiking. We had wonderful views of the Mat-Su Valley and Summit Lake!

Friday morning, I joined Dr. K at the hospital (Mat-Su Regional) for rounding (superb hospital of the perfect size!). Couldn't you get used to this view?

View from the back of the hospital

As Friday afternoon was a day of monthly staff meetings, I was sent away from clinic with recommendations of things to do in "The Valley."

I first went up to Bodenberg Butte, which was a nice hike with views of the valley farms. I was thankful that I first stopped by Sonja's house to pick up a can of bear spray, as I was hiking alone. I didn't think it would be scary, but as soon as I got on the trail (which was kind of narrow and flanked with high foliage), I kind of started to freak out. A few hikers passed me on their way down (seeing my fear-laden face, they joked that they "cleared out the bears") which was somewhat reassuring in that at least the trail wasn't totally abandoned (and having the bear spray made me feel incrementally more safe). However, I still tried to make as much noise I could going up the mountain, and prayed aloud I'd see NO wildlife (I wasn't sure if bear spray, which is capsaicin, would work on a moose that would try to trample me). I also saw various animal "scat" on the way up, including right on the trail, which only fed my fear. Needless to say, I hiked very quickly and ran most of the way down. And luckily didn't run into any bears or moose. I don't think I'll be hiking solo in Alaska anymore!

Some nice views, though :)

(Berries = bear food, was all I could think when I took this picture)

Pioneer Peak

Speaking of animal attacks, I today learned that, if a moose chases you down, you are to run and hide behind a solid object (like a tree). As for the bears (your approach differs based on the type of bear!), read for yourself:

After the terrifying hike, I then went to the Reindeer Farm outside of Palmer (yes, Palmer has not only the Musk Ox farm but ALSO the Reindeer Farm!). I learned all about these domesticated Caribou while enjoying the scenic views.

They also had a couple of moose who you could feed through the fence (I thought that perhaps I should have visited the farm before I hiked... perhaps I would have been less scared about encountering one in the wild)

I got to feed the reindeer!

Here is me with "Mary," one of the friendlier ones who would even "escape" from the pen and walk through the visitors hut.

I got butted by the antlers of a different, not-so-friendly one, who just wanted some food pellets and wouldn't take no (i.e. me walking away) for an answer! It actually hurt a bit!

This one also scared me a bit... he kept walking towards me with these "warty" antlers (they are really papilloma!)

I then visited downtown Palmer which, on Fridays throughout the summer, has "Friday Fling," which is a local market of vendors from the area. Outside the Palmer Visitors Center was a pillar documenting distances to other international locations... reminding me how remote Alaska is.

After Brittney got done babysitting, we headed south for the weekend to the Kenai Peninsula and Seward. The drive was breathtaking-- it followed Seward Highway alongside Cook Inlet and mountains which were still snow-capped! I am not a huge fan of road trips or long-distance driving, but this drive was fabulous!

We also saw a gorgeous double-rainbow which extended in a FULL arc across the road, a sight neither of us had ever seen!

On Saturday morning, we headed down to Seward's small boat harbor to catch our Fjord Cruise.

Along the way (typical of the abundance of Alaskan wildlife!), we spotted these bunnies on the roadside, and Brittney stopped to pet them.

Seward Small Boat Harbor

The cruise was fantastic! The company, Major Marine, was recommended both by Lonely Planet (my favorite guidebook) as well as the super wildlife-spotter couple that I met while on our bus ride in Denali.

We cruised from Seward through Resurrection Bay into Kenai Fjords National Park (created in 1980 to protect over 500,000 acres of Alaska wilderness) which houses the 30 x 50 mile Harding Ice Field, a massive Glacier!

Along the way, we saw a bunch of cool wildlife (alas, no whales) as well as spectacular glacier views. The fjords and the views reminded me so much of Norway, where Laura and I spent time after college.

Sea otters, chilling with their feet up (we also saw a mom with her pup on her belly!)

Steller Sea Lions (which are endangered)

Although not a whale (they are sometimes confused with Orcas), the Dall porpoise was an exciting sight! They are the fastest water mammals, and loved to jump out of the water and swim alongside the wake at the bow of our ship!

I had a difficult time catching them on my camera (because they were so quick!), but here are some snaps:

One of the cruise highlights was the view of Holgate Glacier, which was a spectacular tidewater glacier whose ice really glowed blue!

One of the most awesome parts was watching the glacier "calve," where huge hunks of ice cracked off and fell to the sea, leading to tons of floating ice floes :)

It sounded like thunder, and was amazing to watch!

"Surprise Glacier" (an unnamed glacier that appeared when we rounded a corner!)

The deckhands fished a big chunk of floating glacier ice out of the sea and took chunks for margaritas!

Brittney said it tasted good!

Today, we hiked to a couple of other glaciers on our way back to Palmer.

Exit Glacier

Byron Glacier, which we could actually walk right on!

I look so small!

It was tall! And very hard!

We arrived back in Palmer this afternoon to be greeted by the sweet doggies-- Bentley (a Pekinese/Dacshund mix) and Frankie (chihuahua, who hasn't quite warmed up to me yet).

Lola (the third dog, also a chihuahua) runs from me as fast as she can.

Loving the ipad...

It was a fantastic weekend, but it is back to work tomorrow. I really am working up here!

One more week...