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...

Only in Alaska

I have been in Alaska for just about 4 days now and am trying to get used to "how things are" here, and the differences up here. I am learning a TON!

It is a bit of a challenge to maneuver the Prov clinic; they use Centricity, which is a different electronic medical records system than the EPIC we use at UCD and figuring out the clinic flow takes some getting used to; however, everyone has been extremely kind and helpful. I love working there-- the size and scope of the clinic is just what I want and picture for my future practice, and I love all the staff.

Alaska itself is also extremely awesome. I am trying to plan the best uses of my weekends/time off, and there are just so many options.

Unfortunately, the weather in Alaska has not really cooperated recently with the wealth of outdoor opportunities in the area. Around the Anchorage area, and Wasilla/Palmer where I am, it has rained for about the past 32 days straight, which is somewhat of a record ("it's not usually like this," everyone tells me apologetically). It has been in about the 50's, which is quite a bit different (i.e. 50 degrees different) than Sac weather, but I don't really mind all that much. Everything is very green. I just want to get out and hike, which I may have to do regardless of the weather :)

After Providence orientation, I drove around downtown Anchorage a bit, trying to view some fish from the Ship Creek Platform (none seen, alas, and all the while keeping my eyes open for bears which can be sighted downtown) and visited a downtown marketplace and used bookstore (my favorite!).

Here is a shot of some fishermen and the historic Alaska railroad as it passed through

Here is a menu advertisement

I stopped by the Musk Ox farm outside of the town of Palmer, where I am staying with Sonja, a staff-member, and her daughter.

These prehistoric creatures went extinct in AK but have been repopulated and are now domesticated here in Palmer. They are huge, and live about 15 years.

Their underwool, or qiviut, is warmer than wool (by weight) and much lighter. It is also about $100 for a hat, so that was not a souvenir I bought.

I thought this sign was cute :)

Anyway, back to interesting things about Alaska and questions you might have:

Land of the midnight sun

Alaska, or the "Last Frontier," is also unofficially named "Land of the Midnight Sun," which is really true in many parts of the state. Currently around Wasilla, we are getting about 18 hours of daylight per day (the sun sets around 11 p.m. and rises around 5). On Sunday, when I stayed in the hotel, I was grateful for the dark shade over the windows, as I am extremely light-sensitive and figured I'd have trouble sleeping out here. Interesting, however, was that not the outside light, but rather the light over the minibar, which (despite a call to the front desk and a maintenance person in my room) we were unable to extinguish, served as my midnight sun and kept me in a restless sleep.

Aurora borealis

I have not yet seen the northern lights. Apparently, it has to be quite dark in order to see this polar solar/magnetic ion phenomenon , as well as clear (which it definitely is not), but sightings are possible while I am here. I have to keep tracking the patterns on the Univ of Alaska geological sight.

Wildlife in everyday life

As I drive to work, I keep seeing the "Number of moose killed this summer" sign, which lists the total as 14 (currently). Wildlife ABOUNDS in everyday town life-- moose apparently often wander through backyards, nearby hiking trails, downtown Anchorage, and (obviously) roadways. As I learned in Denali, they are very unpredictable and dangerous, and it sounds like I'd almost rather meet a bear on a trail. On the radio on my way to work this morning, I did hear about a bear attack south on a trail off of the Seward Highway. Yikes.

Frequent plane crashes

Alaska has been all over the news lately, and today I read an article in CNN about the reasons for the frequency of plane crashes in Alaska, such as those killing former senator Ted Stevens last week. Basically, unpredictable weather and harsh terrain contribute, but as plane is the only way some parts of the state can be reached, many people (1/58 residents per the article) continue to fly small planes. I think I will try to avoid the small planes.

Cost of living

Is pretty high in Alaska. Property is not so much, relative to the "lower 48"; however, groceries cost about 40% more here, and it can be a bit painful! I guess you get used to it.... but I think I will be eating a lot of cereal/granola bars and snacks while I'm here :)

Cold climate, warm people

I am totally impressed by the kindness, friendliness, and happiness of all of the people here that I've met. Despite the rainy weather, and weather reaching 40-50 below in the winter, these people are happy and love Alaska. While most people "in" Alaska are not from Alaska, but rather transplants (coming here for military reasons or because husbands love to hunt and fish [a common reason I learned today!]), many stay for life.

Not sure yet if I will be one of them :)

Denali Awe

Hello from Alaska! It is really hard to believe I am here-- this is a state that I have wanted to visit for just about FOREVER!

I am doing a two-week family medicine elective with the Providence health system in Wasilla, but was able to fly up to Anchorage on Friday night and had this weekend to play :)

Alaska is absolutely breathtaking. It is everything I pictured-- beautiful mountains, small lumber towns, thick forests... and 80% of drivers driving pick-up trucks :)

Wai Kiu and Hanh have their 2 week vacation at this same time, and (along with Mason and Hanh's parents) have an Alaskan cruise planned, so we were fortunate to be able to meet up and spend this weekend in Denali National Park which has a ton of wildlife and houses Mt. McKinley, North America's tallest peak at 20,320 ft.

We drove up from Anchorage Saturday morning and spent the afternoon exploring the visitors' center and doing a little trail hiking.

Wai Kiu, Hanh, and Mason-- love the Alaska plates!

(Mason's first trip to Alaska-- he beat me to it by 28 years!)

We saw these hoofed-animal bones just off our trail!

We caught glimpses of caribou in the distance, and moose just off the main road, which were just hints of the glory we experienced today!

View from near Savage River

Today, we rode the 8 hour round-trip bus to Eielson Visitors Center, which is the main way to see most of the park. There is only one road-- and it is closed (past mile marker #15) to private vehicles as well as in winter.

Boy, were we in for a treat. Our bus-driver, Wendy, played excellent tour guide (not all bus drivers do, we were told, and it can be hit-or-miss! But we certainly scored!), and we had long-time-Denali visitors in the front of the bus spotting animals left and right!! We had some views of Mt. McKinley's base (the mt is only visible about 1/3 days), and other scenic views along the way.

View from Polychrome Overlook

We didn't see the Denali Peak, but it is there in the clouds (view from Eielson Visitors Center)

From Eielson:

Me being goofy with caribou antlers (HEAVY!) over our lunch break:

Here are the animals:

Dall sheep, which are usually specs on the mountain ridges but which we got to see up close, too!

Close-up of some rams

Caribou (= reindeer) which were plentiful, and crossed the road right in front of us!

We saw about 4 moose, but they were in the distance and I didn't get too great a picture. The horns on the bulls were enormous! Apparently moose are the most dangerous animals in the park!

We even saw 9 (yes, NINE!) brown (= grizzly) bears, which can be a rare sighting. We saw three groups of mama + 2 cubs, which was awesome.

(We really were within about 15 feet of them!)

And then... on our way back out of the park, we had, not one, but TWO different wolf-sightings.

This apparently is really rare, as there are only about 59 wolves in the entire 6-million-acre park! They virtually ran across the road in front of us, and we watched for a while as they retreated into the distance.

My camera didn't do it justice, but here you can see the tail of the retreating gray wolf.

It was absolutely spectacular, and reminiscent for me of our safari in South Africa. There is nothing like seeing majestic animals in the wild-- and this was my first time seeing bears, wolves, and moose!

It was a very short trip for me, as I had to return to Anchorage (about a 4 hour drive) tonight before orientation tomorrow, but well worth it. I would love to return to Denali to do some backcountry hiking and camping (a bit scary, as the animals are everywhere!). I now know my bear safety rules (1. make lots of noise-- i.e. sing or talk to the bear. 2. look big. 3. back away from the bear. 4. if attacked, curl up in a fetal position. DO NOT RUN from a bear :)). I am hoping to do some hiking or running in the trails around Anchorage or around Palmer, where I will be staying (recall a former post about a bear attacking a biker in Anchorage), but may have to get me some bear spray first.

This is a quote I saw on a Denali postcard, which captured everything near perfectly:

"It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder, It's the stillness that fills me with peace." - Robert Service.

Alaska is truly wondrous. Life is good.

My Lazy Mailman

I have a slight problem with my mail delivery system.

My back gate is locked, which means that the access that the mailman has to my mailbox (and the mailboxes of the other four-plex inhabitants) is limited to the front gate by my landlord's house. This gate is never locked; however, it is generally closed (with one of those pull-up metal stake-things) which, for some reason, presents an (often) insurmountable barrier to daily mail delivery. The gate is also often blocked partially by my landlord's pickup truck parked in the driveway which compounds the problem; however, the main issue is that the mailman (or, excuse me, mail-carrier) just doesn't want to take the time to open the gate. I have started calling him "The Lazy Mailman."

Not having reliable mail-delivery is not a huge problem, but it is rather inconvenient. I don't get too many high-importance items via snail mail, but when I am expecting something, such as a netflix video, magazine, or journal (which, if undelievered for several days tend to pile up and mess up my reading flow!), it is frustrating to come home to an empty mailbox. I would say that, on average, mail comes 4/6 days per week but I have gone as long as 3-4 days without any delivered items.

Every day I come home wondering, "was the mailman lazy today?"

I have thought about asking my landlord to try to not park the pickup truck up next to the gate, to eliminate this obstacle to the mailman doing his job. However, I don't think this is really the landlord's issue. He should be able to park wherever he wants, in his own driveway.

Do I call the post office and complain about the lazy mailman not delivering mail?

Or do I leave a note for the mailman to "stop being lazy and just open the gate!"

Suggestions are very welcome.

Tahoe in the Summer-- check!

I have lived in Sacramento for 3 years but, believe it or not, had never visited Lake Tahoe in the summertime. I drove through one time, on my way to Mammoth Lakes last July, but my trips to Tahoe in the past few years have been limited to ski trips and snowshoeing.

It is amazing how close it is-- a mere 1.5- 2 hours from Sac. I feel so lucky to be close to such a hot destination (either in winter or summer) which brings people from everywhere to vacation/honeymoon and which is accessible to us in a daytrip.

Kelvin and I scoped out some good hiking trails and ended up doing the Rubicon Trail, which is about 7 miles round-trip from D.L. Bliss State Park on the western shore, to Emerald Bay State Park and Vikingsholm Castle. We really walked the Tahoe "rim" the whole time, with breathtaking views of the whole lake, where people were enjoying swimming, boating, and tubing.

We ate our picnic lunch on the lakeshore

After hiking, we drove the near length of the western shore, passing the towns, lodges, cottages, ski resorts (Homewood looks very funny without snow on the slopes!) and alongside the many bikers utilizing the bike path.

We were initially going to camp up by the lake, but finished hiking kind of early and I, having a term OB patient, was kind of nervous to be so far away, so we actually came back the same day. A great day it was!

All-American Good Times

Summer in Sactown includes some fun summer activities:

Last week, it was a visit to the California State Fair at Cal Expo. Thanks again to Wai Kiu for stolen pictures.

Joe hijacked Mason for the night :)

We accidentally went on Tuesday, which I think was kids-get-in-free-night, so the parking situation and entrance lines were not so fun to battle, but it was still a good time!

Fair Food

(This cherry ice was a "medium")!

Joe helping us out

Brian and a massive turkey leg!

Petting zoo

Pot belly pig!

(not being a kid, I couldn't get in free to pet them and had to settle for the through-the-gate reach :)

Mason liked the cow!

The picture below is back from my first trip to the fair (intern year), where I got to pet a chinchilla, among other rodents!

I can't believe how short my hair was!

This week, we went to a Sacramento River Cats game (vs. Las Vegas) at Raley Field.

We went in budget-style with park-far-away-and-walk, $7 lawn seats, and the bring-a-kraft-singles-cheese-wrapper, get- one-ticket-free deal.

(with Rachel, Char and Brian)

Good times! Let the summer continue!

Still Edible?

While reading a medical magazine recently, I came across the mention of this website, Stilltasty.com, which details the expected fresh times of common foods.

As a food-rescuer, I was very intrigued and visited the site, which is really interesting.

It allows you to search for certain foods and their recommended "shelf life," as well as articles on topics including "Expiration dates: should you pay attention?"

For normal people, this site can be very helpful.

I, however, will likely continue to eat eggs long past their "expiration date" (which, fyi are still good probably for up to 5 weeks past the date of purchase per this site!), leftovers that no one will touch, and condiments as still as they "smell ok."

Check it out for yourself.