views from the Kennicott Mine tour

 got some great views from the top of the main building and from inside.  though it did feel a bit like we were taking a risk to our lives.  haha.  that extremely loose fitting hard hat was little comfort.  if a quake hit...we were all goners.  buried in the rubble.  we survived.

 this is in another building.  it was a recreation center.  movies and basketball.

 this was one of the early buildings. it was build with local logs, not really the best for building so once they could bring in different wood for building they did...though the thing is still standing so I'd guess the wood and craftsmanship was decent enough.

 logs look cool.

 waking up early gives me headaches...and sometimes migraines.  so i have a little headache now.  i will have to turn in soon.  need to do some studying before i crash.  have a test to pass tomorrow and must run a trauma.

 this is at the top of the mine, then we went inside and the tour took us down all the levels to the ground....some 14 levels.  added on at intervals so a really odd building really.

 views from the top...great weather.

 didn't get all the places i wanted to get to this summer, but still some fun treks and adventures.

 so i always think these classes are pretty silly.  don't really "test" you in any real way.  in reality you have a team for a trauma, in reality you have a Dr or a few Dr's.  in reality you don't make many of these decisions, in reality a lot is happening at once and the stuff doesn't follow some direct line.  i try to see the point of doing these scenario's in the test arena alone.

 also frustrating is the number of mnemonics that are created in medicine. many of which really make little sense at all.  they think it makes it easier but if the mnemonics make little sense they are less than helpful.  d for disability...that covers a neuro assessment.  really?  g is get resuscitation adjuncts...which leads you to LMNOP---labs, monitor, ngt or ogt, oxygenation, pain...so i will spend some time trying to memorize their little mnemonics tonight so i can test out on them correctly.  MIST, FAST...more mnemonics.  the best thing i learned was how to spell mnemonics.  haha.

 for the practice runs i got help from my friends in the ER that were in the class.  they were kind and supportive...thanks guys!!

 there are just some things that we don't do in the ICU that are done in a trauma.  so i made them laugh by trying to recall those new assessment skills.

 i recall one day in the ER i think i was just floating around helping and someone handed me this box and said get a brac in room 14.  the box gave zero clues as to what this was or what i was to do with it or what would be tested with it.  often you can guess or figure out something but in this case i had zero idea what this was or what i should attempt to utilize it for.  i just had to admit total ignorance.  this chick looked at me as if i was the most idiotic person that had even entered her ER.  sometimes you just have to admit to ignorance though and be fine with it.  it was a little box that you have the patient breath in to get their alcohol level.

 we never do this in the ICU or any other unit other than the ER that i know of.  how would i know?

 it is okay to admit that you don't know stuff...preferred really in medicine. I'd much rather have someone admit ignorance than plow blindly ahead.  those people are out there and they scare the hell out of me.  cocky is not always a good thing.

 there is one guy I've worked with who makes it very clear to all that he is very conservative and only gets his news from Fox news.  that is pretty sad really.  i mean Hannity has openly admitted that he is not a journalist but is a commentator.  like many shows on these 24 hour "news" networks...they are opinions, not facts.  you really have to be careful with who you watch on these shows.  some are more bound by journalistic ethics than others.

 anyway, this afternoon, he says he just heard from his son in Northern Florida and the big hurricane was no big deal and the media blew it all out of proportion as usual.

 i just spoke up and said the storm downgraded mostly because it made landfall repeatedly on the islands in the Caribbean and Cuba and every time it makes landfall it weakens the storm.  if he really looks though he will see that many communities in Florida do have a great deal of water to deal with.  it may not be the damage that it could have been or was predicted to possibly be but from the various reports I've seen there are plenty of areas that have some pretty significant damage.

 at this point a woman who is in from Valdez taking the course became weepy as she has a lot of family on the islands out there in the Caribbean and they are in pretty dire shape.

 he didn't say anything else.  get your facts right.  get them from more than one source.

 after the class i booked home and grabbed the pups.  the day had started out wet but when i came out from class it was blue skies and beautiful.

 we just did a loop in North Bivouac.  debated going to Potters to look for swans but i was tired and hungry.  i flopped on the couch for a bit.

 my tour group.

 now to study and sleep.

 parts of the building have taken a lot of damage over the years.

 looks like a water tank and the glacier in the background

 Maddow had a nice little segment tonight showing the damage to the US Virgin Islands and had an interview with the Governor of the Virgin Islands.  2 of the islands were heavily damaged and the other main island was pretty clear of damage so that will help.  the Governor thanked trump for calls and support.  sounds like things are in motion for assistance.  happy some in this administration are getting some stuff right.

 used the building to get pics of the community below.

 i think i have a tiny bit of glass in my finger from my deck table.  a bit swollen and i hit a tender spot every so often.  hopefully it just works it way out.

 Ivy is resting.  they were pretty good today.  tough to leave them home alone all day 2 days in a row.  not their usual routine.  dogs like a routine.

 on the right side here you see the wood stacked up to hold the building up...brings one a great deal of comfort.  haha.

 no glass in the window frame..but the views are fabulous.

 understood locals snagged the glass out years ago.  when the mine was abandoned the locals were more than happy to recycle what they found there.

 my incredibly tiny head was no match for my hard hat.

 looking up through the mine

 many of the stairs are steep and thin.  we all survived.  felt bad for this one guy who was super tall and just thick.  those stairs must have felt like something out of a barbie house.

 one of the lower levels.  the rocks were broken down as you moved down the building.  here was more sorting to get the copper out.

 heat

 these little knobs had something to do with the level of tilt on the table i think.

 or maybe that was this.  can't remember.  details. I'm always terrible at details.

 the big table tops

 there they are all lined up.

 probably a decently warm room to work in.

 not sure that all the workers had much heat.

 lots of mechanical gear in the rooms.

 almost done and almost time to study and sleep.  we shall see how i do....hopefully i pass the class...then i can look forward to more mandatory stuff over the next month. PALS and EPNC i think it is called.  same as this week except for pediatrics.

 back on the outside and the bottom of the main building.

grateful for:  A.  the ER crew's kindness and support  B. that i was able to get out for a walk at least  C.  that one day is over....