each day an adventure in alaska: more from Sitka...

i should be walking the dogs, but here i am. writing. if i write quick i can still get in a little stretch with them.

I'm between shifts. maybe i just have a lot on my mind....if any of it has any value, that is doubtful

survived the first night back. was given a triple in the ICU of IMCU patients. place is packed so we shall see what tonight brings. i figure either another triple in ICU or holds in the ER. at least i had nice patients, tasky as we say, but nice.

art inside the hot springs.

created a list yesterday and completed all on that list...always feels good to get stuff done. my MD had given me a to do list. i have scheduled all but one appointment. got more labs done, deposited money in the bank and even made it to Cuddy to sign a petition to recall our governor. you gotta start somewhere and if you do nothing then you only have yourself to blame.

in our nation people don't bother. lives are lost in other nations for the right to have a voice, lives have been lost in this nation as well for that right, and yet...many just can't be bothered. if all of those potential voters actually voted we would have a very different situation at this time. many of those who don't bother to involve themselves are no doubt rational people. i always feel that in many cases only the most extreme of our population are rallied to vote. at this time the extreme right has won the right to screw up our nation because those in the middle sat home. there are those in the extreme left as well...the truth of how we should function is in the middle of the extremes but that is not to be.

the last black GOP representative announced his retirement. they have had many retirements it seems of late. they want out of this. if they do speak ill of the golden cow they will be accused of having become a member of the deep state...because that isn't ridiculous. a real patriot would stay and attempt to do something about this situation but then, as i said, there is no speaking out against the golden cow in the GOP without being accused of going to the dark side. you are with the golden cow or you are the enemy. speaking out is just not allowed at this point in the GOP...that really should say it all.

many on the right do not want to be accused of being racist and many are not racist..but at some point if you defend the indefensible for too long you do send yourself down a path of no return. the GOP is losing voters of color, while making it more comfortable for white nationalists.

i keep thinking they must be getting tired of making all these excuses for their golden cow. he really is a reprehensible human. i learned while dating that if you find yourself making excuse after excuse for bad behavior, for behavior that you are worthy of not tolerating...well it may be time to walk away. we deserve better, our nation deserves better. we are better...as they say, when you know better, you do better. they aren't tired of making excuses for this old orange man though...

Sitka as seen from above...flying out. we did not get much sun or any views of the local volcano, Mt Edgecomb.

a few German tourists and a guide passed away last week in the Valdez lake in front of the Valdez glacier. I've done a tour there. those are large ice bergs in floating around. maybe they got too close to one and it calved off or flipped over. once you hit that cold water you do not have long to find a way out of it. that is most likely what happened, they were all found floating in the water, dead.

our crew at the hot springs.

loads of stairs to step up on our hike up Gavan.

i believe i heard the ferry strike is over. just a sign of how bad things can be in Southeast without the ferries. met a woman at the Sitka airport who was flying because they had been trapped there by the ferry. her spouse works for the university system and he would stay there with the car to finish his work...of course, despite being tenured at the university he is looking at losing his job, which means this young family is having to consider leaving the state...this is what is happening

ferries in Southeast and across the state do not just take cars and humans, they are a vital mode of transport of goods and services.

the iitoo continues to select the worst people for jobs in his administration. i know many applaud putting a person who raises insulin prices in charge of the drug companies and someone who hates that the federal government is in charge of public lands in charge of managing those lands...or putting oil hawks in charge of deciding to bypass regulations to drill...

what seems to always be lost is the fact that all those regulations would never have been put in place if corporations had not acted only out of greed all these years...they brought regulations on themselves and if those regulations go away these greedy corporations will just return to their old ways of destroying for profit.

you enjoy that clear air or clean water...thank those regulations. you want food that has less harmful pesticides in it, well thank those regulations.

nk is firing off more missiles, the iitoo has done nothing but make that situation worse. more children are being separated at the border from their parents, that situation is appalling.

the fireweed is pretty much done here but still thriving in Southeast.

another shot of Sitka as we left.

love the old trees. the root systems are not deep at all. everything is covered in moss and lichen.

view from the upper springs

heart in the woods

most of the totems we saw were scattered around a park down town. we did see a guy walking with a totem pole down the main street. trump was at the base of it. we didn't get a close enough look to see if the pole was pro or con.

leaving Juneau i believe.

looks like Juneau had great weather.

three football players at a pre-season camp were pulled from a pool in Fairbanks. not sure what happened there. i believe they all survived, but there are some stories of some of the kids being poor swimmers but still being made to tread water in the deep end.

the enclosure at the bear sanctuary.

it's been dry up here and it really has been dry down in Southeast as well, but still much wetter than here. nice to see lush greens

start of trail to Gavan.

more hot springs art

on the boat, headed to the hot springs

tide pooling after our day of bears and birds

we didn't see many stars but it was also not a very low tide. we did find a few tide pools to play in. i taught them to crack open muscles to feed the little creatures in the pool. i remember doing this as a kid many a day. it will live on...

there was even a tiny eel in the one pool. fun watching it duke it out with the little crabs.

that is Juneau below and you can see Mendenhall Glacier in the clouds

in the upper spring...luke warm not hot

more fun totems.

Juneau...you can see cruise ships in port on the right

all these sky shots are from Juneau...it was clearer there.

there are totem poles all over southeast AK.

haven't ever rented a car in Juneau to explore. this is a much larger community. i think closer to 30,000. of course, if they ever actually move the capital north as they always threaten to, this town would shrink rapidly i suspect.