back to nome...

 i'm downstairs baking cookies anyway so thought i'd do a few from nome.  teller road mostly.  still just a bit to load on those and then still all the july shots.  tomorrow is fishing out of whittier.  right now weather looks amazing.  actually too hot here in anchorage so perhaps it will be cool on the water.

 this is what of teller road looked like that day.  hundreds of miles of uninhabited land.  the road the only sign of human life.  i'm sure if you flew over you would see more signs of humans, but still it's always amazing how much is still left to the wild up here.

 4 nights of work in the past.  it's been awhile since i worked 4 nights in a row.  it's exhausting.  i'm trying to get ready for my early wake up call, trying not to whine about it.  gotta get moving faster tonight or i won't get to bed early enough for my plan to work....the plan was to get up early, walk the dogs and then get ready and be in bed much earlier than normal.  my brain hasn't fully cooperated with the plan though.  oh well.

 too hot a day for baking, but i will say those homemade cookies sure taste the best.

 first night of work was up in the peds icu.  it was pretty busy and sad up there.  never get used to babies dying.  you aren't supposed to.  i was relieved that they didn't make me run the dialysis machine.  tried to help our adult icu nurse as best as i could, but i'm pretty useless in the set up.  don't run the machine enough.  i have opinions and on this one i think there needs to be a size or age limit where we just admit that we don't have the advanced training.  i think it gets to a point of minimal hope for life and they are just willing to try the dialysis.

 sadly it's very stressful for staff and especially for those adult icu nurses who work adults for a reason.  exposing them to the stress of taking care of a dying baby/child with less training than they are comfortable with seems like a bad idea.  we all worked together for the sake of the family though.  in the end that is what turns out to be most important.

 got lucky with a pretty chill night in the cardiac unit.

 next two nights i was in the emergency department.  not bad nights for me really.  the emergency room is pretty entertaining.  crazy chick screaming for several hours.  sounded like one of those huge late night cat fights at first.  thought i was back in the animal emergency.

most of the two nights i was working with this girl, april.  we got along great, and worked well together.  by night two in the wee hours we were cracking up.

 turned out as well that we both left the mormon church years ago. me officially, her less officially.  don't run in to too many people like me who left, so fun to be able to have that conversation for a few minutes.

 it was date night at the emergency room.  on night one, one partner in both of these pairs was in with an "ailment" in need of narcotics.  the next night the other member of the relationship was in for their turn.  2 seperate pairs in our area.  all successful in acquiring drugs.  the system is really pretty ridiculous.  no idea what the fix would be in the situation.  the only fix we had was to laugh once we'd figured it out. the one couple was so odd and mismatched i mentioned to april that it was so strange that two nights in a row we'd get a couple so oddly mismatched...then they were discharged and april noticed it was the same pair we'd had the last night, just switched.

 we had both guessed the one ladies age was at least mid 50's.  turns out it was more late 30's!!  wow...i'm still shocked.  i mean that is crazy.  the damage people do to their bodies.  she easily looked 15 years older than me.  it's also amazing how early this transformation can begin to show up in people who totally abuse their bodies.  ( and can't afford to pay for surgeries and such to attempt to repair the damage. )

 you can't always tell though who the addicts are when they walk in. so many hold up for many years looking so normal.  they are so good at manipulation that you can easily believe them.

 it's not my battle, there in the emergency room .  you can't fix their need for a fix.

 cookies done.  debating making another type, but one can't go wrong with chocolate chip.  may bake something for the morning.  you know for when i actually wake up.

 what to wear...xtra tuffs for sure.  must take camera gear...lunch.  she said the boat was family friendly, not sure what that means except that it probably has a place to sit and relax inside.

 cotton flowers.  they are so pretty.

 dog park today.  some strange dude had 2 jack russels.  the one was super tiny...had to have been less than 15 pounds.  dang thing kept rushing blossom, barking in her face and then taking off. blossom kept taking the bait and chasing this tiny dog.  i'm sure if the little dog got injured in the chasing game accidently it would be my fault. the owner of the big dog is always at fault even if the little dog initiates it.  the owner just stood there.  i couldn't read him, like was he pissed my dog was chasing his, amused that the idiot owner of said dog was running around chasing the dogs trying to stop the game...who knows.

 blossom isn't mean and i knew she wouldn't try to hurt the dog, but she is a dog and she could easily cause harm in her exuberance.  i'm sure he wouldn't have looked so smug if the dog broke it's leg getting rolled over by a 75 # dog.

 rio waded into the water up to her chest every chance she got.  it's so hot!!

 more endless landscape.

 a rather large and boisterous drunk from a fight tried to pick up on me....i have such amazing dating options at this stage of the game.  it's pretty pathetic really.  i was just trying to keep it light so he wouldn't escalate. i do always envy the confidence of males.

 the water in teller was so flat and calm.  it changes shortly, but for that time, it was so amazing.

 the town itself was a bit less picturesque upon close inspection.  dang..a picture just deleted itself.

 these are just some pictures in teller.

 the royal baby was born today.  a boy....everyone is happy.  good for them.  just a little sad that in this day and age we still find ourselves in a society that values the male of the species over the female.

 a patient came in that had to have a female exam.  she'd been a victim of female mutilation.  she must have started having babies at an extremely young age.  it's so easy to forget that there are people amongst us who have had incredibly unfair and difficult lives.  the spirit is quite strong and people can overcome more than one would think.

 still not sure what makes one person overcome and another become overcome by it all.  suicide, drug addiction, alcholism, obesity...there are so many damaging ways to cope with stuff.

 once something arrives in a place like teller it never leaves.

 old cars lay about, waiting to be used for spare bits.

 houses built, neatly in a row, slowly rot away from the brutal weather and lack of upkeep

 this house succumbed and still it sits.

 heading back, in black and white

 coming back into nome.

 the fish reports at work have been mixed, some people have been skunked.  others have done well.  one thing is for sure, the kenai is packed with people.  that kind of fishing just sounds miserable to me.  i feel bad for the locals as the anchorage folks rush down there.  up here they call this combat fishing.  i have no desire to fish that way.

 rio is still walking at a snails pace, but she seems happier.

 more road scenes.

 the outskirts of nome.  this one little area did seem to have a slightly better scale of housing.

 headed back to the beach eventually.

 a girl can never have too many sea urchins.

 the red sands of nome.

 this bone is now on my front deck.

 there was a more complete skeleton up the beach.  not sure what it is though.

 better get my gear together and crawl into bed.

morning is going to come pretty early. hope dogs are okay for the day.  i spoke to my neighbors about maybe stopping by once at least.  i'll leave a note before i leave and hopefully, they can check on the dogs a few times.  i do feel guilty but i hopefully won't be gone much more than a night shift.