each day an adventure in alaska: between shifts???

the hospital must be fairly slow right now. got on call the first night, but was called back pretty early to do a 1:1, last night was put on call again and never got called back..tonight. no calls yet. hard to say no though. must be prepared to actually work though. i mean what the odds really? above is me up arctic valley. maddie was my photographer for the day. sept got a bit mixed up so hopefully i haven't already posted these. i'll have to scroll back and see what i have put in and what i haven't. rarely do i put myself as the lead picture....thought maddie did a nice job though. like most people, i rarely really like photo's of myself. how is it we can see our own flaws so very clearly!

don't mind being called back for doing the sitting thing. at least it's overtime plus i can grab my ipad, thanks jeff and wils! that thing is a life saver on these 1:1's. don't dare just take it to work though on a day to day basis for fear it will disappear from my bag as i actually run around working.

got most of a book read the one night, then finished it up yesterday. it was called, "life after life". not sure i really understand what the author was trying to get across with this novel. follows a life in various scenarios. it was kind of confusing for me. books like this are when you prefer to have an actual book over an e-book. kept thinking i should look back...had i gone crazy. this person died, that person was in a bad relationship....took me awhile to pick up that these were multiple stories. so confusing. enjoyed reading it but at the same time, it was frustrating in that you never got the full story. found myself wanting a begining, a middle and an end. oh well...on to the next book i guess.

my tv has been going out. originally i thought it was the cable and have had them out a few times. comes on then the picture goes out. since i was home i was hoping to watch the newest episode of the big bang. the picture wasn't on..once it does come on it usually sticks around for the duration. anyway, i finally tried what we always did with tv's that didn't work when we were kids...a good bang on this back end. dang it if it didn't work. hasn't been successful other times i've attempted it, but it did work that time.

they really just don't build stuff like they used to.

these next few are out at north bivouac. went with lena this day. hard to see below but there is another moose behindthe one you see clearly. mama wasn't too keen on us so we turned around.

i ended up doing the big loop out there again today. just me and the dogs. they seem pretty tired. i'd been lazy long enough though. it turned into a beautiful day. was going to hit powerline and check on the moose up there, but it's the weekend and that trailhead is always hell on the weekends.

these are from arctic valley again. still want to pop out to seward for another day or just cruise to homer for an overnight or valdez...will see what the weather is on my next stretch off and see how i feel about it..and if there are rooms available for me and the dogs.

was with bob, tanya and maddie.

i still need to get a fire in the pit, just cause.

the monday walks start up on monday. haven't made any flyers. figure on year 5 the people who want to go already will know about it. i'll pass the word via text message sunday i think. will need to do some baking sunday night as well...it's that time of year!

the local trees are getting their turn at fall colours. it was quite lovely out on my walk today. tons of roots for poor rio though.

ran into some nice folks. i guess someone was bitching at them for having their dogs off leash and also because the one lady carries a side arm.

love this picture below of the fall colours on the tundra...amazing!

there is a part of me tempted to get a firearm and get trained to use it, just in case. not opposed to it. a person with a gun may kill me out there, but a person with a gun may also be there to save me as well. for that one random bear it could come in handy...or a crazy person out on the trails. that does happen on occasion as well. would need to make sure i was well trained and kept up with the training so it's more than just popping out and buying a gun in my opinion...

it's alaska, lots of people on the trails are packing. overall, it's always just been more hassle than it's worth for the odds of actually having something bad happen. my bear incident makes me stop and ponder things, but that was also a abnormal occurrence and it's something i just have to remind myself of. shit happens and no amount of planning can really ever totally prepare you for the shit that does happen.

the silo's from the cold war era...empty now.

just started reading this months national geographic. i have that on my ipad as well. funny that nat geo doesn't communicate with itself as i keep getting notes that my subscription has expired in the mail, the mail one has, but now it's online. i like mags on the ipad. great to just read bits here and there and also have less mail around.

ended up making a roast yesterday. it was cheaper to buy a roast than to get hamburger and make spaghetti...that's unusual.

we had quite a beautiful day up there in arctic valley.

have never skied up there as i'm not a skier but that orange sign is a ski boundary sign. it's a pretty basic ski place, a few lifts but nothing fancy. there are two places for down hill skiing in the city limits.

blossom. i think the dogs are always happy when i stay home with them . was lazy though yesterday and never got them out for a walk. the day before i hit the bog and then the neighborhoods. no moose sightings for a few days.

another from pictures maddie took of me.

and one i took of maddie!!

still lots to load on shutterfly. still lots to do before winter starts too. i have at least started a real to do list again..there is more than the usual and there is a time crunch. i need to buy tickets for my thanksgiving run to texas to chill with family. did i say how much i hate flying? oh well. will try to think like my brother jeff who considers himself a good luck charm since he's had a few close encounters on planes and is still here to tell the tale.

a better sign picture.

you can see down south fork and hanging valley, where we all went the next day. so many trails i didn't get to this summer. oh well.

love living in this amazing place. there is so much to do and you never seem to hit it all in any given year. happy with all that i did manage to fit in this summer though.

not sure i'll have time for a short nap before work. boo hoo.

a bull moose was shot in kincaid during a race last week i think. the moose are in rut right now so it always seems like a bad time to push it and have kids out running there. that is how it happened. he was by the trail and eventually he got agitated and took off after the runners and some guy was ready and shot it. i'm not saying i would have preferred the kids be stomped on or that this moose was some special moose, but it just seems silly to plan these events during this time. a girl got attacked by a bear while doing a 24 hour bike race up along a creek with salmon running in it. you had to ask why at that planning as well. with that moose there they should have just redirected the kids away from where it was bedded down. take them off trail a bit so everyone stays safe.