my hero!!

 had MW snap this shot with my iphone.  hehe.  came out pretty sweet...it's a keeper.  through the year I try to get a few fun photo's for the annual Christmas card...this one is for sure in contention i'd say.

 more from Fairbanks and the trip.  always fun exploring.  Denali was peeking out despite the not the best weather or road conditions.

 fun having all these dog teams on the road with us.

 you can see the constant line of cars headed to Fairbanks for the restart.  for Alaska interior this is traffic.  we can probably expect much more of this coming this summer. with lower fuel costs i'm guessing many are planning their road trips north to Alaska!!

 stopped at this wood carving shop headed back from Portage Valley today, was chatting with the guy in there.  he's figuring the road will be packed this summer.  great to have this pre-tourist season of an early break up to get out a bit without the hoards of tourists and RV's.

 the ugly igloo "hotel" looks better in winter than summer.

 as i drove towards Portage the rain came harder and harder...good choice, right?  oh well.  i think nature may have taken a layer or two of dirt and grime off of the element.  still lots of dirt left on it.  also Blossom got to go swimming in the little lake thing before you get to Portage lake. our goal was to walk the blue ice trail and we did a bit...it was windy and wet and some fool hiker didn't think to bring rain gear.  time to switch over a few things in the day pack.

 Blossom swam and chased her tennis ball so a stellar day for the girl..Rio came along so she was happy to be out and about.  sniffing stuff...always fun.

 we cruised into the Wildlife Conservation Center.  so strange and empty with nearly all the wood bison gone!!  eerie!! i hope they keep a few around and re-build the stock for future releases. not sure of the plan that way yet.

 all of the animals they flew up last week are doing well in their new temporary enclosure.  they will keep them in for a bit to let them destress and settle.

 rain or shine, it's always a pretty drive anywhere you go in this state.

 a few less steps than planned the past few days but my week overall still averaged over 10,000 steps/day!!  yeah!! had one slacker day yesterday when i didn't walk the dogs and just rested.  it happens.  today i didn't make it back home in time for the pool...tomorrow i shall swim. can't wait!!

 may have to head out aurora hunting if it's not cloudy tomorrow, it's supposed to be nuts again.  solar flares..gotta love em!!

 watching caribou at the center today and i started singing Neil Diamonds, "sweet caribou"!!  okay so i changed a few of the words a bit.  hehe.

 these are in Fairbanks...the team above was staying at my hotel.  just a few teams stayed at my place.  loads of teams were at the other hotel that my friends were at.  i think they were in heaven!!

 that evening i felt the need to walk...having been trapped in a car for several hours.  i had to explore our viewing options.  above is the trail in front of my  hotel, i followed it down another street to the river...Chena River.

 i'm still chilled from my walk in the rain today.  may have to just do a tub soak in a bit.  rain is always a chill inducer. i think we foolishly think it's relatively warm outside so we really won't get too cold but that rain will zap your warmth if you aren't careful

 another team at the hotel.

 drove to my friends hotel to eat that night. they had this cool mushing ice sculpture...!

 look how open the water is here...this is why they re-thought their plans and took the first bit to the streets and hit the river past my hotel.

 thanks KH for taking my photo here...

 3 nights work down.  a few nights and then back for three more.  tomorrow morning i really need to just make a bunch of appointments.  just realized it's almost April...taxes are coming due.  yikes!!  when did that happen?

 worked ER the first night and then ICU the next two.  same patients two nights in a row...so odd.

 not much iditarod news to share anymore.  a dog that has already been returned to it's handlers apparently got loose here in Anchorage. hope it doesn't have the same fate as the other dog that got loose here.  scary.

 i still have pictures to post so i will share those, maybe start to mix them with pics i've taken the past few weeks just out and about.  not too much out there to take shots of with break up which makes it nice to have all these fun dog pics to share.

 the morning of...such a beautiful location to watch the dog teams go by.

 my friends attempt to get and stay warm out there.  temps were about 0, a bit of the wind on the river which of course, makes it colder.  fun to run into this pair and have a few laughs over the next few days.  they turned out to be my travel mates...i had a car and they were unable to find a rental!!  totally easy going folks...

 great news on the WARIS front.  outside funding is coming together it looks like.  very hopeful for this summer and perhaps next summer as well.  none from the State of Alaska, so will have to try and guilt them into returning at least some of the funding in the future..

 happy to get some positive though. not sure if anything i've done has helped this to happen or if it would have happened whether i started WARIS or not. i'd like to think our group had a positive impact on this, but we may never know.  you just do what you think is the right thing and then hope you make some sort of difference.

 i can be pretty fearless to a degree in many aspects of life. it's made my life very happy...being brave, moving forward despite nerves and anxiety.  it makes all the difference.  not sure i've done that in every aspect of my life.  i still say fear is one of the biggest things that keeps people from  being truly happy.  often it's just easy to stay with what you know, being miserable can be comfortable i guess.  best to break away and be who you are meant to be.  some may be alienated from you, but if people can't accept you and who you are then you are probably better off finding new people to be around.

 life takes different tracks for all of us...what a dull place this world would be if we all lived the same life.  what would we talk about?  we only have so many days on this beautiful earth.  they shouldn't be wasted waiting for this or that to happen so that you can finally be happy.  i'll be happy when...really means you have allowed your happiness to be taken away from you.

 some days it's a battle to accept myself for who i am.  self esteem is a hard fought internal war.  in the end, i try to just be the best me i can be.  i try to be kind and compassionate with those around me.  you just never know some one else's path or story.  you may never know but we all have different lessons we are meant to learn and we are given opportunities to grow in the way we need to grow.

 sometimes i think i was just meant to learn to be independent, to stand alone and not be lonely.  to learn to be brave and harness my fears and overcome them.  harness my doubts.  trust in myself.  i have for sure learned to be a more caring and kind person through my work as a nurse and as a vet tech in the days before that.

 i really wasn't sure i could do all the nursing stuff we do. the first time i wiped someones arse i remember it occurring to me that no matter how bad it may be to wipe up someone elses poop....it's always worse to be the poor person in a hospital bed, humiliated that someone has to wipe your arse. that thought changed my whole attitude.  tasks are just that...it's what we do...but it's how we do those tasks that makes all the difference to the people we care for.

 i feel sad for so many nurses who seem to be sucked into their phones for such long stretches of their shifts.  they are missing the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of those in their care.  like the WARIS stuff.  i may never know the impact of just a few minutes here or there, words spoken or written...you do the good stuff anyway  because every so often, once in a while...the impact is huge.

 we are all super hero's to someone.  we may never know it but i have discovered that often, when you least expect it, you have made the lives of others better. a joke, a kind word, a touch...the truth...all you need to do is engage...put down the phone, turn off the tv, smile at people on the street, chat with strangers...

 this super hero ice sculpture was my favorite i think.  pretty cool.  so much details.

 there were some pretty awesome wood carvings at that store today. there was an octopus that was crazy detailed and amazing. the guy i spoke to does more of the furniture, which was also beautiful.  he said his son does the majority of the other carvings. loads of little bears...the money item for the shop not doubt when the tourist come through. there was a walrus head out by the work area.  i was chatting with the guy and forgot to take the photo.  maybe i'll look through those pics when i get out of the tub and am ready for bed.

 snow had fallen on the ice sculptures. you can see the detail underneath.

 on to Chena this day.

 cool sun dogs at the Freddies.

 all info out there was written in both English and Japanese.  i'm more used to the English/Spanish...

 make shift refrigerator in the window.  low temps out there.

 a few from the "ice museum".  fun place, wouldn't pay the money to do a return trip, but it's one of those things to check off the list of stuff to do in Alaska.  haha.

 the ice bar...kinda funny looking at the building it appears to church like and then the bar is the focal point of the place it seems.

 i'll have to meander over to the Anchorage Museum.  they apparently have a captain cook exhibit of his exploration of Alaska.  should be interesting.

 better enjoy the museum while i can...everything seems to be on the budget chopping block.  well all the good stuff it seems.  we have money to have free pregnancy tests in bars and  fancy legislative offices but a program to train and maintain MD's in Alaska and the Walrus and Public Broadcasting...those apparently aren't worthy.

thankful for:  A.  a safe journey for the wood bison to Shageluk. best wishes on a successful re-introduction in the weeks to come B.  a potential return of funding for the near future for Round Island...it's not over, there is more to be done to help protect this place and the animals there but i'm over the moon with joy for positive news.  C.  rain and spring...bring it on!!