Native Youth Olympics...

 have always wanted to check these games out.  looks like some pretty tough events.  the one i ended up watching last night was a two footed kick.  they leave the ground on two feet and kick the ball, then have to land.  the ball gets raised up and up with each round.  at firs by 4 inches and then in the end one inch at a time.  the girls in the end the ball was up off the ground over 70 inches and for the boys i think it was over 90 inches or close to 90.  can't remember.  pretty impressive and looks quite painful.  i may be able to do 24 inches...maybe.  liked this girls pony tail.

 in a moment of foolishness yesterday i opted to try to walk Powerline pass despite there being wind even at my place...up there it was more than a bit breezy with gusts about taking me off my feet.

 before we hit the main powerline pass area we came across a moose.  moose tend to get very unpredictable and spooked out in wind and this big bull moose first ran in a direction away from me and the dogs and then turned about and headed right at me.  he ended up passing within 10 feet of me....so then i was spooked.  we turned around.  i headed back down a trail opposite of where the moose had headed and then...there he was again.  i backtracked and took the other path.  no further incidences.

 hiking and wind don't mix well in my book.  just due to moose.  that is my feeling anyway.  i still ended up finally getting my 10,000 plus steps in yesterday so i'm back on track i hope after being sick last week.  poor numbers last week though.

 my plan was to hit the olympics for an hour or so and then head to the pool but i got sucked in and it went on much longer than the schedule said it would.  so i missed swimming yesterday.

 it was fun watching the kids though.  well, except that at one point the quiet area i had found to watch from got invaded by a pack of unruly children who i feared would fall off from the rails they were hanging over to their death.  it was a good 20 foot + fall potential.  that and the kid that sat next to me was kicking and hitting me and then they started doing circles running past me, around the upper bleachers and then past me again.  i finally said that was the last kid to pass and that kid seemed surprised as all get out to hear the word no uttered.  the kids were all high on sugar i suspect as they all had these huge snow cones and other high sugar foods to eat.

 above is an example of what moose have been munching on these last weeks before the spring really kicks into gear and they have fresh greens to eat.

 despite the wind the views were beautiful.

 at work this week i did PCU, then ER then Adult ICU.  steady on.  amazing how much you forget from the day before.  work just keeps you busy in the moment.  had a cantankerous 90 year old, but i always figure if you make it over 90 you have every right to be cantankerous or any other way you wish to be...you have earned it. often being a bit cantankerous is why you made it to 90 in the first place.

 heard a code blue at some point and i had to grab my notes...yep, i took that guy up a few hours ago from the ER.  figured he had come in because his heart had gone either too fast or too slow..i was correct and his issue no doubt got corrected after that.

 still coughing which just makes my chest tired so i mostly just slept between shifts this week.  my apologies to Blossom and Rio.  it is what it is some days.  rest won out.  the coughing isn't as bad as last week so slowly i am mending.  it just takes time once the bronchitis takes ahold of me.

 the moose that ran past me.  thankfully, he ran past and not over me.  that would have been a totally different outcome.

 texting and chatting with family today.  always fun.  i try to add in a niece or nephew from time to time and see if they text back. our family is not always the best at communication but texting is a pretty easy way to stay in touch and it does keep me a bit more in touch with the kids.  (obviously not kids anymore)

 have been playing trivia crack a bit with one nephew.  he beats me all the time.  i did win once and i discovered today that this win came at a crucial time and prevented him from winning his 25 game in a row...haha.  his chance will happen again considering the odds.  trivia crack is an easy distraction. doesn't take long or much thought. i just make quick guesses and don't really stress out about it.  it is funny to see which categories different people lean towards and are good at.  i'm pretty bad at sports and art.  i do pretty good at science, geography, history and entertainment though.  all those years watching tv growing up benefit me greatly in the world of trivia. haha.

 the crew is out in Dillingham i guess waiting for weather to clear so they can head to Round Island for the season. kinda bummed we didn't get to meet them that day at Fish and Game...always fun to put faces to names.

 above was the winner in the girls of the event i caught the tail end of.  they balance on one hand, either fist or palm and then have to reach up and touch the ball, seen below, and then come back down only on the hands.

 the different regions had little signs up. this one had little pictures of the various events which i thought was cool.

 it was my first time at the new sports complex.  pretty nice looking.  there is a restaurant on the top floor.  may have to check that out one of these days.

 a general view of the main arena.  there is also another sports area and a gymnastics area. i was surprised that they built this and didn't put in an ice rink.  probably a lot more money involved with ice rinks.

 another view of the ball.

 took lots of pictures, most of them somewhat blurry.  indoors, low light, distance, but still fun to try and capture something different than my usual...nature ..i know so boring.

 more events today but i'll head out for a walk in a bit today.  was too sleepy last night to post in the blog

 most of the events show balance and strength.  many are useful for training to hunt on the ice up north.  other events...kneel jump. they kneel and then have to jump up not using their hands and jump as far as they can without then falling over when they land on their feet.  the wrist carry, two team mates hold a stick and the person holds the stick with just one wrist and then hangs on as long as they can while the team mates rush forward.

 high kick, they must go up on one hand and kick at the ball above them with one foot.  eskimo stick pull.  they sit on the ground facing each other with a small stick between them.  they then pull against each other in a tug of war sort of thing.  helps with pulling seals on the ice.

 a toe kick.  didn't see it but it appears they jump from one place and then kind of hop on a stick on the ground and then see how far they can re jump from there without falling and landing on their feet.  the skill would be leaping from ice floe to ice floe. a life or death sort of thing for them.  you fall in you may not get out.

 there is also a seal hop..for the boys they are on their knuckles in a push up position. they then hop on their knuckles and toes without getting out of push up position...something about sneaking up on seals on the ice.

 there are a few other events but those are the easiest to describe i think.  anyway...totally different from any sporting event you would usually watch.

 was thinking about Round Island and life the other day..sometimes in life you do something and don't realize that there is a bigger thing out there.  for me, i visited this island a few times and loved going. you assume that is all there is to that.  i enjoyed a journey, but little did i know that the actual journey was only the beginning of my journey when it came to this place.  life is just larger than you sometimes...makes you wonder.  destiny?

 i remember feeling that years after my trip on the Chilkoot trail.  you think you are just going on a journey but with that trip in the end we made a dream come true for someone who went with us.  in the end you realize it was more about her journey than my own...and that made it so much sweeter.  to help someone else accomplish something they never thought possible.  she is gone now and many at the time said we shouldn't let her go due to her health issues, but i figured if she felt strong enough to do it, then who was i to stop her.  i am forever grateful that i was able to make her dream come true before she passed away.

 the old motherlode lodge in hatchers pass burned down yesterday.  it was this landmark for years though it had been boarded up for years.  i wasn't surprised as it always seemed like this old condemned building...sad though as it did have it's day in history.

 probably wasn't too patient with one co-worker who was giving me a lousy report the other night.  you really should know what is going on with your patients.  you need to notice when their rhythm's change on the monitor.  not good to have the oncoming nurse be the one to notice.  spent the first part of my shift figuring out stuff that i should have heard from her...some people just aren't very organized.  it's not an easy job in that way. you have a lot of responsibility though.

 mohawk kid...haha

 their thighs must have been burning up....but in truth these kids were running around after the event like they were in no pain at all....youth.  so lovely.

 they really do get high up off the ground for this event.  pretty impressive.

 guess the conservation center is getting a few wolverines now that the wood bison numbers will be down.  though we have wolverine here in state, i think they are hard to come by as far as a zoo situation.  they live pretty remote. anyway. i guess one was coming here from Norway.  in a New York layover the thing nearly chewed it's way out of the cage they had for it.  they are known to be escape artists.  so sounds like quite the adventure coming to Alaska for the wolverine and it's human companion.

 bears are out and a mama black bear with it looks like 4 cubs is getting into garbage on the other end of Anchorage.  trash is always a concern and once they get habituated to garbage they often end up needing to be killed.  it's looking like it's heading that way for this crew.  it is upsetting to people though they don't always change their behavior due to it.  i need to put my garbage in the back now as well as it's that time of year, you just have to be more careful.

 it's been just over a year since those poor girls were kidnapped in Nigeria and most have never been seen again.  very sad...it's sort of gotten lost in all the other events of life.  most of the world seems to have moved on and these girls lives and whereabouts are lost seemingly forever.

 the Denali Park road is already open to mile 30.  may be weather this weekend but i will have to make a trek north on my annual crazy 24 hour run.

 not sure where to walk today.  the weather does look a bit better than when the day started.  may see how the trails at Jodphur are today.  do a loop out there.

 below is first place in the girls division and second place above.

 this gives you an idea of how high up they must jump to kick this ball.

 some Alaska Air crew guy fell asleep in the cargo hold and got locked in there.  after the plane took off he was banging on the ceiling of the cargo hold and yelling for help. it is funny that the focus seems to be on security and nobody picking up on the fact that he wasn't accounted for...this is important but it also seems that someone should be asking why he was sleeping on the job.  guess he learned that lesson.  he'll probably sue...though he was in the same hold that they put animals in so in theory he was safe....as safe as the animals are anyway.

 guess i will go use my inhalers, eat and head off to walk the pups...somewhere.

thankful for:  1.  opportunities like i had last night to view the native culture.  it was pretty cool  2. not getting run over by that moose 3.  another year of monitoring out at Round Island....safe travels to the crew and a safe year for the walrus i hope as well.