Bigger and Bigger

My sister tells me that I do things big.  I don't know if I agree with that.  Planning a missionary trip to an African nation to deliver mosquito netting to prevent malaria (a trip recently undertaken by a small high school) is doing something big.

I think what we have been experiencing is a rolling tide of change, and we are adapting in a hopefully positive manner, to those changes.

When I came back from New York, the priority was to find a new place to live as our rental house was up for sale.  So we bought a house.

Oh, and before we moved in, I started a new job -

I know it looks like I'm part of an Olympic Synchronized Swim Team, but actually, I am now a Community Health Nurse.  The agency I am working for provides services for people who experience disabilities. I think its a pretty good fit for me, because so much of my work history has been in this particular field. And I must admit, I am really happy to be back in the not-for-profit working world.

We have been in the house for about a month and for the most part we are settled in.  There are closets that need to be re-arranged; some furniture that still needs to be purchased; a doggie door to be installed; but it is comfortable and most importantly, it's ours.

During the interview for my new job, the Director of Nursing asked "so how do you feel about flying in small planes and then traveling by snowmobile or 4-wheeler to a remote village?"  I can honestly say I have never been asked that in an interview before.  But, this is an agency that provides services statewide.  And this is a BIG state.  Many of the people I visit are within driving distance, but there are some that live farther away and I need to visit them on a quarterly basis.  To do that, I have to get on the plane.  So I did.

Last Sunday, I got on a plane and flew about 800 miles south to Ketchikan.

note the cruise ships.  they tell me about 20 per week arrive in town

my lunch time view

 The weather for SE Alaska was phenomenal.  It was about 70 degrees and bright and sunny.  Since it was Sunday, and I wasn't at work yet, I took a nice long walk.  Ketchikan reminds me of Juneau in the way that the housing seems to be battling for space in the crowded downtown.  The older buildings are stacked upon each other, reminiscent of the nursery rhyme about the little crooked house.  There is a creek or stream that runs through the main part of town and the houses and shops are stacked all around it.  It makes for a nice little trail.

The Trail I walked

 When I got off the plane,I got in my rental car and drove down the ramp to get on a ferry.  The only way to get from the airport to the mainland is by ferry.

Totems outside the hotel

part of the trail

Creekside Shops

with all the beauty, there are signs of poverty and neglect

Salmon do go up this stream

Monday night, I flew into Sitka.  It was grey and raining, quite a difference from the previous day.  Sitka has a very important place in Alaskan history and a very strong Russian heritage.  One of the first people I saw when I left the airport was a Russian Orthodox Priest.

Downtown Sitka

Baranov's Castle site.  Originally a Tlinget village, then a Russian "palace"or gov't buidling, and later the first site of the US Gov't in Alaska.

Russian Church in Sitka

Sitka did not seem to have the same frenetic and crazed building that Ketchikan did.  Maybe its because there isn't the same struggle for flat land between the coast and the mountains.  Sitka has a lovely harbor and a great downtown, perfect for walking.  Most of the town area is flat and although there are mountains, they don't rise right out of the ocean like they do on so many of the other islands.  In fact, I thought it looked like a great place to live until I remembered that milk cost about $6.00 per gallon and gas was at a low of $4.25 per gallon.  And everything needs to be shipped in. The only thing local is the seafood.

Tuesday night I flew into Juneau.  It was another night of pouring rain, but hey, this is SE Alaska. Part of the Tongass National Forest, or America's Rainforest.  So, why would I expect anything but rain?

Cruise Ships arriving in Juneau. Crappy hotel = great views

About 4 ships would arrive everyday and leave the next

After the rain, I was lucky and the sun came out for the rest of my visit.  It was glorious!

I took a side trip about 17 miles out of town to the Shrine of St. Theresa

They have a spot overlooking the water. There is a land-bridge going from the lodge out to the church.This is a view from the land-bridge back to the lodge.

Walking to the church I met a woman telling me there were whales out there "bubble-fishing"

The Shrine

Can you see all the Inuksuit?

An outdoor altar that looks out upon the water and the Inuksuk

I came upon a sign that said, "Don't touch the fish".  Then I realized this was a stream full of swimming salmon.  I took the video and looked further down the stream.  It quickly disappeared into the black undergrowth of this old growth forest.  Suddenly, all I could think about were bears.  I had no desire to meet up with any bears while they tried to catch their supper, so I departed.

I spent a couple of beautiful days in Juneau and Friday I took a small plane to Kake.  And I do mean small.

note the single prop.  I climbed up onto the wing and then into the cabin.  I wound up sitting next to the pilot.  The only other passengers were a man and his 2 year old son.  They sat in the next seat behind me.  The rest of the plane was filled with freight.  And a good reason to go back on a diet - they ask how much you weigh so they can figure out how much to load.

It was a great day for a flight

The view from the home I visited.  That is Baranof Island in the distance.  It's the 10th largest US Island and only slightly smaller than the state of Delaware.

Grave Island is to the right.  It's where people are buried in weighted coffins so they don't float away.  But it's full, so they are now starting to bury people on the littler island to the left

Houses are battered by the elements.  The cost of building is astronomical.  Upkeep is frequently minimal.

The pier appears to be in better shape than much of the town

The Kake airport.  I did not bring a drink on the plane with me, but did not realize that with smaller airlines, there were no such concerns.  No security x-rays or pat-downs.  Heck, they didn't even ask for ID.

The plane back to Juneau was slightly larger.  There were also more passengers.  4 of us.

More humpback whales bubble-fishing.  The pilot actually circled the pod of whales.  Guess when you are in a smaller plane you don't have to worry so much about sticking to a strict flight pattern.  We got to see both orcas and humpbacks from the air.

Return to Juneau

There wasn't much to do in Kake. My plane arrived at 9:15 and there wouldn't be a flight to Juneau until 5:00 PM.  There isn't a shopping center, or mall.  No real downtown to look for touristy stuff.  Just people trying to eek out a living where there is no economy, no jobs.  And milk here costs about $8.00 a gallon.  Just about everyone drinks the powdered stuff.  Almost everything here comes from Sitka.  Need to go to the doctor?  fly to Sitka, grocery shop?  fly to Sitka.  Dentist - well.  Actually, I met a pediatric dentist who is from Seattle.  She opened a clinic in Ketchikan, and does home visits 2x a year to get to the kiddos in some of these remote areas.  But if you are an adult - you fly to Sitka.  As we waited to board the plane, we watched a family unload their Costco purchases into their minivan.  They make the trip monthly.  Here there is no running to the store because you need an ingredient that you forgot to purchase.

I think I flew close to 2,000 miles in the past week, never leaving the state.  In about 2 months, I get to repeat it all again.  I think I will take some extra undies in my luggage.  At that time of year I'm likely to get weathered in somewhere.

Now, it's time to get to bed so I can get to work tomorrow and chart on everything that happened last week.  When I do get up, I hope the rain has stopped.  I do not live in the rainforest, but you wouldn't know that from the weather we have had this summer.  But at least it is still raining and not snowing.  Our temps are down into the 50's now and the leaves are turning yellow and falling off the trees.  Now that it is September, it won't be long until we have snow, or Termination Dust, back on the mountains.

Until next time!