Humpback Whales in Ketchikan!

Today started off sad because we had a reserved a skiff for some ocean fishing and woke up to a pretty big storm and had to cancel those plans. So we went and fished until we could no longer feel our fingers and then wandered around downtown one last time before tourist season sends it into utter chaos.

On the way home I got on FB real quick and saw the local marina posted that the whales were in the marina bubble feeding! I figured they would be long gone before we got there, but we went anyway. I am so grateful we did! We got to to watch them swim and feed for about 10 minutes before they headed back out to the deeper waters. I only got one quick video because I was too into the moment to worry much about a camera, but wanted to share it with y'all!

For some more amazing pictures and videos from today, check out:  Knudson Cove Marina Facebook Page

Happy Saturday Y'all!

Hiking to and Fishing at Upper & Lower Silvis Lake

Today we decided to explore the southern part of this Island we live on (and can't pronounce) here in Alaska. We consulted our USFS Trail Book and after a quick stop to pack a picnic lunch, we headed to where the road ends and parked our truck to begin hiking to Lower Silvis Lake. We donned all our rain gear, grabbed our packs and headed up... at a pretty good incline!

The biggest problem with the incline is the amount of heat it causes our body to produce.. We had piled on layers because it was early morning cold and raining, but we quickly had to stop and adjust and start packing away clothing. Our packs were also heavier than usual as we had brought our fishing gear.

We saw some amazing waterfalls and made our way to Lower Silvis Lake. We tried our hardest, and Archer tried his best to swim and scare off the fish, but the fish were not eating what we were throwing down here.

After hiking two miles (to get to this point) on a wide road/foot path used by the Ketchikan Public Works to get to the power plants, we got to do some "real hiking", getting across running water, climbing rocks, using branches for balance, and getting more brisk air as we rose in elevation. The sights at Upper Silvis Lake were worth it, and a perfect place for lunch (and more unsuccessful fishing)

On the way back down from the Lakes, we decided we needed to stop by some of the waterfalls and climb up so we could help give some perspectives on the massive size of these beauties. These pictures don't begin to do them justice, they came all the way from the top of the mountain and there were probably 10 huge ones like this and many more that still made us stop in wonder.

Ward Lake & Perseverance Lake near Ketchikan, Alaska

So despite some ups and downs on our first week here, we were ready to get out and explore. We loaded up our pups in our borrowed car (seriously, who lets strangers borrow a car, thank you so much, guys!!!) and headed out to Ward Lake. According to the wonderful trail book we got this week from the US National Forest office, there is a nice paved trail around the lake. So off we went!!

That is the view we were greeted with, and it was glorious. So we wandered down the trail with the dogs as happy as can be. The furbabies have been cooped up all week since our truck is in the shop and we have relied on the kindness of strangers for carpooling which led to long days and us being physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got home.

Not too far around the lake we saw the sign for Perseverance Lake Trail head and decided to head up the mountain a bit. About 1/2 mile in, we saw a wooden sign that said the lake was only 2 miles up, so we decided...Why not?!

The amount of green and freshness of the air up here makes me speechless at times. About a mile and  half up we heard what sounded like rushing water, though Brad tried to convince me it was rain or wind, I knew it had to be a massive waterfall. Thankfully, I was right on this one! It was well off the path but we were able to hike out in to the bush a bit and get a few pictures and video.

When we finally rounded the last corner and came to the lake, we both just stopped to stare in disbelief. I have never been to such an isolated, remote lake where there are no human noises or disturbances.

Without fishing gear or a hatchet and with the crazy dogs, we didnt try to get too far past here where the trail ended. We just set down our rain jackets and enjoyed our water and trail mix, taking in the view of Alaska! 

Don't feed the wild animals!!

And lastly, I will consider every picture of us together an "engagement" picture for the foreseeable future, so here is our second ever engagement picture on the shore of Perseverance Lake outside Ketchikan, Alaska!!! 

We sure are loving the style of life up here, so thankful for this opportunity!

Gearing up for Alaska

I have officially moved out of this amazing Guest Cottage and am homeless/jobless AKA Funemployed for a few weeks again.

I have signed a contract to begin work in SE Alaska the second week of April, and now all of our focus is on making this a safe and enjoyable adventure! 

The good news is I have more time to take care of the mountains of paperwork and tasks required to begin a job up there. The bad news is, Brad does not have a lot more time as he will be working up until the last minute before we journey off. We are still finding time for fun tasks like shopping for new rain gear, outdoor survival gear and even getting in some good food before we head out of the South. 

This also means I have done a lot of my shopping online to be most efficient. Before I made it back up this direction, my pink fuzzy Alaska hat arrived in NB, and archer seems to be pretty fond of my choice :) 

When I got to Brad's parents home the end of last week, they all gave me my new fishing rod which was ordered by Brad piece by piece and built by his dear Father. His dad was not thrilled with the pink bling I repeatedly insisted upon, but somehow he was able to grit his teeth and make this beauty a reality! 

Me and Brad spent about 4 hours at Cabella's last weekend, and though I begged and pleaded for him to get this sexy hat, Brad insisted it was too silly. I am sure he will regret that decision one day soon... 

We both are now proud owners of rain suits. Of course we had to test them out to ensure they were in fact water-proof. Sadly I didnt get any pictures of the next couple of hours but it involved us in our new gear washing my car, then both of the dogs and then having an all out water war in the backyard like 5 year olds without any parental supervision. It was all fun and games until I switched to my flip flops and accidentally stood in a fire ant hill... Which quickly turned into me screeching and tearing off my pants and hollering at brad to continue to spray me to get the ants off. Having ants in your pants is not as fun as the childhood game made it sound!! 

So we are slowly checking off items from the to-do list and making sure we enjoy the process as much as the destination. 

Will try to keep y'all in the loop more, the past few months were just... rough for me. Nothing terrible, just glad I am getting to close that chapter of the book and grateful for the lessons I was able to learn. 

  

Sherwood Forest Faire

A few weeks ago, Brad and I got the joy of joining his sister out at the local Renaissance Faire.

I was concerned about anything in Texas being called a "Forest" Faire, as we are not known for huge forests or trees in these parts. But alas, it lived up to its name tucked away in a wonderful little Forest outside of Austin, Texas.

Amy (Brad's Sister) is a member of one of the clans, which means she gets to camp at the Faire nearly every weekend and is greatly involved in all of the festivities that make up this annual event, which runs for a little over 2 months. I loved not only getting to spend time with Amy this weekend, but also getting to know her world better, because this is her passion and where she gets to lets loose and have fun with a clan that protects her and loves her.

I arrived, knowing Amy had brought extra garb for me to wear and get into costume for the day for a greater experience of the Faire. What surprised me most though that after I was all made up, even Brad got into the spirit enough to borrow some garb.

Hairpiece created by Amy

Another bonus of the day is my good friend Wil came to visit. I have not seen Wil in years and years even though he was one of my dearest and amazing friends. So glad he was able to make the trek and spend the day with us :)

Throughout the day I got to ride to the dragons with Amy (Brad drew the line there, he wouldn't budge on riding), shop in the artisans stores, eat delicious food, buy new essential oils, watch live jousting, comedy shows and interact with the variety of folks that make up the Forest Faire.

Live jousting

 At one point, this gentleman began to give lessons to Brad on how to bow to me and walk along beside me with the sword on the correct side to protect me and such, never a dull moment at Faire :) Thanks for capturing these moments, Amy!

Some guy teaching Brad how to ask for my hand.. 

This is apparently the expression I make when Brad bows to me!

This is my favorite picture of the day, and not only because it is the only picture within the last decade of Amy & Brad together, but their expressions and outfits and bright colors, I just love it. We were sitting in the fairy garden listening to a band play beautiful music during this.

Amy & Brad

2 weeks to go on this assignment...

The end of an assignment always brings the temptation to lose focus on the job you are at and look too far ahead to the next job. I knew I would be fighting this as soon as I woke up and my head was already away from Uvalde, Texas this morning. So I said a prayer, did my power hour (devotions, business, research, reading), walked the dog twice, chugged some coffee after my shower and hit the pavement in my mobile office.

The day went fantastic from 8-4:00, because my patients were kind, motivated, and ready to work hard. Then... I got back into cell phone service as well as service on my laptop. These next two weeks are going to be so far from fun, my teeth hurt from grinding them just thinking about it. But I vow to give each and every patient the care they deserve while I am here, and set them up with a game plan for once I leave (there is not yet a replacement for me). So today was 10 hours, 191 miles driven, the rest of the week looks to be all uphill until Friday.

But the next assignment! so... there is a job offer in Alaska. It is not the location I have dreamed up, and the thought of all the tourists makes me cringe already, but it is ALASKA!!! Ketchikan, Alaska to be exact. It is in the SE portion of Alaska, meaning there will be no living out in the bush and escaping human contact in the dead of winter (as it barely snows and mostly just rains non-stop year-round), but what it does mean is that we can actually get there in April! All of the other jobs we have looked at would be nearly impossible to physically get ourselves, our doggies and a vehicle too. The ferries are on a limited schedule until May, Brad is currently banned from the entire country of Canada, and the transport ferries that are running with availability for vehicles would run close to $5k factoring in our plane tickets and hotels while we wait for said vehicle to arrive. It also means that we are a couple thousand miles closer to the mainland of Alaska and all of its splendor.

So now that we can get to this location, our current dilemmas are as follows: we need to sell two vehicles (while I owe more on mine that it is being appraised at, as there is no blue book out for 2016 used vehicles yet...), we need to buy a bigger truck, downsize everything we own again to fit in said truck and then get to Bellingham, Washington by April 8th.  Also on the to-do list: finish paperwork for new company, which means i need to find a doctor to give me a physical, file taxes, & get both dogs rabies shots and 'declarations of health' no more than 30 days prior to April 8th. Oh, and finding housing. Finding housing in one of the top summer destinations, which also houses a Coast Guard base and all of the employees for said tourist season is daunting and so far, frustrating. There are some beautiful beach front homes with availability, but $6500/month is a little out of our budget. Most other furnished places have already been booked throughout the summer by tourists and most non-furnished places want at least a year lease.Upside: Brad should be able to get a decent job in the tourist sector.

 I also must pack up everything I own and move out of my place by March 12 or 13th, get back to New Braunfels and re-plan my trip to California to see my dearests since the trip I just booked probably won't fit in this new time frame.  

I won't consider signing the contract until we get a few more of the logistics ironed out, but my heart is happy knowing it may happen. It may not be what I had planned in my manic head (Kenai Peninsula), but if there is one thing I have learned, my dreams often let me down because I don't dream quite big enough...

Camping at Guadalupe State Park

Being back in Texas has allowed us to spend more time with loved ones, including Brad's family. One of our goals was to go camping with Brad's sister and brother in law. The challenges to making this happen included conflicting work schedules, 4 dogs to bring and living in three different locations spread 3-4 hours apart. 

After picking a weekend, we spent another week or two searching maps for campground that allowed dogs, had river access and was between all of us. That brought us to a wonderful state park that none of us had visited previously, Guadalupe State Park. We would have preferred to pick a place in the wilderness off to the side of the road where we could pitch our tents and dip our fishing poles, but free access along the Guadalupe is nearly obsolete these days. 

We were able to get spots in the "primitive camping" area which consisted of 9 walk-in campsites. We got two that neighboring sites and camp went up. Expecting over night temperatures to drop into the low 30's, Brad rigged us up what I call the 'homeless tent', using old blankets for insulation underneath the rain fly. 

Seriously, it isn't good looking, but it does help with insulation! A few minutes later we realize that the pump for our air mattress is NOT in the bag. So we blow up a queen size air mattress with all the hot air we could muster up. A couple hours later, some light head spins and numb lips, and we got the job done. ((Sadly, as the hot air cooled over night, we lost a lot of the firmness in the mattress)). 

Eventually camp got set up, and the fun really began. We stayed for two nights, while Amy and Adam were only able to stay with us on Friday. We did some walking around the park, fishing in the river, naps in the grass and had lots of good eatin's. 

The tent looks significantly better with the rain fly on, doesn't it?!

The beef jerky got Brad a lot of attention

Adam, Amy and their furry babies

The day time temperatures were chilly but warm sun shining, night temperatures were cold, but we had such a glorious time exploring a new park and building our relationships with family. Maybe one day I will remember to get all four of us in a picture!

The emotional toll of being an emphatic health care provider.

My day didn't start well from the beginning. I got an upsetting email from a therapist I don't respect. I don't respect him because he is another traveling therapist and in my one and only conversation with him he said "There is no loyalty with traveling therapists, we aren't good people, we only do it for the money". It made me sick. It made me want to reach through my cellular device and take his PT license and then sucker punch him in the face. I don't do this for the money (though I am grateful for the 'raise'). I am a therapist to improve people's lives. I travel because adventure and travel are the deepest desires of my heart, and I have been blessed enough, and worked hard enough, to combine these two passions.

But back to the email... it is in a reference to one of his patient's I will be seeing. The patient is a survivor of a massive stroke, who was working full time prior to the stroke and has much of his life ahead of him. The therapist wrote: "He doesn't understand that his left upper extremity function will not improve". WRONG. It was improving, it can continue to improve and how dare you smash this man's hope?!?! He survived a stroke, is tough as nails (he literally built his entire house himself, nail by nail, zero outside help) and there is no reason he can't continue to improve.

Next, I find out one of my patients has requested another therapist. Ouch. I think it's the third time in my career I have gotten this request so directly.  She is angry I had her walk outside last week. I had her walk outside because on one Day 1 of therapy,  her daughter made it quite clear they all wanted her to be able to walk in the yard again. I tucked that little nugget of information in my brain, and once this woman was strong enough to give it a go, we did, and it was glorious (or so I thought...). I also don't speak fantastic Spanish, and although she speaks fluent English, this frustrates her to no end. Well, my dear patient.... I drive over 50 miles to treat you & help you get better, I will always give 100% of what I've got, and I am the ONLY therapist in your city, so take it or leave it.

My next patient's spouse hands me a card. It is one of those hand written notes that brings tears to my eyes and yet makes me wonder how I can touch one life so positively and yet the above patient wants me out her life forever. Here is the card, so I may never forget it:

After working 9 hours already and driving a total of 193 miles today, I arrive at my last patient's house. I have never met this woman or her husband before in my life. As I am trying to leave and get home to my dog, my couch and my sanity, her husband stops me and starts showing me his medals and pictures from WWII. The least I can do for this man who served our country is sit for 5 minutes and go over some memories with him. Things took a drastic and horrifying turn when the pictures were suddenly of dead bodies and men he had killed during war. I have NEVER been so caught off guard and speechless. I couldn't turn away, not even when he began to tell me how they killed the men. WTF, sir, WTF. 

I can't even stomach going duck hunting because it breaks my heart and makes me too sad. Those images are now engraved in my memory and I'm praying they don't appear as night terrors. 

So there we go. 10 hours, 200 miles and a day that I couldn't be more happy to bid adieu to. 

I am tired, I am sad, I am frustrated, I am angry... yet I sit here holding that hand written card to remind me why I do this, day in and day out. 

Please love on your healthcare workers, it isn't an easy job, and most of us really don't do it for the money (which goes straight to pay off our student loans anyhow). 

xo

Scotchman's Peak Day Hike

While I was living in Idaho last spring, I took one of the most amazing hikes I have ever been on. It was highly recommended so I piggy backed onto my friend Monica's trip for the day.

We were warned that this was a very intense hike, and it was 7-8 miles out and back (depending on who we asked and the website we looked at). The hike was to Scotchman's Peak and near Clark Fork, Idaho. It also raises 3,700 feet in elevation in those first four miles... There were a few blogs and websites that listed this hike as "moderate", and maybe it is in comparison to Mt. Everest. Otherwise, this hike required me to dig deeper than I had in a long while! I have done some hard day hikes, and I am in pretty good shape, but at 1.5 miles into this hike as we climbed in elevation, I literally thought "I'm not sure I can do this for 2 more miles..." But I did, and it was worth it (as always, right?)

First pointer if you are ever interested in doing this hike: Follow the directions you find online (I can try to find the directions we used and post them here in the future....sometime) and just KEEP DRIVING. The trail head was a lot further than I thought it would! And actually, when we went in Spring, we had one water crossing we couldn't safely drive over, so had about 1/4 mile walk to get to the trail head, and it was not very well marked like I had hoped.

Second pointer, this hike is not accessible during the winter months with heavy snowfall! Don't be a hero, wait til the thaw comes.

For our hike, we started off without any snow, and a couple miles in we had to literally climb on our hands and knees through ice/snow up steep parts (while trying to stay somewhat near the actual trail). So next pointer: dress in layers. Between working up a sweat, climbing in elevation and the light rain fall we had, we were constantly stopping to adjust.

As we got to the peak, we were blown away by the views we got to share together.

But, our FAVORITE part of reaching the summit...was when the mountain goats came to greet us and hang out. It was incredible and the perfect completion of our hike to Scotchman's Peak!

I hope you get to enjoy the sights, muscle burn, smiles and beauty that is Scothman's Peak.