DancingWithHerbs

2007-09-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

THE AMERICAN FARMER..................

I drove to work the back way today. I guess I better explain that term for you city folks. Around here the back way means off the main roads, through the country, on the country roads.

It was just beautiful. In this part of Texas a person can see for miles and miles and miles, until the horizon meets the earth. What I saw was field after field of cotton, maize and an occasional pasture with cattle grazing or tank with steam raising off the surface. It is just beautiful and it all represents the hard work and sweat of the American farmer.

My destination each morning is Roby, Texas. Home of the "Roby Millionaires" (lottery winners), the American farmer, and the Roby Rural Health Clinic. I know I am getting close when I start to pass tractors and combines instead of cars.

I've been back in Texas, from Alaska for almost 3 months. I started working at the Roby Clinic the first of July and I really love my job. I feel honored to provide health care for these proud, hard working families. When I took the assignment in Alaska I thought I would be contributing by providing care to the Native population but what I found was a huge well oiled, well financed machine. The money in the Native Alaska Coporations is significant and they have wisely invested in health care. I loved caring for the elders and found them to be very much like my farmers-a proud but quiet and courteous people. However, my experience with the middle age and younger Natives was not the same. Many, not all but enough to accurately generalize, had a chip on their shoulder and felt they were "owed my education and health care by you white people who took my land." Now this is a strange statement from a person whose land has never been occupied and who are still living in their ancestorial villages and collecting up to $56,000 a year (without working) from their Native Corportion. I have worked in health care since I was 16 and have never been cussed or verbally abused until I worked at the Alaska Native Medical Center PCC. I was treated with a great deal of disrespect by even my teenaged patients. This was not just my experience, the other travelers and full time providers complained constantly about the abusive way in which we were treated and the refusal of the organization to intervene or allow us to address the issue.

But, enough of that. I am mentioning this just to point out the vast difference in my experience here in Roby. First of all, I am filling a need here that far surpasses the need in Alaska, at least in Anchorage. There is a shortage of providers and a a shortage of money out here in the rural areas. At Roby we have three grants that allows us to provide care free or at reduced cost to the patient. For the most part our patients are very grateful for the opportunity to recieve health care that they would not be able to afford without these services. Now this isn't to say we don't have our bad apples, we do...everyone does...but it's the rare bad apple rather than an apple cart going to rot.

Let me tell you about my patients-this is a composite and does not discribe specifically any one person so as to protect privacy:

There is the 20 year old that comes in for his wellness exam wearing combat boots and covered with tats answering "yes, mam" and "no, mam" , a big smile that never leaves his face and wishing everyone a good day on the way out. He may look like a "bad ass" but he leaves me with a smile on my face and feeling a little more chipper than when he arrived.

There is the middle age farmer, weathered and at risk for skin cancer, who comes in at the urging of family because the stress has finally worn him down. The drought has almost driven him out of business, now we have lots of rain and a bumper crop- a bumper crop which may mean lower prices because of the abundance of cotton. He leaves making me feel a little angry at a system that doesn't pay a man for his hard work and sweat and is slowly making the family farm a thing of the past because they can't compete with big business farming.

Then comes the teenage girl wearing her FFA jacket who is having trouble with her allergies since she's back in ag class and mucking out the pig barn. Again it's "yes mam" and "no mam"....I can't imagine her calling me a
f-ing bitch like the 17 year old in Anchorage that I dreaded seeing every time her name was on my schedule. She leaves making me feel a lot better about leaving our world in the hands of today's young people.

There's the illegal farm worker who is living on $10 a week so he can send the rest of his money back to Mexico where he is supporting an extended family of wife, children and parents. He is proudly working at a job many people in the US would consider "menial" and making a salary we would consider well below the poverty level. However, he is proud to have a job and is almost rich in his home country. And, whatever your politics, he is providing labor to the family farmer who could not afford more costly labor. He comes to the clinic when everything he knows to do has failed-for the most part, you know he really needs health care if he walks in the door.

I consider myself honored to be providing care for these folks-yet, they treat me like I am something special. Little do they know-they are the ones that make this country what it is!

I guess I had to travel thousands of miles to realize where I belong! To see the beauty in the West Texas landscape and in Her people...yep, I'm glad to be home!

2007-09-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Zane is growing up! And changing so much! This is a picture of him in his tummy tubby-he's almost 2 months old (will be on Sept 19)!

2007-09-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

West Texas sunset!
I have been fortunate to live in Alaska, visit New Zealand and the rain forests of Central America, but I don't believe there is anything as beautiful as a West Texas sunset!!
This evening I took the back way (ie, through the country) from my sister's house to my house. It was between 7:30 and 8:00-just in time for one of Mother Nature's spectacular shows! I couldn't take my eyes off the sky (resulting in a near miss with a bull calf in the road!). Even though I've lived in West Texas my entire life, I still found my heart pounding in awe!
For those of you who don't know what I am talking about I am going to try to describe our sunsets-Texans will realize how futile the attempt is and recognize at once that I didn't do it justice at all.
As I turn onto the back road heading west I look across the miles of flat cotton fields to the mountains (ok, hills to most people). The huge sun hanging above the mountains and fields outlines the rows and rows and rows of windmills slowly turning in the breeze. The sun is just a huge, giant pinkish-orange ball. As it begins to set the western sky turns pink and turquoise. Then as the sun sinks out of sight the few clouds above it glow a silvery color and the mountains become a one dimensional purple drawing on the horizon topped by the barely visible silver outline of the windmills. The entire western sky is now a swirl of pinks, blues and oranges in various intensity from the remaining golden orange where the sun disappeared.
There is no way to describe the colors other then to say they have life...to say they glow or to say they shine just does not do justice. I can only say they are alive!
Maybe some day I will post a picture but I have never seen a photo by anyone-famous or not-that approaches the actual glory of a West Texas sunset!

2007-09-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

I think my son, Brandon, is a wonderful writer. I try not to be a nagging mother but if there is anything I would love to nag him about it is writing. He is articulate, humorous, and informative at the least. Here is a piece he published in a on-line newsletter for stay at home fathers. I point it out not just to brag about how talented my son is...but isn't he wonderfully talented?...but to help bring to consciousness the old, outdated stereotypes we still have about fathering. As a woman who parented alone, I really didn't give much thought to a father's role in the family. I had a great dad but it's different looking at things from the child's point of view. However, I just spent 2 weeks with Brandon, Mindy and my new grandson, Zane. It was sure a new experience. Brandon is so involved in a active, day to day, minute to minute way-not just a sometime baby sitter or a consultant on the big decisions. I am proud of him and Mindy and of the way they are parenting my little Zane grand baby. Check out DIY Father for Brandon's thoughts on the media's treatment of stay at home dads.

2007-08-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Home again!

Here I am, returned to reality! What a let down! Not that I don't like my life here but I sure miss my grandbaby and kids and the beauty of New Zealand...not to mention the cool weather!

I took tons of pictures. Warning: you might want to view the pictures and just look at the ones you want to rather than running the slide show-unless you have tons of time and want to see lots of pictures of my beautiful grandson! There are pictures of the trip to the beach and the trip to the botanical gardens as well as a walk I took around Brandon and Mindy's neighborhood. Then there are lots and lots of pictures of Zane!

2007-08-26T03:58:00.001-07:00

Friday we went to the botanical gardens....it was just beautiful. Here is a picture of the magnolia area. I have tons of pictures of the plants and birds and even more tons of the grandbaby! I'll post when I get home. I took this picture of Brandon and Mindy which I think is one of my favorite. Don't they look like happy young parents!

Of course, Zane was cute and wonderful as always. He slept the entire time we were at the gardens.

2007-08-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Visiting Zane.....here I am in New Zealand and it seems the only sight I care to see is one little Kiwi!
Zane is so cute. He is smiling and cooing and I just can't get enough of him!
I've been present for his last midwife visit, his first Plunkett nurse visit, and his visit to the cranial osteopath...all very interesting. Some people pay money to go to another country to check out their health care system!
I find the most interesting difference is that the person is the keeper of their own medical records. So the kids have a book that is their medical record. Whatever provider sees Zane, for example, writes in his book. There is a carbon and they take the carbon leaving the book and the original note in the medical record with the "patient." I love the concept but I am afraid I would be in trouble for having lost mine!

This is Zane being bathed in his Tummy Tubby. He loves it. I think he feels very safe in this tubby. He smiles and splashes. The manufacturer says you can bath baby in this until they are 18 months old....we figure about six months. The web sites all show babies up to six months-there are no pictures of 18 month old babies. I think that is because they would all be crawling out or jumping up and down. Although it is very stable. There is a rubber ring on the bottom that stabilizes it. Granna was a little nervous at first but Mum and Dad did such a good job that Granna and Zane both settled down and enjoyed the bath time.

Zane with Mum and Daddy. Such good parents...he is just thriving under their love and care! Granna is so lucky to be in New Zealand visiting!

2007-08-22T02:03:00.001-07:00

Visit to the beach on the west side of the island....
On Sunday we went to the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and the beach was just breath taking. I took lots of pictures which I will publish when I get home, however I have included a couple here to give you and idea of how beautiful it is!

2007-08-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

IN NEW ZEALAND.....

I am in New Zealand visiting Brandon, Mindy and Zane. The trip was longer then I expected it to be! I had a flight out of Abilene that was to leave at 2:20pm and actually left after 5:00pm. They rebooked my flight from DFW to LAX....and assured me I would make it just fine. The flight boarded 20 minutes before we arrived in Dallas so I am not at all sure how that was to happen-predictably, I missed the flight.
Once at the gate in Dallas one person thought I could make the flight from LAX to Auckland if I took the next flight out of DFW to LAX and one didn't (that person was right-there was no way I would have made that flight!).
I decided if there was any question of not making it out of LA I would just stay in Dallas. My nieces and their families are there so I had someone to impose on rather than being stuck in a motel for 24 hours. It turned out fine-my nephew picked me up at the airport. I had an opportunity to visit with them-it was Kaydon's (my great nephew) first birthday and I hadn't really gotten to know him. He is a real charmer and we had great fun together.
I set out the next day at 5:30 from DFW to LAX-everything went fine. My luggage was in LA and made it on the plane to Auckland-so, even though I didn't have it in Dallas it was there in Auckland.
The flight to Auckland was really good. I had 3 seats to myself with no one behind or in front of me. I rested and napped in every position one can assume in an airplane, including laying down. International flights are great-they really take care of you. Before take off they handed out the little packs with the eye masks, socks, and toothbrush with toothpaste. They passed out the menus and shortly after take off they came around with the food, complete with a selection of wines and beers as well as soft drinks and waters (no charge for aything). Then in about 3 hours they passed out the snack packs with water, cookies and crackers. Throughout the flight they came around with water and juice and once with fresh fruit. About 3 hours before landing they handed out warm, wet towels and then passed breakfast-your choice of a hot or continental breakfast.
During all of this feeding and watering, there is an array of entertainment available. Although reading really wasn't practical. They kept the cabin dark for sleeping and if you turned on your overhead light it was very bright for people around you since it was so far above your head and so bright. There was a screen built in to the seat in front of you (above the tray table) and you could choose movies, radio, CDs, news, games or a picture of a plane flying with speed and time until arrival (Brandon advised NOT checking that but when I did I was shocked to see we only had 4 more hours left).
I checked out the movies-there are about six catagories to chose from...like new releases, family, children, comedy, documentaries and something else. I watched one called In the World of Women (or something like that) that had Meg Ryan...it was so-so. Then later I discovered Happy Feet was available so I started it but didn't get to finish (first thing I'm gonna do on the return). I also played a little solitaire. But, I actually got a good bit of sleep.
Getting my luggage and getting through immigration and customs was a breeze! And the next thing you know there was Brandon! He took me home and Mindy and Zane were waiting at the door.
Mindy looks just great! And Zane is a beautiful baby...and so good. I can't believe! He went to sleep about 11 pm last night and only woke for 2 feedings in the night and slept real late this morning!
Yesterday seems like 2 days since I didn't go to bed! And it was a pretty full day. I went with the kids to take Zane to the osteopath for cranial-sacral therapy. It was suggested because of the long labor and the positioning and all of the head molding. I really liked the osteopath-he had a very gentle energy and was kind with Zane and the kids. He even had Brandon get up on the table and did a treatment on his head so he would know that it didn't hurt Zane.
The midwife came in the evening-she is very nice...obviously likes Brandon and Mindy as people. She was pleased with how Zane is growing-he is over 9 pounds now. I am not sure how much since the whole grams and pounds thing doesn't compute for me. This was her last visit. Now another group starts coming to make visits on the baby-weekly, I think. This is like a visiting nurse thing that New Zealand provides for a certain period of time....maybe a year. Mindy says you have all sorts of things for the first 6 years.
Today we went to the market-grocery store-which is located in the mall. It seemed strange to push your groceries through the mall in the grocery cart! There were a lot of the same products as in America and some different....and some brands that are the same but offer something different. Like Yoplait yogurt-here they have Greek style yogurt which I love but can't find in Abilene and come to find out Yoplait has that style.
We also went to the "herbal pharmacy" for lack of a better word. Zane has a tiny little thrush and the midwife sent them there for some homeopathic drops. It was a fascinating place. There were dried herbs, homeopathic blends, teas, and encapsulated herbs by two companies I am familiar with from the US. And there was the sweetest, gentlest young woman there to help them! I am so pleased with the health care providers that are shepherding Brandon, Mindy and Zane....they have an awesome team of people!
We also visited a regular pharmacy for Ibuprofen for my knee-it comes with codeine....yep, right over the counter-no RX needed. Strange.
Oh, one more thing! The food....I am having a great time trying different. BJ is very adventurous when it comes to food, and he's a good cook. For dinner last night we had steamed veggies with couscous. For lunch we got a rice ball-it was purple rice filled with your choice of fillings and wrapped in a baggie. When it was time to eat it you open the bag, push the rice ball to the opening and then "squeeze and eat, squeeze and eat." Mine was filled with Korean chicken, burdock, pickled cabbage, veggies, and some other stuff I can't remember. It was very good!
For breakfast I had a sliced apple and fish pie (fish with pumpkin in a pastry crust)-very good. And then for lunch today we ate at an Indian place....I had chicken marsala with a yellow curry-very, very good! This afternoon I am sipping on sage and spearmint tea I got at the herbal place....my taste buds are really enjoying this trip.
But, the most fun and the highlight of it all is the chance to sit and hold my grandbaby! The kids are napping and I can't seem to download a pic but will later when BJ can help...

2007-07-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Zane Micheal Logan arrived July 19 after hours and hours of labor. Poor Mindy labored for 24 hours at home then went to the hospital where they spent roughly another 12 hours trying to have this baby by vaginal delivery but it was not to be! She had a C-section at around 8:43 in the morning of July 19 and this lovely baby became part of our family. I am a very proud grandmother! Mother, father and baby are doing very well! Mindy and Brandon have taken to parenthood like they have done it all their lives-they are just the most wonderful parents!
If you would like to see more pictures (including the first picture which is just a great picture of Mindy and Zane which did not download to this computer for some reason) go to www.boots4walking.blogspot.com.

2007-07-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

I'm back in Texas and as you can see above I am not a grandmother yet. Brandon and Mindy are still waiting for Pickle to make her (ok...or his) appearance.
I arrived in Trent after a rather grueling trip-about 24 hours from turning in my rental to arrival at the farm. After arriving at the Continental counter at the North terminal ( just like my ticket said), I had to transfer to Air Alaska in the South terminal. I left at 10:30 and arrived at 3 am....I waited for 3 hours to board a plane that arrived from Anchorage to pick up passengers going to Houston....is it just me or is there something wrong with this picture? Anyway, I made it to Houston where the plane was delayed and delayed and delayed due to weather. But, the final result is I am at home!!!!
How do I know for sure I am home? Well, one hint is that there was a horned toad in the console in my Jeep...."oh, yeah, honey I rescued him and forgot...could you please go put him near the ant bed on the west side of the medicine wheel?" Another is that I almost ran over a snake on the way out of the drive and was upset that I might have killed him- I backed up and got out to make sure (really dumb, I could have completed the job with that move...oh, it wasn't a rattler). And finally, on the way out of the place today I stopped to see what kind of frog was jumping out of the mud puddle (it was a leopard frog) and am considering putting an obstruction in the road (or maybe a sign saying "frog habitat") so the trucks can't go in that puddle and kill them. Yep, I've made the transition.
However, I don't think I'll ever get over missing my Alaska friends. (I am about as anxious for Benjamin's birth as I am Pickle's and someone better let me know!) You were all so wonderful! I miss you!!!! Thanks for the great last meal and for the pedicure. I taking care not to mess up the cute flower!
I'll post some farm pictures soon...maybe this weekend. Stay in touch!
(PS you were right...it's 88 degrees which everyone else thinks is nice and I am DYING)

2007-07-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

My Last Weekend is Alaska.....and she isn't disappointing me! Jane and I took the longer, 6 hour, Kenai Wildlife Cruise on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, clear and no fog or rain. Jane thought it was too cold and windy and she may have had a point....at least when we went motor boating at 40 knots across the bay. Yep, then it was COLD and WINDY...but, when cruising slowly looking for wildlife or sitting at the face of the tidewater glacier it seems nice. And today it is cool, cloudy and alternating drizzle and rain...a perfect day for sleeping late (which I did) and packing (which I am trying to convince myself to do...any minute now).
But, to back up a little. I want to tell you about the cruise.
Welcome aboard our ship-it was the newest in the Kenai Cruise Line and designed specifically for the long haul out to the tidewater glacier (our trip was 120 sea miles). It looks like a pontoon (however you spell that) boat on the bottom-two big floating things along each side that don't join in the middle (guess I should have gotten a picture). There is a main salon downstairs that houses cafe type booths that are three rows across (two next to the windows and one in the middle-each sitting six in theater type seats). The bar and snack area is in the back of this and there are TV screens throughout that constantly display a map of where we are). Above this is a smaller room with the same type seating-in front of that top area is the captains navigation area. Behind the smaller upstairs salon are seats in rows facing the right and the left of the boat. However, my favorite place was on the lower deck in front of the main salon-the prow. Greatest view!!!! You can see 180 degrees all around the boat-basically the captains view only one level below! That was my hang out for the day!!! Jane stayed up there most of the time even though she was about to freeze to death! Then there were 3 college guys and every now and then some kids would show up for a few minutes, get in trouble by me or the first mate or the captain for jumping up off the deck and leave (to everyone's sigh of relief-there was a rule about no kids on deck without parents but a few parents chose to ignore this and made their kids the responsibility of the crew who had to come up when they were there or the captain who had to stop the boat and tell them to stop jumping).
Now to get a feel for this experience first let me tell you were were MOVING BUTT! This was no leisurely little putt-putt. We were motor boating on a BIG boat-I think I heard 40 knots but I wouldn't know what that means....just that the wind was blowing past my face, my hair was streaming out behind and my ears where flapping in the wind! And boy was it beautiful! OK....and cold (she reluctantly admits).
We were moving so fast in order to get out of the Bay and further into the ocean to some other islands and to a tidewater glacier. First stop was Fox Island to take on provisions.....gotta feed the masses. And those kids (well, young adult workers) loaded that boat so fast I wasn't aware we had acutally docked! Then off we went in search of THE BIG WILD LIFE (that's Anchorage's slogan).
Well, we found it! We found a mother and child Orca (can't remember the name for a baby Orca), porpoises (very entertaining-they charged the boat, circled it, swam around and under it-the captain was not too impressed with them I don't think-he was after the big stuff), Humpbacks, eagles, horned puffin, sea lions, seals, and too many birds to remember all the names.
I did the best I could with pictures so I hope you enjoy them-it was not too easy on a moving boat (sometime moving really, really fast) in open sea with shakey hands! I think the best way to view them is with the slide show because you get full screen-although you will miss my explanations and pithy comments.
I was thrill when I got home and saw some of the pictures-everyone was so excited about seeing the humpback lunge feeding and I was bummed I missed it. I actually somehow caught her on film as she was coming up! Here is what I know about lunge feeding. You will see a lot of birds in a tight knot diving-that means there is a school of fish. Well, the humpback will dive below this and then lunge upward with the mouth open-they then filter the water out and eat the mouth full of fish (and occassional puffin or bird, I suspect) that was in the water. Cool. I learned too much information to put here about whales (like they stay with their mothers and there are transitory and permanent ones and they never, ever mix and don't even eat the same type food even though they are the same type whale and Orcas aren't even whales). And check out the seals-we were moving at a pretty good clip and I wasn't even sure I had a picture of them....I was using both the optical and digital zoom and that is hard without a tripod...anyway I thought maybe I had a picture of a white one and a dirty one but looking at the camera screen it looked like I just had blobs of color without any detail-well, check out what I actually ended up with!
Before I let you go look at the pictures I want to comment on the crew. The captain was awesome! He NEVER stopped with the running commentary! Everything from the wildlife to the history of the area and just about everything in between you would want to know. He had a head set for when he was in his tower and a microphone for when he stepped out on deck to check something out closer-I saw him downstairs at the back bar during dinner and he plugged into a jack on the wall and was still talking! I think he is probably from the area...however, I talked to one of the young men who had to step out on deck for unattended child patrol and he said he was from California and he and hsi girlfriend were here for the just for the summer working for Kenai Cruises. They even have employee housing! What fun would that be!!!! However, he had been warned that people sometime come down and do this, love Alaska so much they don't go back.....hummmm, until middle of the next winter!
Hey, but I did it the other way-I did fall and winter first and now summer....and I sure hate to leave! Jane and I made lists all the way to Seward yesterday of all the things we will miss and all the things we were going to do and never got to! It was very long and I think we just depressed ourselves!!!! We are pretty sure no place will ever hold a candle to Alaska!!! And I am pretty sure I will somehow, someway manage to make a trip back some day!
Well, check out the pictures from the Kenai Wildlife Cruise.

2007-06-26T22:48:00.001-07:00

SUNSET AT THE NORTH POLE: This is the sun setting in the North Pole with the moon at it's lowest point (seen huge above the setting sun). Isn't that about the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

2007-06-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

A Story for Kaeli....
I am posting this story about a musher from Alaska for my neice, Kaeli. She has become interested in what she calls the "pure sport" of mushing and especially the "last great race," the Iditarod. Kaeli says she had rather read about mushers then the latest antics of the NFL or NBA players, many of which are unfortunately illegal.
Well, Kaeli, I hate to tell you that this musher broke the law....yes, Tim Osmar broke through the barricade to get to his family's homes in Caribou Hill to fight the wildfire and save the homes. Unfortunately, in the process shattering his ankle and breaking his leg.
Tim Osmar finished 34th this year but you may remember him most for being the musher that acted as a "visual interpreter" for blind musher, Rachel Scdoris, in 2006. He helped her finish the race!
This story is pure Alaska and an example of the strength of character and individuality that I love in the people of this state! Boy, am I gonna miss Alaska!

2007-06-25T08:48:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a pretty busy day-I really am trying to cram every minute full of Alaska. I joined my friend, Kathy, for a trip to the Alaska Botanical Garden. This weekend was their Fair and the place was hopping. We had a great day and my camera got a work out on the plants-check out the picture of the Blue Himalayan Poppy, I think it turned out beautifully.
After the Fair we went back to Kathy's. She has a beautiful garden! Somehow it did not get in the pictures but I will be posting it soon. I want you to see what can be done in the yard up here! Wow, she has huge bleeding heart, the blue poppies, roses, iris-and rocks to die for! I know it is a lot of work but WOW!
I am sure I overstayed my welcome but Kathy was a wonderful host. While I was there Lea Ann called (she was a traveler also who has taken a permanent job here) to see if I wanted to go to Girdwood and eat at the Double Muskie. .....and, surprise, surprise she lives across the street and two houses down from Kathy.
So about 6:30 we headed down Turnagin Arm (I've previously posted tons of pictures of that beautiful drive) to Girdwood and the famed Double Musky Inn (check out their cookbook). The food lived up to it's reputation-I had salmon with an orange glaze and mango salsa and LeaAnn had a game hen marinated in Tabasco. We ended with strawberry and blueberry cream pies that were very wonderful!
After dinner we drove into Girdwood and looked at the famous bakery-we were too full to do any more than look at the building. I have made two trips past Girdwood (I didn't realize there was a town further up the mountain that I was missing) and both times stopped at what I thought was the famous bakery. I was very disappointed-now I know why, that wasn't the famous bakery!
We ended the evening at the very beautiful and very exclusive Alyaska Resort with a trip up the tram to the top of the mountain. There is a restaurant up there called Seven Glaciers and the view is wonderful but the prices will knock your glasses off! Since it was almost 9:30 the young lady at the tram ticket counter just gave us a pair of tickets for dinner and the tram-we promised her we were just going to ride up and look around so we wouldn't use the dinner tickets. The tram ride was beautiful and the view from the top was beautiful but Alaska is incredibly majestic that I must be getting immune to it-we agreed it probably wasn't worth the price of the tickets.
We drove back to Anchorage, seeing two moose on the side of the rode en route, where LeaAnn topped my day off by giving me fresh spinach from her deck garden! A very nice day indeed!

2007-06-23T19:03:00.002-07:00

Important information for responsible dog ownership....I want you to be well informed :-)
Click on the picture to enlarge so you get all the important information about dog poop!

2007-06-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

PUT ON YOUR GLASSES!!!!
Bummer, I just ruined the last of my rose essential oil (very pricey stuff)! I just had about 100 drops left so I decided to dilute it in fractionated coconut oil to make it last longer. So, I went to the bottles of oil, I realized when I started surveying the labels I didn't have my glasses on...but, oh well, if I hold the bottle way off I can sort of figure out what it says. So, I found the one that said "fractionated coconut oil." I took it to the counter and started to drip it into the rose oil bottle when I noted an unmistakable waft of insect repellent!!!
(interruption for a call from my very pregnant daughter-in-law...I'll be a grandma before long!)
Anyway, I took another waft and recognized (with horror!) the oil I was dripping into the rose oil-it was lemon eucalyptus! EEEK! Now, I like lemon eucalyptus...when I am blending an insect repellent or pouring a health lodge but NOT with a very expensive rose oil!!!! It smells like insect repellent and is impossible to cover in a blend!!!!!
I ruined the last of my lovely rose oil because I didn't put on my glasses! I am going now to get a chain to wear the stupid things around my neck-and as soon as I get back to Texas I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket...if I win I'm getting the surgery to fix old eyes!

2007-06-21T22:29:00.001-07:00

DAIRY QUEEN COMES TO ANCHORAGE!!!
I promised I'd never step into a DQ after my tenure on the wagon train when I ate at every grasy spoon DQ in every back water place in Texas and thought it was a treat....but, I guess I just don't know GOOD. People are going crazy! Apparently there is only one Dairy Queen in Alaska and it is about 3 or 4 hours away. No more, Anchorage has a Dairy Queen-I will NOT be standing in line for 30 minutes, even for my fav...a Tropical Blizzard.

2007-06-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

Wishing you a Happy Summer Solstice from the LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN!
The photo above is the sun setting and rising on the solstice in 1997. Is that beautiful enough for you???

2007-06-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

RETURN TO TEXAS.............

It can be a little difficult to shake information loose from CompHealth, but, right now it looks like I will fly out of Anchorage at 10:30pm on July 5 and arrive in Abilene on July 6 at 4:30 pm. I am looking forward to coming home but leaving Alaska in July is difficult. If I had it to do over again I would plan to be here the summer and leave at the end of February-everyone wants to leave Alaska at the end of February....even those who love Alaska, love the winter and winter sports!

2007-06-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

ANCHORAGE WALK ABOUT:

With no trip planned for this weekend, I decided to head back downtown. Anchorage is really beautiful in the summer. Flowers everywhere! Planted in neat beds and hanging in baskets all along the streets-hundreds of hanging baskets.

And, of course, the frequent sighting of very tacky salmon art!

Included in this web album link is the solstice festival. The pictures were taken in the exact location of the ice sculptures and ice rink I posted in the winter. Amazing what changes a few months and the melting of snow brings!

2007-06-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

THAT WHALE IS HOW OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

I ran across a couple of articles I want to share with you.
This is very practical information about the little things you can do-that cost little or nothing-to transform your lifestyle into one of a more vibrant, healthy lifestyle. This is part one and part two-I think you will find at least a handful of things that you can incorporate into your life easily.
Remember, your health is your responsibility and you have the power to heal yourself. If you need more knowledge find a practitioner to partner with you in providing the information you need-never relinquish your life to someone else, even if their name starts with Dr. or ends with FNP. Take charge!

2007-06-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Fjordland Ship-Kenai Cruises

On Saturday fellow locum tenens, Jane, and I got up early to catch a train from Anchorage to Seward where we were to embark on a tour of Resurrection Bay for what was billed as a wildlife cruise (great cruise, false advertising-no wild life).
I guess airline travel and train travel have some commonalities-we had to arrive an hour early for the train....at the early, but sunny (summer in Alaska-it's sunny all the time) time of 5:30am....oh, yes, picture ID required.
It was a rocky start-Jane called-she'd overslept, so I ran to the train station a little later than the lady at Kenai Tours insisted we needed to be there. And, with Murphy's Law in operation, the parking machine would not take my $10. In fact, it initially ate the damn thing. By the time I coaxed it out of the machine there was a line of folks who had also ignored the tour directors admonishments about arrival time. In a desperate attempt to get me out of their way I was offered any number of crisper $10 bills in exchange for my sad Jackson. However, none worked and the crowded grew larger and more desperate for me to move on-however, being Alaska, everyone remained kind. In retrospect, I believe if I had continued to shove the rejected bills into the machine someone would have eventually paid my parking....but, I try to be as nice as the people I encounter here so I moved out of the way. What to do? I exchanged the rejected $10 for a nice crisp $5 and five nice crisp $1 bills that the gift shop attendant was kind enough to provide-after searching here entire cash drawer for stiff money! Next time I take the debit card!
I took my place at the back of a very long but very rapidly moving line. When it was my turn I explained Jane's predicament to the ticket taker lady and got the surprise of my life-these are not trained by the same people that train the airline ticket takers!!! She was very sympathetic, so hoping Jane would make it on time, it would be such a disappointment to miss the train ride, etc, etc. So, well, we'll just issue her boarding pass for the trip up and back and hold them at the counter in hopes Jane makes it!!! Hello! Customer service award time!!!
Jane tells me that when she ran through the door hoping to see the train still on the track the ticket lady called her over with a, "you must be Jane-I have your boarding pass." So imagine my surprise when my traveling partner showed up in the seat next to me!
Four paragraphs and we haven't left the train station yet-better go grab a cup of that good green tea and get comfy this was a great day!
Now, I have to have a say about train travel-after traveling twice by train in my life I feel qualified to say that I believe our society started going to the dogs when we stopped traveling by train. I am sure if we still used the rail system for a major form of travel the crime rate would be lower and we would all be kinder neighbors!
I LOVED IT! I am going to try to do more. Yes, I hear you saying...."but it takes so long." Yep, it does...but maybe we ought to slow down a little bit.
The pace is slow. You get a chance to observe and talk to the people around you. People are nice to each other on the train! When I traveled from Arizona to Texas with no money and no food, people fed me! And it never entered my mind that they might poison me!
There is more room and you aren't crammed up elbow to elbow with the next person-I wonder if that enforced intimacy on the airplane results in people pulling inward and ignoring the person who is elbow to elbow, hip to hip and knee to knee with you...or is it the difficulty in carrying on a conversation over the roar of engines.
The seats were so roomy and there was-are you sitting down-plenty of LEG ROOM and even a foot prop! I was in heaven...even if I didn't spend much room in my seat what with the bistro car and the dining car and the domed observation car to explore.
There was a lovely couple with a beautiful, happy, content baby....and our car B hostess who just graduated from high school and passed around her flora and fauna book and her photo album she made as a project to get this job. And we all looked at her scrapbook just like she was our favorite grandchild.
I won't go on anymore about the dining car and the bistro car and the domed viewing car and the nice roomy bathroom because I have to get to the real reason the take this particular train-
I am still breathless over the scenery!!! This is supposed to be the third most beautiful train ride in the US-I can't even imagine something more beautiful!
OK...now we'll leave the station!
Shortly after we left Anchorage we rode alongside the sea on Turnagin Arm-the road is along the water and the railroad track is somehow built between the road and the water-you are right at the water's edge. I spotted a bald eagle-well, Jane probably spotted it and pointed it out to me...I'm not good at the spotting part. And then another....and another...and another. I lost count at about 15 and we just kept seeing them! The tide was out and they were landing at the tide pools fishing, I guess.
On we went, up the mountains, along the water, past huge glaciers, around and around spiraling hairpin curves, between cuts in the mountain so close you could reach out and touch the plants, and past waterfall after waterfall.....and then when you didn't think it could get more beautiful....through a series of 5 tunnels alongside a drop away gorge with a river rushing down it.
And coming home there was even more in store! The train moved incredibly slow coming back-especially at certain areas. Especially areas were we could look down the mountain into marshy, bushy areas. Those are the areas where wildlife is spotted and the train conductor was more interested in having us see bear and moose than in getting back to Anchorage post haste! And we did!!! I was in the domed observation car when the lady in front of me yelled excitedly-"it's a bear!" "Isn't it?" Sure enough, everyone ran to the right of the train-lucky me, that's where I was sitting, and confirmed her sighting. Yes, it was a big black bear. He ambled to the edge of the brush and stood up looking back in the direction of the train. I got one blurry picture but I won't be deleting it-if you look really close you can see a big black dot-that's the bear!
Shortly after that I saw two baby moose-or is that meese-in a river down below. Being less confident than the other lady-I whispered, "moose." The man behind me-obviously a tourist-declared they were caribou. However, having lived in the big city of Anchorage I know moose! Sure enough we soon spotted the mom grazing in the thicket alongside the river-the babies went running to her! With me snapping off pictures as quickly as I could-try focusing at running moose 200 yard below you while on a moving train! Even if it slowed down-the train, not the moose...although they slowed down as soon as they got to mama-she couldn't be bothered with a train even if she noticed us.
Eventually, we got to Seward. It takes about 5 hours by train and about 2.5 by car....but, you couldn't see all this wonderful stuff!
There we boarded the Fjordland cruise boat for a day in Resurrection Bay. We headed out about an hour to Fox Island where we disembarked for a lunch of salmon and a 20 minute presentation by our Park Ranger/biologist, Colleen. I have a picture of her wearing her "welcome aboard hat." She changes to a cap after we are underway as the hat would blow off...she explained there are rules about which hat she wears when....stupid!
On the way out of the slip we saw fishing boats-commercial and for rent-a research vessel and a big coast guard ship. (At the end of the trip when we got off our boat we saw a fishing boat which had just docked with a huge shark on the floor!) Just outside of the boat dock area the coast guard were conducting some type of exercises with a helicopter-who was, at one point, carrying something hooked by a long rope....interesting.
We passed an area where three glaciers were almost coming together! And enjoyed more beautiful scenery. There was one small crisis. There were some really nice people on board from Seward-they own an automotive repair place. Their children were down from Texas ("he met some girl from Texas, followed here there, married her and never came home" Mama explained and they were bound for Fox Island to stay the weekend). Anyway, Colleen noticed smoke-she and the crew were always looking around with binoculars for something to point out to us tourists. As it turned out the smoke was something burning at these people's house. Via cell phone they were able to determine it was a car and I guess get it put out because when our boat driver offered to take them back they declined. It was obvious that Colleen, these Sewardites and the boat driver were all acquainted-which one would expect of locals in a very small town ("a town of about 4,000 which swells to 50,000 on July 4). I'm thinking you'd have to ban together to survive the summer influx of tourists!
At Fox Island we had a so-so meal of salmon, rice, salad and desert and headed back out for a final 4 hours of touring-and looking for whales. They escaped our eagle eyes this day! But, we did see Rocky Mountain sheep which are shaggier then the Dahl and don't have the beautiful curved horns. There was a family-mom, dad and baby.
On the way to Fox Island we saw a sea otter and puffin. We continued to see puffin flying over head and in the water during the cruise. But, the best sighting was while my camera was jammed (I also ran out of batteries before we got to Fox Island, even though I started with fresh ones...fortunately, they were available for a mere $1.50 a battery.) There was a puffin in a crevice in some rocks (how the boat driver spotted him I'll never know)....so he pulled up to the edge of the cliffs so we could see it...when we got closer we could see the head of another one sitting in the crevice peeking out....the one we originally spotted very pointedly turned his back to us but neither on made a move to fly off. I was wondering if we were going to hit the cliff-I bet there wasn't two feet between us and the cliff. I really was wishing my camera was working-not just for the great chance to photograph the puffin but because I was on the upper deck and the picture of the prow of the boat up against the cliff would have been great!
Due to camera malfunction, you also won't see the Stellar Sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks or the cliffs that were alive with birds! You'll have to take it from me that it was awesome. On one rock there was a big, big bull!
But, the most beautiful, most majestic, most special moment came when we entered spiral cove. There are huge finger-like projections of rock coming up out of the water topped with trees and vegetation. They are arranged in a spiral like grouping and our boat driver took us in among them, at times barely scrapping between them. We were all gasping and at times almost silent in awe!!! I could go back just for that.....I used my rapid fire setting to get a series of pictures of the waves raising and falling against the rocks-look for that when you look at the pictures.
It was some day!!!! As for the pictures-you may get tired of looking at them. I realized when I reviewed them this morning that there are lots of pictures of mountains, water, mountains and water, etc. But, when you are there it is so beautiful and I am constantly trying, unsuccessfully to capture the beauty and the majesty! I fall short every time but I keep trying! Oh, how I wish you were all here to see it yourself....this is the most beautiful place on earth.
On the way home last night Jane wondered if anyplace else will every seem beautiful again after being here....I'm not sure. Right now it is simply impossible to believe there is another place on earth this beautiful. I will be leaving on July 3 and it is with mixed feelings....I will miss Alaska!
On another note-Shawna and Tony....I was thinking about you yesterday. I wish I would have been in Abilene for your wedding but I know it was wonderful and I'm so happy for both of you!!
Ok....here is the link for the pictures-I saved it to last so you had to struggle through the whole long story!

2007-06-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

UNAVAILABLE ON SATURDAY.................
Yep, I'll be gone all day today, Saturday the ninth of June! I am taking the train from Anchorage to Seward and then a cruise out of Seward in Resurrection Bay. If you look at the map above you will see Seward right above the label that says "Southcentral." The train trip from Anchorage (north of Seward) is said to be one of the three most beautiful train rides in America.....sometime you even see beluga whales!
We (my friend, Jane, is going also) are taking a Kenai Fjords 5 hour cruise-we cruise an hour out to Fox Island where we are served a salmon lunch and explore the island for an hour then we get back on the boat and cruise for 4 more hours (this is billed as the "wildlife cruise"). I think this is a real bargain at $79, including lunch....but, it is even a bigger bargain when you work for Southcentral Foundation and get a 30% discount.
Anyway, we leave at 5:45 am and return at 10:30 pm-give or take. Long day.
Saturday night I will download the pictures (it takes forever anymore!) and Sunday I will have them on the blog!
Bon Voyage!