Town of contrasts

Over the past ten days, there have been many contrasts in the weather.   (you may have noticed that I mention the weather a lot!)  The rainforest life has been a bit of a challenge to adjust to.   But, thankfully, there are glorious days that seem to occur just when you think you can't bear another day that is grey and rainy.   Last weekend provided that reprieve.  The sun came out on Friday and stayed out all weekend and into Monday.  The sunset on Friday nite was the prettiest I have seen here.

Saturday started out with a cup of coffee across the street on the waterfront promenade and some visiting with folks from San Francisco and Louisiana. 

A little later I attended the St. Gregory's parish picnic with some  of my co-workers.   The food was plentiful and there was a dunking booth that provided a few laughs. 

The rest of the day was spent strolling around town and doing weekend stuff.

On Sunday, I was at Fisherman's Quay at 6am ready for a nice boat ride to Kruzof Island and a hike up Mt. Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano.   We jumped off the boat onto the beach, and immediately saw two brown bears in the river closeby looking for Salmon. 

We watched for a bit, took pictures, then started our hike. We hiked through muskeg, which is an Alaskan terrain that is somewhat swampy with lots of short shrubs and short trees. 

Our group was composed of Dave and Lee Ann Alexander, whom I work with, their sons Cole and Bailey, 18 and 16, Lexie, the chef at the hospital (about 28) and me.   These folks are great friends and wonderful hiking buddies.   The boys were in the lead most of the time, but their Mom, Lee Ann, is a great hiker and she could lead us all!  She is planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail solo when she and Dave get back to the lower 48.  I have no doubt she will do it!  She is a great encourager for me and I enjoy her company.

 

We hiked with a few short breaks for three hours.   I was pooped and at a place with a spectacular view, so I stayed put while the others took the last leg up to the summit.   I was glad I stayed as the rest of the trail was slippery and very steep.  Two of the hikers fell, one ended up doing nice roll down the hill past his mom!   Anyway, in addition to being steep, the wind increased the higher up the volcano.  We guessed the wind was at least 40 mph.  It was blowing us all over the place.   And it was cold!   So, the hikers made the summit and quickly came back to where I was waiting for them.   We hiked back to the beach, where we saw some sea lions while we waited for our boat to return.  On the ride back to Sitka, we saw one humpback whale.  We were all pretty excited!   What a great day!

Work is good.  We stay very busy, so the time goes by quickly.   We are getting a lot done and our work team is really bonding.  I will miss these ladies when I get home.  I have learned a lot and I have been able to help lots of folks do a better job with their infection prevention practices. I have extended my contract until the end of October, so I will be back in NC October 30.  

I took a little walk around town tonite.   I took a photo at the neat Welcome to Sitka sign at town dock.   I took a photo here when I first arrived in town.

Here  is the same scene this evening.

Sad to say, there are lots of days like this.  I don't take too many pictures of these days!   I prefer the gorgeous, sunny ones!

Early Monsoon Season

A Sitka long time resident told me yesterday that the monsoon season had started early this year.  I think she is right.   But as another long term resident told me, there is no bad weather, just bad gear.  So, I am learning to enjoy walking in the rain, and I am having lots of opportunities!  This morning I got out before the rain started and went to the Indian River to see the salmon journeying up the river to spawn and then die.  It is hard to see the salmon, because they are grey, but they are there in really large numbers.  Look closely!

The next photo is of a trawler pulling in a big net full of salmon.  They will be loaded onto a bigger boat for processing.   Once the salmon start migrating back up the river, it is illegal to catch them.  The whole process is interesting.  The Eggs are laid in the bottom of the river or pond.  The eggs , will .hatch after two-three months.  Then they hand around until the egg yolk, that is still attached is completely absorbed.  After this they look like tiny fish (Fry) and start moving downstream.  After a few months, they are about 6 inches long (Parr).   They stay in this stage for 1-3 years, before adjusting to saltwater and schooling together for their swim into the Pacific ocean.  Adult salmon spend 1-4 years in the Pacific before returning to their original spawning grounds to spawn.  After spawning and fertilizing the eggs, both the male and female salmon die, thus fertilizing the stream where they were born.   Alaska has an excellent set of salmon management practices and Alaskan salmon are protected. 

I continue to have lots of activity right outside my living room window.  There is always something to watch.   Last weekend the runners from a half marathon passed by.  On Sunday, there was an open water swim, the "Change of Latitude" swim.   Each swimmer has a kayaker who stays with them to help them stay on course and to signal the Coast Guard auxillary boats in case the swimmer gets in trouble.  I had a good swimmer, Ken, from Anchorage.  He is the president of the Alaska master swimmers group.   He swam 3K.  Seemed like a long way to swim to me!   Some participants swam 10K!  Here I am ready to go paddle next to Ken.  He was swimmer #16.

Sunday afternoon turned out to be the nicest afternoon all week.  I took a nice hike on Harbor Mountain with my friends Dave and Lee Ann.   It was a good hike with the clouds breaking up some for some pretty views.  I hope to get up there on a day when the sky is clear!

I also visited the Sheldon Jackson Museum, which is the oldest museum in Alaska and it houses a great collection of Native Alaskan artifacts, clothing, dishes, pottery and other items for daily living.  The Native Alaskans were very smart in adapting to the harsh climate and living situations.  I will go back again so I can take it all in.