Silvis Lake

A few of us hiked this trail over the weekend. It was about 2 miles one way. It was a good hike. There are two lakes. We only made it to the lower lake because the trail to the upper lake is still covered with snow. We were hoping to see a bear or two but had no luck. I haven't seen a bear yet although my landlord has taken pictures of bears on the property where I live. I always miss out on all the excitement. One of these days I will see a bear before I leave.

Hiking in the snow

Well, I attempted to do some hiking in the snow but that did not last too long. One day I took a drive up the mountain and came across some snow. I decided to take a short stroll in my keens but then my feet started to freeze. Needless to say, I turned back and had to find a dry spot along my way back. There is still snow and its now June. Its been a crazy winter/spring here. Might as well add - a crazy summer, too. Always "good times in AK!"

Its been a few weeks...

Ok, its been a few weeks since I last updated my post. Life has been crazy. A few weeks ago I went to Miami and that was good. Since then, work has been very busy. I haven't done much the past two weekends. This weekend I went to the Lumberjack show. It was fun. OH, the sun was out from Saturday afternoon and all day today. Sunny days really are a rarity out here so that is why I mention it so much. Anyways, I took both of these pictures today. It's days like today that I forget about everything and just enjoy the simplicity of life. Apparently, the weather is suppose to get better. We'll see. Anyways, I hope you all have a fabulous day!

Miami, FL

I spent about 4 days in Miami for a standard setting study for NBCOT. It was nice to get out of Ketchikan and get some sun for a few days. It was hot and of course, humid in Miami. One of these pictures is of downtown Miami and other one is of me from my balcony. I stayed in this junior suite. I had the whole place to myself. It was great; however, I did get a sick during my travels. It doesn't help when its hot outside and then to go inside to a freezing air conditioned room. I also experienced jet lag and time zone change (only a four hour difference). It made an quite interesting trip; however, I survived!

Tourist for a day!

Every year before the tourist start rolling in, Ketchikan does this "tourist for a day" event. There are about 10-12 tours that take place where you can either pay a discounted price or it's free. My co-worker was able to get the duck tour and the zipline. I've never done the the duck tour and it was actually fun. I was able to learn more interesting facts of Ketchikan. Saturday was a fun filled day for me and I was exhausted at end of the day. It was fun being a tourist for the day and it was even better to pay discounted prices for the tours we went on.

Ketchikan Canopy Tour

All I can say is... it was awesome!! I went with a few of my co-workers, Anne (OT Traveler) and Kelly (PT Traveler). There were about 8 ziplines. We had a fun group of 8 people. It was pretty amazing ziplining through the Rainforest of Alaska. The rain started to come down pretty hard towards the end of the tour and the weather also got really cold. OF course, we had to end our clear day streak of 7 and have it rain on tourist day. Figures! Anyways, if any of you come to Ketchikan, I recommend doing this tour. How do you like my reindeer picture?

Clear skies in Ketchikan

The past few days have been absolutely beautiful. Today is day 3 of clear skies which has not been like this since I've been here (at least it feels like it). Supposedly its going to be clear for a couple of more days. Yeah!! This weekend I did a couple of short hikes and had a BBQ with some co-workers. Its been a very nice and relaxing weekend. These pictures is of the moon reflecting off the water and the other one is of an eagle. Eagles are everywhere! Wild life here is amazing!

My 1st whale sighting of the season!!!

On Friday morning, my landlord woke me up to let me know that whales were visible from my place. Apparently, six whales were visible that morning. I saw three of them. Unfortunately, the whales were not very close so I didn't get the best pictures. Before the whales come up they spray (as shown in the picture - if you can see it). It is quite the sight to see. I wished I could have stayed all morning to watch them but I had to go to work:( It was my exciting news for the day and I had to tell all my co-workers and patients about it. They were all happy and excited for me, too. The other picture is just another random picture of me!

Rainy Weekend

Hi, friends! Its been another rainy week in Ketchikan. Unfortunately, I did not get out and hike this weekend because it was raining and very windy. Here are a few pictures I took today. I have never seen so many eagles in my entire life since being here for the past month. No worries, I will get better eagle pictures. The other picture is of me looking out from my deck. I really do have an amazing view from where I live. Apparently, whales are visible from my place as well as bears. Its going to be an interesting summer.

Life in Ketchikan

Ok, its been a few weeks since I last posted. My first 2 weeks at work have been amazingly busy and overwhelming but I think I am handling it all just fine. So I started my 2nd travel assignment in Ketchikan, AK. I am working at the Ketchikan General Hospital in outpatient which means I am doing a lot of hand therapy. This is a completely new area of practice for me so its overwhelming. I have excellent support from my co-workers which makes it easier for me to adjust. I am learning tons and actually enjoying it. I have co-workers that go hiking every weekend which makes it nice to get out with the locals and other travelers. We're just one big happy family! Oh, notice the empty walkway? Well, in about 2-3 weeks it is going to be filled with thousands of people. Apparently, Ketchikan ports about 10-11 cruise ships a day. It is going to be crazy here! The madness begins at the end of the month. Fun times!

Hiking in the rainforest

Saturday, March 29, 2008. I went on a hike with 7 co-workers and it was such a beautiful day. All weekend the sun was out which is not usually the case for Ketchikan. It rains here all the time! The hike took us about 5 hours to do and the end result is the waterfall behind me. Ketchikan is surrounded by rainforest so it is all green everywhere. It is gorgeous. The other picture is of me and another fellow OT traveler, Anne, pretending to be holding up the fallen tree. Sometimes I like to think I am strong:).

Happy Easter!

Well, people, I am finally finished with updating you with my life as of right now. Since I am new to this blogging business, I recommend you start looking at my blog starting at the very beginning (Ketchikan, AK). At the bottom of this page, click on older post until you get to the beginning. You may have to do it a few times. My post will make better sense if you do it this way. I hope you enjoy! I hope you all had a great Easter. Here is a picture of me as of today!

Life after the cruise

Well, after I got home (March 2), I stayed a day in SLC before heading home to Blanding. I then spent about a week in Blanding. While at home I didn't do much relaxing because I had to organize and pack my junk, I mean stuff, before leaving to Alaska. I also went on a little road trip with my parents to New Mexico as well. Life has been very busy for me but I am having a lot of fun. My parents, Colton, and I left Blanding on March 12th and 2 days later arrived in Bellingham, WA to catch the ferry to AK. It was about a 19 hour drive. My parents and Colton spend about 5 days with me before flying back to UT. Now I am alone in Ketchikan trying to get situated. I am ready to have a regular routine again. Vacation is now over.

cruise friends

Its amazing how many thousands of people are on the cruise and yet we seemed to see the same people over and over again. Its hard not to become friends. We met Kyle (from Montana) at the beginning of the week and ended hanging out with him all week. Dani is from Minnesota. She was cruising with some other people she had met on a cruise a few years before. We really met some great people during that week on the cruise. Can you guess what is in the other picture? Its sort of disguised. If you guessed an iguana, you are right. Nice job.

Roatan, Honduras

Since we didn't get to go on a zipline in Belize, we were able to satisfy our desires by going on one while in Roatan. Ok, in all of our other ports there was at least 8-9 other cruise lines. Well, in Roatan, we were the only cruise line there. It was fabulous having the place to ourselves. Anyways, back to the zipline...it was so much fun! We went on about 14-15 ziplines. Lets just say that the next day I was extremely sore. After the zipline, we went and spent the rest of our time at Tabyana Beach. Here we played sand volleyball with other cruisers. Boy was I tired!

Belize

While in Belize, Katie and I, decided to go cave tubing. Originally, we wanted to go on a zipline; however, the trip was sold out. Oh well, cave tubing was quite exciting and fun. We took a bus ride about 45 min. away from our port and was able to see the countryside. Belize is quite beautiful. There is so much to see and do in Belize that I would like to go back and just visit the country itself. Lunch was included with our trip and our tour guide (in picture) kept teasing us that we were going to eat iguana. I was actually a little disappointed that we didn't eat it but instead had chicken, rice, and beans. It was very good. More pictures to come on cave tubing. Has anyone ever tried iguana?

Cozumel, Mexico

At our second port of call, Katie and I, went and visited the San Gervasio Ruins. It was interesting to learn about the Mayan culture. I wish I could have visited more ruins but unfortunately our time at the port did not allow it. We also visited Discover Mexico Museum. It provided small structures of all the ruins in Mexico. It was kind of cool.

Cayman Islands

At our first port of call, Katie and I, went on a shore excursion to the turtle farm, a rum factory, a sandbar, and to Hell. Yes, we went to Hell and back ;). At the sandbar we were able to go swimming with the stingrays. It was pretty spectacular. It was kind of weird having the stingrays swim right next to me but I got over it quickly. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures yet from the sanbar so these ones will have to do for now.

7 day cruise to the Caribbean

After my long drive home what better way to relax than by going on a cruise. Katie is my travel buddy and we flew to Tampa, FL on Sat. Feb 23rd. Upon our arrival to Tampa we couldn't resist our appetites by eating at the Cheesecake Factory. I don't know what we were thinking considering the food we would be consuming on the cruise. Anyways, we went on the Carnival Legend and it was so much fun. Departure time wasn't until late afternoon on Sunday so we also went to the Aquarium. Good times!

Home - Utah!

After spending 5 days in a car and traveling through nine states...I finally made it home! There is no place like home! I was in Salt Lake for only 2 days before going on my cruise.

Detour - Ohio & Missouri

Since Sheila and I weren't in a rush to get back to Salt Lake, we decided to hit some of the church history sites - Kirtland, OH; Independence, MO (Liberty Jail), Far West, MO; and Adam-ondi-ahman, MO. It was a very refreshing experience and I am glad we took the time to do it. We hit these sites off-season so we basically had the sites to ourselves. It was nice.

about 2700 miles later...detours!

Ok, it took 5 days to travel from Maine to Utah; however, with multiple detours along the way. My last day of work was Feb. 15th. I left that same night and traveled to upstate New York. Since I had some time to kill before picking my sister, Sheila, up from the Buffalo Airport I decided to take a pit stop in Palmyra, NY. It was nice and quiet as well as cold; however, it didn't stop me from feeling the warmth. Sheila and I visited Niagara Falls that same night. Here are some pictures. Me in the Sacred Grove and Sheila at Niagara Falls.

My co-workers in Maine

Ok, I had awesome co-workers at my traveling site in Damariscotta, ME. I spent 5 months at a skilled nursing home (SNF) and inpatient acute hospital. I spent majority of my time at the SNF. Since this was my first traveling assignment I wasn't sure how things "rolled." Luckily, my co-workers had enough patience to put up with me and my craziness. I had so much fun there which made it very hard to leave when it came time to go. My last week there I suggested to my co-workers to wear a certain color for every day of the week. To my surprise, they were compliant. They also gave me a fantastic going away party by playing 4 square. You guys are awesome! Here are a few pictures. Who played 4 square growing up? Or maybe you still play it like me!

Winter in Maine - CRAZY!!

The very first weekend in December it snowed about 8-9" and then continued to snow about 2-3 times a week until Christmas. I was able to go home to Utah for a week; however, when I returned to Maine it continued to snow. I don't remember the exact numbers but according to some weather calculations, the snow accumulations was around 54" at the beginning of January. The snow is different than Utah snow. I didn't feel the most comfortable driving in it so I usually stayed the night with a co-worker or thumbed a ride with co-worker. Oh, I also didn't have snow tires so I really felt uncomfortable. Here is a picture of my cute cottage I lived in.

New England sites

While living in Maine I had the opportunity to do some traveling in the area. I went on some weekend trips to Boston, MA; the White Mtns in NH, Acadia NP, and other sites. I tried to go some place every weekend before the weather changed and I did. I was actually tired of traveling but still did it. I was lucky enough to be in New England during the Fall and was able to see some awesome foliage. I have had some great adventures!

My next home - Maine

After spending two weeks in Europe, I had one more week in Baltimore, MD before moving to Edgecomb, ME. I spent the first day back from Europe doing absolutely nothing and it was great! I moved to Maine because I started a new job as a traveling occupational therapist. It was different going from ghetto/crime city to rural/remote area. It was a complete 360 lifestyle change for me; however, I had an amazing experience while living in Maine and I loved it! I lived in Maine from Sept 15, 2007 to Feb 15, 2008.