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:).