Yes...it's kind of like Northern Exposure.

does anyone still visit this site?  i wonder if I should try and write here again...maybe add more photos?? 

you may have noticed but i havent been posting much.  my life just went from zero to chaos...real fasst.  i hope you can continue to enjoy my photos and past writings.  ive been reading my archives lately and some of that shit i wrote sounds crazy to even me.  this is not goodbye rather than 'see ya around'.  you cant get rid of me that easily, just ask anyone who thinks they know me.  i will post updates and stories as i remember them and have time.  basically, the stuff that happened on the way to my next forum.  i will also add pics of spokane, something i promised to do a while ago...several times.  well, thats that, at least theres closure now.  i depart st. paul on 5/12 and arrive back home on 5/14.  This is bitter sweet for me as i conclude my status as community health practitioner and i begin my quest into becoming a physicians assistant.  wouldnt it suck if i failed miserably!

 

well, heres my departing words...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just introduced this web site about a month ago or so.  They compiler updates every sunday and apparently there was also a book publiished last fall.  I just wanted to share.

 

sometimes i feel like i've cheated fate.  you know, like at one point in my life i came to a crossroads and maybe i wasnt supposed to go down a certain road.  Then someone, somewhere said "shit,  i wasnt expecting him to do that!"

lol, I mean, can you imagine that?  Like god and the devil are sitting on a cloud or some shit...and the devil is saying "he's gonna turn left", and god says "no, he's gonna turn right"...

but i fool them both and i keep going straight.  and that's when my life really began.

I got here in Atka on Friday the 10th, 2 days ago.  I arrived yet my luggage hadn't.  That's not a long story just a boring stupid one..2 words...Pen Air.  I in fact though left home last early Saturday the 4th and arrived in Anchorage later that day.  I was supposed to go to Dutch Harbor the next day and almost did too.  But we couldn't land due to a snow storm in Dutch and we then flew to Cold Bay, AK refueled and returned to Anchorage 6 houts later.  I missed the Superbowl because of that flight.  Oh well, I heard it sucked and the Seahawks got robbed.   A week later and no ones talking about it now, other things are happening.  So anyway, I was supposed to leave Dutch on Monday to come to Atka, but that didnt happen.  Instead I finally arrive in Dutch Harbor on Wednesday the 8th..after a 2 hour diversion to Cold Bay, again due to a snow storm.  Cold Bay was nice though...go figure.  Then I spent 2 days in Dutch Harbor because the small plane that was to take me to Atka needed a "part".  Guess where the plane was waiting for the "part"?  Cold Bay (huh?)  Okay, whatever.  So I get stuck in Dutch.  Thursday the weather was gorgeous.  That's when I took many of the photos of the eagles around the hotel.  Then I feasted on a seafood buffet later that evening.  Okay, so Dutch Harbor isn't so bad.  So here it is Sunday the 12th.  I just got my luggage yesterday and after a storm that took away internet service last night, today is calm and clear.  I snapped off a few pictures yesterday of yet more eagles and this ends the first of several new possible upcoming entries...if I feel motivated enough...

Man what a stressful past several months.  I know I haven't written about MEDEX much lately so here's a quick rundown.  MEDEX Northwest is a division od the University of Washington's school of Medicine for Physcians Assistants.  In November of 2005 I submitted my application for acceptance and then during the remainder of the year including much of January 2006, I awaited a call for an interview from the school.  There were approximately 500 applicants for around 80 or so slots total for 3 separate classes 3 separate locations in Washington.  This past Saturday I was one of about 42 applicants for the Spokane Class 10.  What a great day that was too.  I met so many interestingly qualified people like myself as well as faculty and preceptors.  It was an all day process that in the end I felt fairly good about.  We were told that they would make they're selections for about 20 applicants within about 2 weeks.  Well, yesterday, 4 days later, imagine my surprise when I check my voice mail messages on my cell from the Director of Admissions informing me of my acceptance.  What a great day!  I was and still am very excitedk, not to mention honored to be chosen.  I am really looking forward to starting my classes. 

 

Well, this is all for now.  I haven't blogged about much of anything for quite some time due to holiday and MEDEX selection stresses.  I have been devoting a lot of my time to my family to overcome it.  I also haven't travelled for work since before Christmas anticipating this interview, so I guess it's time to get back into my routine.  My next trip is scheduled for Feb 4th with an undertermined return date as for now.  I will return to Atka for 3 weeks then perhaps go to St. Paul for 2 to 3 weeks.  The latter is the undetermined part.  Well, thank you for reading and take care.

I know I've been absent since my last St. Paul trip and I apologize.  I'm just giving myself a much needed break.  I did take another trip to St. Paul in the beginning of this month and I'm now at home with my family.  I have a trip planned back to Atka on the second week of January and that's when I plan to continue blogging.  I want to wish everyone the Happiest of Holiday Seasons and thank you for enjoying my blog as much as I do.  I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year because that will be when I see you next.  See you in January 2006!

My flight departs Saint Paul tonight at around 2100.  It has been a busy week but a great one.  I had to medevac an elderly patient on Wednesday for a fractured hip, but it went off without any complications.  Other than that I saw a total of 30 patients in the less than 2 and a half weeks here.  Having worked with 4-5 other providers here during this time, and they seeing close the same amount of patients as well, I was surprised to see so much pathology from this population.  The clinic ranged from dead quiet to full on hectic at times but the steady stream of patients ranging in age and condition made my time go by quickly. 

 

The weather has remained very windy and cold but this weekend the winds have died down considerably.  And in fact, the skies have cleared for now and it is sunny and clear...and colder.  Just in time though for my flight out.  I was supposed to fly out tomorrow but plans have changed.  Although, I still will not fly out of Anchorage for home until Tuesday morning.  So, I'm going to have a full day to spend in Anchorage. 

 

I went for a short walk yesterday with my new friend, Dr. Nancy.  She is an old school physician that is here temporarily itinerating like myself.  She taught me a lot this past week and I hope to have a chance to work with her again soon.  But yesterday was nice, just walking one of the frozen beaches on the island with her.  We seemed to share the same eye for arctic beauty.  The surf was high and with the tide coming in and the sun setting behind us, the gorgeous pastels shimmering of the wet black sand made for a memory that will remain in my minds eye far longer than any photograph I could ever take.  But I decided to snap off one anyhow, because even though I was happy to share it with Dr. Nancy, I felt it neccesary to share it on this blog as well. (photo coming soon)

 

 

 

 

I leave you now from Saint Paul Island, Alaska.  I will be in Spokane soon enough to spend Thanksgiving with my wife and children.  But, as it truns out, Saint Paul seems to have enjoyed me as much as I have enjoyed being here, so I will return on Dec. 2.  Stay tuned for Saint Paul, part deux.

Yesterday turned out to have some nice sunny breaks in the weather so  I used one of them to take a short tour of the coastline and snap off a few photos.  I really wanted to see some fur seals beached up somewhere but I didn't.  I did see one swimming though and attempted to try and capture it while it was breeching the surface.  I switched my camera to it's hyper shutter mode, but even still you could only see either the back of it's head or tail for a split second.  So all it really looks like is a rock sticking out of the water. 

 

I learned that Saint Paul Island is a bird sanctuary and that dogs are not not allowed.  I suppose at one point they realized the dogs were molesting (not sexually I hope) the birds so they became banished.  I've heard some people refer to Saint Paul as the Galapagos of the north becasue I guess there are some birds that you will only see here.  I found a great birding web site that I have yet to fully peruse.  But they have some great information about the many species of birds here among other things so be sure and check it out.

 

Later last night I received a call from the Coast Guard base station here on the island reporting that a 20 something year old man was to be medevac'd off the marine vessel on which he was working.  It's still not clear exactly where the vessel was loacted but it took about 4 hours for the H-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak to arrive there in order to extricate him off the vessel.  The patient had a non-traumatic internal bleed of unknown origin.  The Kodiak Coast gaurd had also intitiated a medvac from Anchorage Regional Hospital's LifeFlight Air Ambulance.  They informed me that they were not going to bring the patien to our clinic, it was just more of a courtesy call and that they had planned to land their chopper at the airport and ramp transfer the patient onto the LifeFlight jet.  About 40 minutes out the chopper radioed the clinic that the patients IV had failed and the needed me to restart the IV at the runway.  I have to admit, I felt almost child like at the thought that although this being a minor brush with the Coast Guard operations, I was still involved and I have a higher liklihood of more action with these amazing heroes.  I got goose bumps thinking about this on my way to the airport and my adrenaline started to flow ever so slightly.  By the time I had arrived, LifeFlight was inbound and I knew I wouldn't be needed for the IV restart so I used my time to photograph the awesome aircraft.  There was not only the Jayhawk chopper but also a C-130 airplane on the apron.  What an awesome sight and I have the photos to prove it.  Be sure to also check out the Saint Paul Island album periodically as I will add new photos as I take them. 

 

I can't help but thank all my visitors yet again for enjoying this Space as much as I do.  Your encouragement keeps me keepin on. 

 

Yesterday morning I flew out of Spokane to Seattle.  And boy were my arms tired.  lol, bad joke...I know.  Anyway, it was a nice flight.  It only takes about an hour.  When I left Spokane the weather was slightly overcast but nice and warm at about 50 degrees or so.  Not surprising in Seattle it was raining.  I know big shock, right.  But the bigger shock came when the flight attendant out of Seattle announced the weather in Alaska.  The flight's final destination was Fairbanks, but I was getting off in Anchorage.  He read the weather like this.  "Well folks, the good news is that we will have clear skies all the way thruough Anchorage and into Fairbanks, with very little to no turbulence.  The bad news for most of you, but not all, is that the temperature is 9 degrees in Anchorage and about 10 below in Fairbanks".  With absolute perfect timing, a passenger chimes in, "I think I'm on the wrong flight!"  I guess the cold weather came in fast because I certainly didn't expect such cold weather.  Oh well, it is November in Alaska.  I should no better by now.

 

I enjoyed a quiet evening in Anchorage and went out to dinner with my mother in law at our favorite place, Gwennies.  They make a killer sirloi steak sandwich and I have one every time I'm there.  I snapped off a few photos of the Chugach mountains from the vantage point of the top floor of a parking garage in downtown around sun set, which was about 5pm.  I'll try and get those photos posted this weekend.  Alot of my recent visitors have requested winter shots of Alaska, which I planned on doing anyway.  But there really isn't a lot of snow yet.  One thing I will share is a photo from today's (Friday) front page of the Anchorage Daily News.  I wish I could take credit for this photo but I can't.  I won't explain it because this picture speaks for itself.  All I'll say is...only in Anchorage.  Anyhow you can see it here.

 

Moving right along.  I flew out of Anchorage today around 1145 for the final destination of Saint Paul.  About half way through (1.5 hrs) we stopped in Dillingham to re-fuel and we passenegers were given a small box.  I didn't think much of it really but was still curious so when the opportune time arose I glanced inside the box and saw a nice surprise.  It was one of those kiddie sandwiches you get from Subway.  You know, the one on a small round roll.  It was a turkey, no cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato.  Also in the box was a bag of chips and a chocolate chip cookie.  I'm obviously one of those people you meet that gets really thrilled by the small things in life because this just made my day.  I totally was not expecting that, especially from this small airline.  But I enjoyed it none the less.

 

The remainder of the flight was thankfully uneventful and I even caught a few z's.  When we arrived in Saint Paul the weather was dramatically different from Anchorage 3 hours ago.  It was rainy and about 45 degrees.  It was like I never left Washington.  There is some snow on the higher mountains here but on the ground is nothing but mud.  I haven't taken photos yet of of the island but am planning to this weekend.

 

I'll post more about what it's like here when I get more info.  But so far, I don't have to take emergency call.  Which is a total surprise because I was expecting as much.  So, shhh.  Kepp that under your hat while I sleep in tomorrow morning. 

I gotta say, I'm not sure how much I deserved to be one of MSN's best for the week.  Must have been the newbie at MSN made the decision.  Either way I'm grateful.  More grateful though for all of my visitors that have left such kind and encouraging comments about not only what I do for a living but also my writing and photos.  Is it obvious that photography is one of my passions?

 

I'm so glad I have that Bravenet map.  It is soo cool to see where my visitors are from.  I couldn't believe when I checked it this evening how many people placed a pin.  I've also had over 3000 hits since my link when up on What's Your Story.  How cool is this?  Very cool is what I say.  Although the timing could have been a little better because I'm not actually at work right now so there isn't much to write.  I encourage you though to read my blogs from Sept 27 and Sept 30.  Those blogs will give a feel for what my time is like when I'm at work.  Also, please take the time to look at all my photos.  There are some real nice ones if I do say so myself.

 

Someone asked me why I write less when I'm home in Spokane, and I guess the real reason is because I try real hard to not write things about my family, personal things.  It's hard because I love my family so much.  I have an amazing, beautiful and very, very supportive wife and two very adorable, intelligent children.  But I save the personal stuff for family and close friends so this space here is my work, travels, photo space.  Does that make any sense?

 

I would love for my visitors to send me pictures of their backyards or maybe the view from your desk.  I would like to start an album for my visitors.  Please also, email or post questions.  There are already so many questions that I haven't answered, I know.  But I will try really soon.  Maybe while I'm at one of the 4 airports I will be at on my way to Saint Paul. 

 

Anyway, I really can't thank you all enough.  I am truly blessed with this job to be able to travel to such interesting places and it really pleases me to be able to share my experiences.  And to see that my sharing is paying off is awesome.

I had no idea that my space is one of MSN's featured spaces today.  Thank you for the emails and visitors to my blog map for stopping by and posting great comments.  I guess this just puts the pressure on a little for me to write more.

 

Please feel free to visit my archives for more information on what me and what I do in Alaska.  But in a nut shell, I travel to small rural villages as an itinerant community health practitioner and EMT.  I am an extension of the physicians in the big city of Anchorage and provide as their eyes and ears to help provide primary and emergency medical care to the people in very isolated, remote places. 

 

Lately my travels have taken me to the Aleutian and Priboloff Islands and I will be returning next week to the village of Saint Paul.  I have also travelled extensively in the Bristol Bay region which includes south central Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula, including Lake Iliamna.  A few years ago I travelled to every village of the North Slope (including Barrow) north of the Arctic Circle and also along the western edge of Alaska from Kotzebue down to Dillingham.  Althought I have travelled throught the interior of Alaska, it has been on a more social rather than professional basis.  I am working my way around the state, slowly but surely but still have lots to see as Alaska is so expansive.

 

My schedule varies but in the past I have travelled from 4-6 weeks in Alaska then had 4 weeks off where I reside in Spokane, WA.  Now my travels will be between 2-3 weeks with an equal amount of time at home.  I rarely write when I am home as I try to spend as much time with my wife and two children.  Also, it's my time time to work on The List of renovations my wife and I are doing on our 1910 bungalow in Spokane.

 

As mentioned earlier, I will leave Spokane on Nov. 3rd for my next trip north and as I understand it, Old Man Winter has been showing his face.  I am in the process of preparing for this trip by taking inventory of my cold weather gear and shopping for and packing my food.  I have never been to Saint Paul, so this will be a new and exciting adventure where I promise to offer new photos.

 

I've had some job offers here locally in Spokane but so far I've declined them all.  If I chose one I'd be faced with taking a pay cut and being excessively bored.  Instead, after speaking with my employer in Alaska, I worked out a schedule so that instead of 4 to 5 weeks away, I would work 2 to 3 weeks away.  This to me should cure both my lonesome and homesick bug.  I figure 2 to 3 weeks away will be so much easier for not only me to handle but also my wife and children.  Plus, even if I do get weathered in a village, odds are it won't be for more than a week.  So, my next trip up will be on November 2nd.  I will fly to Anchorage where I will overnight then I will fly to Dutch Harbor and my final destination will be...drumroll please...Saint Paul Island. 

 

St. Paul will be a new experience for me so I am getting very excited.  There will be so much to explore but my time will be limited.  If all goes well, I will depart St. Paul on November 21 then be home in Spokane on the 22nd.  Hopefully, weather will be nice and I can spend Thanksgiving with my family.

 

I don't know what to expect concerning EMS help, housing, transportation or anything really besides what's stated in the link below, so stay tuned for this upcoming trip with details and photos of Saint Paul, Alaska.

 

 

 

 

 

I made it home yesterdat morning.  It was a long, exhausting trip but well worth it.  Today I went on a field trip with my daughter and her kindergarten class.  We went to an apple orchard and pumpkin patch.  We had a great time and Alena picked the biggest pumpkin she could find.  Now guess who had to carry it back the bus?  The kids had a blast and it felt great to be there with my little girl.  Unfortunately, my wife had a less fun day as she ran into some problems with our van so I had to get it to the shop after I returned.  Thankfully, the dealer had a loaner car for us.  So we will have to deal with going from a mini van to a small 4 door car for a few days.

 

I will update my space less over the next few days.  I am taking some well deserved R&R.  So see ya when I see ya.

Well, I was supposed to leave Atka today but they cancelled my flight.  And go figure, the weather is beautiful!!  I guess the story is the airline, Pen Air, had their planes scheduled for the 100 hour inspection today.  Have you ever seen that DHL commercial about customer service where that delivery guy leaves the package in the path of the closing elevator...serveral time?  That's how I feel.  When, I wonder, did it ever make sense for an airline, albeit small bush airline, think that it made sense to schedule passengers when they knew full well they wouldn't have any airplanes to fly them in?  I'm sorry, am I mising something here?  Am I being unreasonable?  I truly understand and actually quite appreciate the airline performing inspections in a timely manner, but really, don't schedule passengers for that day.  It just makes sense!  And ofcourse there was no one at the ticket counter or even customer service that could answer any of my questions.  And did I get an apology?  No!  They never even had the courtesy to call me and explain things ahead of time.  I had to find out when I called yesterday to cofirm my reservation.  "Oh by the way mr. paying passenger, we cancelled that flight.  Your just shit out of luck".

 

So, if all goes as planned in Plan B, I will hopefully be home by Sunday.  Let's see if the weather cooperates now.

 

 

I just added 7 more photos to the Atka, Ak album

I know it's just a matter of time when the telephone is going to ring at 2 am and scare the crap out of me.  My adrenaline will start pouring through my veins and I will pick up the reciever to a frantic voice on the other end saying, "so and so isn't breathing!!"  And now for the next challenge.  Where does so and so live.  Here I am on this island in the middle of freaking no where and someone out there isn't breathing.  Well, now what.  I have to somehow get directions right.  "Well, go up the hill and head this way until you get to the blue house on this side of the post office then turn left going down hill past the first broken down green pick up truck and so and so will be inside the third red house, well more like a rust colored house!"  *deep breath*...Okay, you know what, I need to go to the clinic because I have to gather a lot of equipment so that when I actually do get to so and so's house I will be able to help him.  So here's what's going to happen.  You are going to haul ass down to the clinic and I'll meet you there, then I will follow you to so and so's house...okay?  "Uh, yeah, I guess I can do that".  Well, gee...thanks.  Oh and by the way, call whoever the first responders are and tell them I need help, maybe they could do rescue breathing until I get there.  "But, there are no first responders, you're it man!!" 

 

Oh joy!

 

Now this scenario may seem like it would take forever for me to respond but believe me when I say, I will get there much faster than your local emergency ambulance in Big City, USA.  These are small communities and I try ever so valiantly to be the best boy scout possible to 'be prepared'. 

 

To be continued...

Into week 3 and nothing exciting has happened so far.  We did have a few tremors from a small earthquake over the weekend, about a 100 miles away in the ocean but it wasn't strong enough to produce any damage.

 

I have been having some real mixed emotions lately about this job.  On one hand it is very exciting to travel to these unique rural villages and I love being able to help others.  But on the other hand it can be very isolating and lonely.  I do not know anyone here so other than the phone calls I get from my family I really get no chance for conversation.  I eat breakfast alone, I work alone, I go to my temporary home..alone, I eat dinner alone, I watch the one television channel alone then I sleep...alone.  I fortunately have internet access because if I didn't I'd for sure be a complete and utter basket case by now.  Online chat programs like MSN Messenger is also a saving grace.  But virtual conversation is not the same as hanging out with an actual human being, shooting the breeze or playing cards.  Yes, being out here provides for my family and I earn a decent buck, even if it doesn't seem to some that I earn it on a daily basis.  But I would give this all up in a heartbeat if I could afford to stay home in Spokane working a regular 9-5 job. 

 

So here is what I tell myself almost on a daily basis.

 

This all a sacrifice to get to a better place soon.

 

I do love what I do.  I may not be busy every minute of the day, and there may be days when I don't even see a patient, but hey...that's a good thing.  Because in this line of work when things are slow for me that means everyone is healthy and safe. 

So it's Friday again.  What are your plans for the weekend?  It's actually nice and sunny here in Atka today, although a little windy.  I had a busy morning in the clinic because I had to do some random drug screenings for a local business.  I hate doing these because I never know what to expect from the patients.  You wouldn't think drugs would make their way out this far in to nowheresville but alas drugs are every where.  I don't do these often but when I do I always get a little nervous when they come out positive.  The patients tend to get angry at me as if it's my fault.  Yeah buddy, I just whipped out my magic wand and shot cocaine up your nose.  Thankfully today's screenings were uneventful.  After that the day tapered off into the normalcy only a small town can provide.

 

In case you haven't noticed, I added a Windows Media Player to my blog and there's a new song.  It's called Pickin' Wild Flowers by Keith Anderson and it's a nice upbeat tune.  Some people have had a difficult time hearing the song but I found that depending on your connection, if you just give it a minute or so to load you will hear it. 

 

I've also just added a Guest Map which is powered by Bravenet.  It's a cool little net tool that I've seen on other blogs and I thought it would be fun to have here.  For now you can access it from the button below on today's blog entries but I also added a link to it at the upper right below the Guestbook for when today's entries fade away to the archives.

 

Speaking of archives, if you haven't done so already or are coming to my blog late in the action, be sure and check out my first 3 or so entries.  These will give you an idea of my mission for this site and why I started it.  If you don't want to dig around to find it, just leave me a comment or email me with any questions.  I'd be happy to hear from you.

 

Lastly for today, I'd like you the viewers to submit a photo of where you call home.  Send me a photo of a view from your porch or favorite window.  Perhaps you'd like to show me a favorite place you like to visit like a park, beach, city  landmark or even your favorite restaurant.  Whatever it is I will add it to a new album I will call Viewer Photos.

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to "see" you again soon.  Have a great weekend!

Just click on the button below to view and/or add your pin to my new guest map so I can track all my worldly visitors.  Thank you.

 

 

powered by  bravenet.com

New photos are up!  For those of you that are new to my site and you want to see the photos in the full glorious size, just click on the icon just to the bottom right of the photos you see now above.  It will look like this

 

I arrived in Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Alaska Shot On September 6th and stayed until the 9th.  In shot 1 you will see what I believe is the actual Port of Dutch Harbor, or part of it.  You will also notice the road that takes you from the Dutch Harbor side to the Unalaska side.  Shot 2 is of the Grand Aleutian Hotel.  It is a pretty nice hotel with all the amenities one can ask for even if it is on island in the middle of the Bering Sea.  The cost is more than the 4 star Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, but hey, considering it is practically the only hotel on the island, I had no place to complain.  My room was on the first floor facing the bay that you see there and I could just about toss a fishing line from my window.  Shot 3 is the Russian Orthodox church in Unalaska.  I'm told there is usually a bald eagle perched upon the taller crossed steeple but it was a tad windy (notice the white capsin the bay) so no eagle that day.  Beautiful shot thought isn't it.  Skipping to shot 7 is a mountain of which I know not the name but I though it was cool to catch the crab pots lined up with the rainbow in the rear.  As I mentioned, the day I took these photos there was quite a storm ripping through so you are seeing a normal day in the Aleutians.  It's pretty hard to get nice photos on overcast, windy, wet days like this but I think I performed rather well. 

 

In the most recent album which is the default album you see on the home page is taken on Atka Island which is where I am right now.  I arrived here on September 9th on what started out to be a nice calm late afternoon from Dutch Harbor.  It is about a 2 hour flight here and about 20-30 minutes out the turbulence kicked in.  I'll spare you the hairy details but I will say it is now #1 on the Scary Flights I Took list.  And it seems that the wind and rain that day is pretty much the trend for Autumn out here because in the 2.5 weeks I've been here I've experienced 1, yes 1 nice sunny day.  But even that didn't last more than 4 hours.  It just so happened to be after I closed the clinic so I hopped on my borrowed Kawasaki atv and toured what little of the island I could in two hours.  It was still windy but it was clear with blue skys.  Anyway, I'll give you the grand tour now.  Shot 1 is of the "old village" as it's called.  This is the area that I am housed and where the clinic is.  You can see the Russian Orthodox church which I seem to have an obsesstion with.  I just love the architecture of these types of churches and well all churches in general.  I love to photograph churches and one day soon I'd like to compile all my current church shots together in a project.  Spokane by the way has many beautiful churches that I have yet to photograph but that's for another blog and album all together.  Back to Atka.  Shot 3 shows the church again and also the house in which I am staying in.  It's the yellowish one.  The houses here on this side are quite old and weather beaten.  You can really see the type of terrain in this shot.  This terrain masks the island in a very beautiful way.  Shot 4 is the clinic where I work.  Well, the downstairs is the clinic, the upstairs is offices for the local tribe.  Shots 5-14 were taken from a nice stretch of beach I found.  The sand was nice and black and the salt water blown in from the sea smelled refreshing.  This a very nice beach for beachcombing and was very accessible.  Notice the small islands dotting the sea just beyond the main island.  Very picturesque.  Shots 15-17 show me zoom in on a waterfall located just behind the school.  My plan is to hike out closer to the falls if the weather cooperates this weekend.  Shots 18-21 were taken atop a bluff that had a magnificent view.  I could really see the greenish blue water, and it was shallow for quite a ways out so from up there I could see straight to bottom.  Shot 22 is me.  I used my timer on this one cause I really wanted to be in this one with the spectacular view behind me.

 

Well, those are the highlights.  Thanks for checking out my blog and I hope you are enjoying my photos. 

Well, here I am on Day 11 here in Atka.  It has been fairly slow here in the clinic and the pace seems to be reflected upon daily life here on the island.  There isn't much movement of locals seen from my point of view between the clinic and my lovely, moisture consumed hovel.  But it has been reported that the halibut fishery is wrapping up.

 

Apparently there is a small local halibut processing plant on the island that fillets and freezes the locally caught white fish.  With a small fleet of local fishing vessels, approximately 100k pounds of halibut are caught yearly. 

 

The weather has remained in the category of windy and wet but there was a reprieve of sunshine for a whopping 4 and half hours late last week.  I used that precious rare event to snap some photos with my now working camera.  I don't know why it went on the fritz, maybe the excess humidity, but that bright and sunny day it worked.  I snapped off about 50 or so shots and now I'm trying to figure out a way to post them without the software that I didn't bring with me.  I think I just about have it figured out but my camera battery died so it's going to have to wait until tommorrow.

 

So that's pretty much it from here.  Exciting huh?  Well, what do you expect from a small island in the middle of where ever the hell I'm at.

Goodbye Bristol Bay and Egegik.  Hello Aleutian Chain and Atka Island.  This is a whole other bird here folks.  Never have I ever felt so isolated than I do now sitting here on an island in the middle of the Bering Sea.  And yet I still have internet access so all is not lost. 

 

Oh look the sun is shining...nevermind, it's gone.  Sounds like a joke huh?  Well, it's not.  I've been here for about a week now and there hasn't been a single day pass that it didn't rain.  On top of that I've experienced wind gusts of upwards to 90 mph.  Tropical storm winds in the Arctic?  And this is normal?

 

There is however a sort of beauty none the less.  Set aside the fact that the Alaska Volcano Observatory reports the Korovin Volvano (located on Atka Island) as being active.  Yes,never mind the high probabilty factors for gale force winds, earthquakes and tsunami's and you just might see the bountiful water falls, beautiful hot springs or even catch a glimpse of the reindeer or sea lions.  And I'm willing to bet if I could get atop one of the many rolling hills on a rarely clear day I would witness a spectacular sun set. 

 

So where are the pictures, you may ask?  Well, unfortunately I am having technical difficulties with my camera that I have yet to get resolved.  But alas I am resourceful and I am hatching a plan to get new photos up as we speak.  Stay tuned for those to come soon and in the mean time, I am attaching a photo of a map of the Aleutian Islands but I'm not sure how well it will show so I am also providing a link to the chain of islands using MSN's new tool Virtual Earth.  Use this tool to zoom out so you can see where the islands lie in relation to the rest of Alaska and hence the rest of the USA.

 

 

I'm still trying to wrap up my summer home so I will not post any real news.  Just wanted to say hi and that I'm still kicking but been away for a little r&r.  I should be posting more soon and plan to add more pics.  Take care and see ya soon.