Farewell

Visiting Grandma

and Papa

Caught his first fish

Even more challeng - ing then moving to Alaska is moving out of Alaska, and true to our form we couldn't do it simply.  4 weeks after Simon was born I took him and Luke back to Atlanta to help fend off the Bethel baby blues (a much more potent form of the classic postpartum depression).  While there we visited Grandma and Grandpa and Papa in Kentucky, spent time with our good friends from Charleston, bathed in the sun for a week in Panama City Beach, and danced at an old friend's wedding in Massachusetts.

Georgia Aquarium

Tellus Museum

 Meanwhile back in bush Alaska Mark continued to sell as much of our stuff as we could do without and didn't plan on bringing back.  Simon and I returned to Bethel at the end of May (Luke took turns staying with his grandparents in Georgia and Kentucky).

Panama City Beach

 I went back to work for a week to finish out my contract with the hospital as we boxed up or sold the rest of our stuff.  As you can imagine, moving to Alaska is expensive, as we discovered, moving out of Alaska is even more expensive.  To make sure we stayed within our weight limit for flying our stuff to the moving company in Anchorage, we tediously weighed every box once it was packed.

Kennebunkport, ME

 As we got closer and closer to our max weight we realized we had way more stuff we wanted to keep then weight available.  So began the process of mailing ourselves our belongings.  As is turns out, the US postal service was half the cost per pound to mail then the moving company was to ship.  As it also turns out, the US postal service doesn't care how many times you write fragile on a box.  

Simon's baptism Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Bowling Green, KY

While we pack, he's chillin in the
same basket my
grandmother put my aunt
while she worked in the field

Just less than 2 weeks after returning to Bethel from maternity leave we boarded our last flight out.  But the whirlwind doesn't end there.  We got into Kentucky Friday 13th and on Saturday we got Simon baptized.  Monday we drove to Atlanta and spent the next 2 days loading our storage unit into a 26 foot Penske truck.

Break from all that hard packing

About to begin the trek

 Thursday, Mark and my dad set out for Idaho.  Friday, Mom, the kids and I boarded another plane destined for our new home.  
We've been in Sandpoint now for 2 weeks and things are finally starting to slow down.  I've started my new job and we've even gotten out to do some sightseeing.

Our 2 years in Alaska was a great experience that we will never forget.  Professionally I got to see and do things I otherwise wouldn't have been able to.  Best of all though are all the amazing friends we've met.  
Thanks to all who have been following this blog.  I hope you have enjoyed it.  If you ever find yourself in Northern Idaho, look us up, I think we'll be here for awhile.

Sandpoint, ID as viewed from the summit of Schweitzer Mt

 

Bring Your Kid to Work

On the fourth Thursday of each April millions of Americans bring their children to work with them.  This year was going to be Luke's first time participating, and Mark volunteered to show Luke what he does at work.  (Honestly, even if I wasn't on maternity leave, I don't think Luke would do well in an hospital emergency room.)  

Most people wouldn't find construction project management a very exciting field, especially for a preschooler.  The phone calls, number crunching and office work would be tedious for anyone, but when the only way to reach your project is by plane, the job gets a whole lot more interesting.  

On this particular day in April, Mark was going to accompany a coworker to the near-by village of Napaskiak to get pictures of the school's construction site.  Mark's colleague also has a son Luke's age and so the two boys and the two dads chartered a flight and headed toward the village.

The trip was short, but worth every second.  Luke had been asking Mark for months to go with him to a village, and now he finally got his chance just in time.  Two days later Luke and his Nana boarded the jet and said their final good-byes to Bethel, Alaska. 

Napaskiak

Frozen Kuskokwim River

 

Simon

It's a boy!  March 29th God blessed us with a healthy beautiful baby boy.  Predictions from my patients, friends and family were split 50/50.  Mark was sure we were getting another girl, and I didn't have strong feelings one way or another.  
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Bethel is set up to function more like a birthing center in that women labor naturally; there is no option of an epidural.  
I must admit, I was a little nervous about having my baby in Bethel.  Even though I delivered my second baby naturally in a birthing center and had a great experience, my first delivery in a hospital was nothing I wanted to experience again.  I worried my delivery in Bethel would be more like the hospital, bound to a bed by a fetal monitor and blood pressure cuff, but without the option of an epidural.  I had nothing to fear.  My experience delivering Simon here was perfect; in many ways even better than the experience I had delivering at the birthing center.  

My labor took off quickly and progressed quickly.  Thankfully I was the only woman in labor at the time, so I was able to take advantage of the jacuzzi tub.  We couldn't have gotten a better, more attentive nurse.  She was with me the whole time, coaching me through every contraction.  My doctor was not only my boss, but also a friend, and it was such a comfort her being there.  After 4 hours of labor Simon was laid across my chest and allowed to remain there until he was finished nursing.  The whole experience was wonderful.  

Family Vacation

One of the really nice benefits of working at YK is the CME (continuing medical education) reimbursement.  As a PA I have to keep up with my CME earning so many hours every 2 years.  There are a lot of ways to earn CME: reading articles, gaining qualified certifications, attending approved lectures... But my favorite way to earn CME is at a conference.  Several months ago I found a great 3 day primary care conference at Walt Disney World.  Even though I was going to be 7 1/2 months pregnant at the time, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the kids on their first Disney trip.   
The last time we traveled to the East Coast from Bethel we only went for a week, and it was so exhausting we vowed never to go for such a short period of time again.  So our plans for this trip was a week in Disney followed by a week split between visiting Kentucky friends and family and visiting Georgia friends and family.  But you know what they say about the best laid plans...
About a week and a half before we were set to leave we ran into our first kink, a good kink, but a kink none the less.  

     Side note: For about a month I had been causally checking   out the job market back in the lower 48.  My 2 year contract with YK expires this June and Mark and I were curious to see how feasible it would be to move back this summer.  We knew that we had the advantage of being able to be really picky about if and where we moved.  We both have good jobs here, and even though life in Bethel has its challenges, we are doing well.   

A job had opened up in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho and the clinic really wanted me to come in for interviews and a site visit.  There was no way we were going to be able to go before leaving for Disney, and to try and go after we got back was getting really close to my due date.  So suddenly that second week of vacation was going to be slammed with traveling!

Our adventure started on Valentine's Day with the night jet into Anchorage followed by a several hours lay over in the airport till our red eye left bound for the lower 48.  Change planes in Portland, deplane because no one would claim a lost computer battery and security had to re-sweep the plane, arrive in Atlanta in time for a late dinner.  I truly think one of the most exhausting things in life is to travel from Bethel, Alaska to the East Coast (and vice versa) with 2 toddlers.  Picture this: It's 3:00 am and everyone on the plane is trying to sleep (including you) and your two kids are screaming and crying from being over-exhausted themselves.  All they want is to curl up in your lap, get comfortable and fall asleep.  Only every time they get out of their seats the flight attendant flutters over and kindly reminds you that they have to stay seated with their seat belts fastened.  I would honestly rather wrestle an alligator than try to fasten the seat belt of a toddler who doesn't want to stay in their seat and knows how to undo their seat belt with the angry eyes of every other passenger in a 3 row radius staring at you!

Animal Kingdom

So, Day 1: Leave Bethel, Day 2: Arrive in Atlanta, Day 3: Wake up bright and early, load up the cars and hit the road to Orlando.

We spent a fabulous 6 days at Disney!  Nana and Papa and Auntie joined us, along with one of my best friends from Charleston and her daughter.  We had beautiful weather, the kids got to meet all their favorite characters and we ate so much amazing food I could write a whole blog post on the food alone!  

The conference was awesome!  I won't bore you with the details, but the presenters were knowledgeable and the information I learned had me excited to bring back into my practice.  The timing of the conference was perfect as well.  Three days and over by noon so I could join my family where ever they were.  

Day 8: We said good-bye to Disney, vowed to visit again soon and headed back to Atlanta.  

Our Tour Guide

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair

 

The remainder of the trip was sheer craziness!  Day 9: Mark and I flew bright and early from Atlanta to Spokane, Washington, rented a car and drove to Sandpoint, Idaho.  Day 10: We spent interviewing, meeting everyone at the clinic and checking out the area.  Day 11: While I shadowed the doctor I would be working with, Mark called on a few job opportunities, followed by lunch with the CEO and a job offer - yeah!  From here, the plan was (there are those pesky plans again) to drive back to Spokane, take a night flight to Vegas, a red eye to Atlanta, arrive in Atlanta at 7:00 am, drive from the airport to Kentucky and spend a couple days with Mark's family.  All went accordingly till Vegas (I doubt I'm the first to say that) when our flight was canceled and we couldn't get another one till the next day.  To sweeten the situation, the airline refused to put up the stranded passengers in a hotel for the night.  So there I was nearly 8 months pregnant trying to sleep on the floor of the Vegas airport (because of course there were more slot machines than chairs, and all the benches were divided by arm rests so you couldn't stretch out on them).  Day 12: Finally arrived in Atlanta at 3:30, borrowed the car from my parents with the kids already loaded and drove to Kentucky.  We spent the night and most of Day 13 in Kentucky before driving back to Atlanta, spending the night in Atlanta and then on Day 14 flew back to Alaska.  

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but worth every minute.  Now we just wait for a baby to be born and start preparing for our big move this June!

Musk Ox

One of my biggest disappointments with Bethel has been the lack of wildlife.  I came out here fully expecting to see moose, bears, eagles...  This is Alaska after all!  We read up on what to do if a moose is blocking your driveway and how to avoid getting eaten by a bear; neither animals of which have I even seen since moving to Alaska.  Don't get me wrong, Bethel is in the middle of a wildlife refuge, the wildlife is out there, it just avoids Bethel.  Even our trash dumpsters lack animal deterrents.  On the exceptionally rare occasion that something more than a fox or a raven is spotted, the news travels like wildfire!  In the year and a half we have been here I have only heard of 2 such occasions.  Once was a cow moose, once a bull musk ox.  Both sightings were fleeting, for as soon as the animals realized they had ventured so close to civilization they turned back to the refuge of the tundra, seen only by a few. 

But I wouldn't be writing about this today if something hadn't changed.  About a week after Thanksgiving, a small group of about 11 musk ox took up residence across the river and grazed there for nearly 2 weeks.  It was all people were talking about.  No one could remember such animals ever coming so close to Bethel, not to mention sticking around for awhile.  The primary musk ox heard resides just outside of Toksook Bay, along the Bering Coast, 115 miles West of Bethel.

Musk ox are native to the Alaskan tundra, however, the herds were hunted to depletion in the 19th century.  As a means to help maintain the native culture, a herd was reintroduced to the tundra in 1935.  Additional herds have been introduced to other parts of Alaska, but no documented herds have ever come this far east.  After the herd was reintroduced to Alaska in 1935 it grew rapidly enough that hunting was allowed by 1975.  True to the native culture, every part of the hunted animal is used for something.  The meat of course for food, the horns I have seen made into beautiful jewelry, and the underwool woven into truly amazing articles of clothing and accessories.  

The musk ox meat I have tasted is delicious, tender yet lean.  My favorite pair of earrings are a combination of musk ox horn and ivory.  But my absolute favorite part of the musk ox is the underwool, or qiviut.  Softer than cashmere and 80% warmer than wool, yet light and will not shrink in any temperature of water.  I only own 2 small pieces.  A beret and a smoke ring (small infinity scarf).  Together the two pieces cost just under $500!  Musk ox yarn is unbelievably expensive, but worth every penny. 

I don't know where the Bethel musk ox moved onto; if they rejoined the Toksook herd or if they will grow in number and form their own herd.  I hope we get to see them again, maybe they will return in the spring with a few little calves added to their number.      

Fairbanks

There is always something new to explore in Alaska.  This year for Thanksgiving we decided to explore a little bit of interior Alaska and spend the holiday in Fairbanks.  We found a great little suite hotel with a full kitchen so we could home cook all our favorite Thanksgiving fixings.  And don't think for a second that just because we were tucked in the middle of frozen Alaska that we weren't surrounded by family and friends.  Both my parents joined us, one of my best friends from Charleston and her little girl joined us and Mark's mom and brother also made the long trip out!  
Thanksgiving day of course was all about the food.  We stayed snuggled in the hotel utilizing every oven we had access to in order to bring together a little piece of Thanksgiving goodness from everyone's traditions.  Fat and happy we called it an early night as the next day we planned to make the icy drive to Chena Hot Springs.  

Chena Hot Springs is a natural thermal hot spring located a bit over 55 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  Dad white knuckled most of the 1.5 hour drive, but it was well worth it.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the naturally heated indoor pool and hot tubs, while the adults took kid watching shifts to enjoy the outdoor natural rock pool.  I don't know how hot the outdoor pool gets, but I can tell you there were areas of the pool that were too hot for me.  With outside temperatures that day around -25 degrees, it didn't take long for our wet hair to freeze above water while our bodies stayed nice and toasty in the pool.  Once everyone was hungry and pruned to the max we said goodbye to the pools and made our way next to the Ice Museum and Hotel.  Although smaller than I was expecting, the highlight was definitely the appletinis poured and served in a glass made entirely out of ice at the ice bar.  Don't worry, I didn't drink mine, but I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity!  

The next day, refusing to let the frigid -24 degrees keep us tucked inside, we ventured to a well known sledding hill on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.  Again the kids had a blast (the adults did too).  I think Luke would have stayed until his face mask froze to his face if we let him.  

Later that day we walked with the reindeer at the Running Reindeer Ranch.  Amazing how the animals just fell into line with our group as if we were each a reindeer in their herd, even nudging those who were moving too slow to either speed it up or move aside.  

That night, for me anyway, was the highlight of the trip!  The clouds cleared away late in the day and even though the Aurora Borealis forecast was low, we decided to take our chances and drive out to Cleary Summit.  A worthwhile decision for sure!  We were not disappointed!  I had rented a special camera lens (one I couldn't dream of affording right now) specifically for capturing the Northern Lights should we get the opportunity to see them.  We didn't get back to the hotel till after 2:00 am, but the pictures speak for themselves as to how worth the loss of sleep was!

Day 4 was the highlight of the trip for the kids... the North Pole to see Santa.  Only about 15 minutes outside of Fairbanks, Luke could hardly contain himself with excitement to be able to see Santa at Santa's home!  Next to Santa's home was a small park with numerous slides all made out of ice.  The two younger kids and a couple of the colder adults sat this venture out and stayed nestled in the toasty car.  The rest of us however grabbed a sled and hit the ice.  We played till our eyelashes became icicles and we couldn't feel our fingers.  

















On our last day, we wrapped up our trip with a visit to the Museum of the North at UAF.  The museum had such a great kid play area that they all cried when it was time to go.  I cried when I saw my grand total come up on the gift shop cash register; but mostly everyone just enjoyed the museum's exhibits, giving us all a little closer look at the culture and history of native Alaska.

The whole trip was such a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving.  I don't think any of us will ever forget the unique experiences we shared.  As for me, I would return in a heartbeat.  With any luck, we'll get a chance to experience Fairbanks in the summer as well.