King Salmon Fishing
ALASKA NURSING TRIP 2013
Hello, my name is Katie Rigelman and I was one of the fortunate 9 students who was able to experience the very rural culture in Alaska. As an RN nursing student with a rural focused nursing program, I feel that this trip has opened my eyes to the dynamics in a more broader spectrum. While in Alaska we spent time in bush schools, rural public schools, native health clinics, community health clinics, and rural hospitals. We met some very fascinating health care personel who had so much passion and drive for the work that they are doing in Alaska. In comparison, Alaska's healthcare system is leagues behind what we have here in the domestic united states. This is mostly do to lack of resources, but that didn't stop the community leaders in which we worked with did everything that they could to go above and beyond to provide for their students and/or patients. It was Inspiring!
Hello, my name is Katie Rigelman and I was one of the fortunate 9 students who was able to experience the very rural culture in Alaska. As an RN nursing student with a rural focused nursing program, I feel that this trip has opened my eyes to the dynamics in a more broader spectrum. While in Alaska we spent time in bush schools, rural public schools, native health clinics, community health clinics, and rural hospitals. We met some very fascinating health care personel who had so much passion and drive for the work that they are doing in Alaska. In comparison, Alaska's healthcare system is leagues behind what we have here in the domestic united states. This is mostly do to lack of resources, but that didn't stop the community leaders in which we worked with did everything that they could to go above and beyond to provide for their students and/or patients. It was Inspiring!
Day 1: Our Journey Begins!
Our flight got in really late, and we all just crashed. On Friday Morning we all met down in the Millenium Hotel's restuarant for breakfast and a meeting with Cheri Hample, Director of Health Services for Chagachmiut Health Care Consortium. She was so very welcoming and played a big part in helping Andrea gain the resources needed to pull this entire experience together. Cheri gave us a great introduction into the "way of life in the health care industry of Alaska." She touched a little bit of everything including the communication barriers, poverty, abuse, depression, alcholism, transporation and weather challenges and Denali care. She was very knowledgeable and informative, and gave us a good foundation to start with prior to continuing our journey through Alaska.
After brunch we headed down to Seward, and we were all awstruck by the scenery along the way. It was so funny because everyone was climbing over eachother with their cameras to get their perfect picture, but later when we all compared and shared our photos we realized that we all had many of the same shots. The roads were not great because they had just gotten a huge snow storm the day before. According to some of the locals there was approximately 12 feet of snow in areas, I wish I had a picture of the snow banks along the way. We watched skiers and snowmobilers play along the mountainside the along the way.. it looked like fun, but too extreme for me!
We were greeted at our bed and breakfast by the most welcoming couple, they were so excited to have us and were so accomodating throughout our stay. After unloading we went to town to get ideas on our weekend planning, and to our suprise, most of the town was shutdown for the winter. We did a little shopping and found a nice local restaurant to have dinner and enjoyed eachothers company.
Seward;s Marina Bear Lake Lodge B&B Seward's Shops
After brunch we headed down to Seward, and we were all awstruck by the scenery along the way. It was so funny because everyone was climbing over eachother with their cameras to get their perfect picture, but later when we all compared and shared our photos we realized that we all had many of the same shots. The roads were not great because they had just gotten a huge snow storm the day before. According to some of the locals there was approximately 12 feet of snow in areas, I wish I had a picture of the snow banks along the way. We watched skiers and snowmobilers play along the mountainside the along the way.. it looked like fun, but too extreme for me!
We were greeted at our bed and breakfast by the most welcoming couple, they were so excited to have us and were so accomodating throughout our stay. After unloading we went to town to get ideas on our weekend planning, and to our suprise, most of the town was shutdown for the winter. We did a little shopping and found a nice local restaurant to have dinner and enjoyed eachothers company.
Seward;s Marina Bear Lake Lodge B&B Seward's Shops
Day 2 - Saturday March 16, 2013
We woke up to homemade waffles and a breakfast bar, and we headed out early to visit the Seward
Hospital. For a town approximately the size of Moose Lake, I was so surprised by the size of the hospital. There were 2 acute care patient rooms (2 beds each), 1 OB room, a lab, therapy area, waiting room and a small Emergency Department. For such a small hospital however, they were not lacking on the equipment needed in the event of an emergency, in which case weather is too bed to permit a transfer to Ancorage via ambulance or helicopter. The population multiplies like crazy in the summer months due to tourists, so I was very surprised to see the facility so small.
We woke up to homemade waffles and a breakfast bar, and we headed out early to visit the Seward
Hospital. For a town approximately the size of Moose Lake, I was so surprised by the size of the hospital. There were 2 acute care patient rooms (2 beds each), 1 OB room, a lab, therapy area, waiting room and a small Emergency Department. For such a small hospital however, they were not lacking on the equipment needed in the event of an emergency, in which case weather is too bed to permit a transfer to Ancorage via ambulance or helicopter. The population multiplies like crazy in the summer months due to tourists, so I was very surprised to see the facility so small.
After our visit to the Seward hospital, we spent the afternoon riding a snow-cat up near Exit Glacier, and then we snowshoed up onto the glacier! It was a great day with many laughs. Afterwards everyone was famished and wanted to get a bite to eat in town. Annie, Amanda, Alissa and I decided to hold off on dinner to squeeze in a visit to Seward's Sea Life Center before it closed for the weekend. We followed it up with a fabulous dinner at a Christo's Restaurant across the street. We treated ourselves to Halibut and Steak..YUM! We all had a very quiet night at the lodge, as we had a very early planned to go fishing in Homer.
Day 3 - Sunday March 17th
So, from day one, I was bound and determined to go fishing in Alaska while we were there. When we were told that there was no fishing at this time, I told Andrea that somehow I was going to find a way to go fishing - I didn't care if I had to ask everyone I met! The first night in Anchorage, there was a man who was having trouble checking into the hotel because he didn't have a credit card. There was a huge snow storm and he had a 4 hour drive ahead of him that he didn't want to make during the night. He had cash on him, but the hotel needed a credit card number to hold in the event there was damages to the room. Long story short, I couldn't walk away after hearing all of this play out. I offered to help him out, and asked the hotel to use my credit card number for his room. My only stipulation was that he "pay it forward." When I found it he lived in Homer, I asked him if he knew of any places that were going out fishing. He said not off the top of his head, but that he would take my number and call if he found out anything. The next day he had a friend of his call me with the news that we could indeed get out fishing! Although we were in Seward, and the boats were in Homer (4 hours away) I was totally in for it. It turned out that the entire group wanted to go, and I was able to talk Captain Josh into getting a few of his friends (other charters) to take us out! Due to the size of our group we had to split up into 3 boats, but he made it happen!
We woke up at 3am with a surprised "fisherman's" bagged breakfast (so thoughtful!), and we were on our way. We were blessed with northern lights along the way - AMAZING!
The weather was perfect in the 40's with full sun, it was a great day. When we arrived we were informed that there was 8-10 foot swells in the big water, and thankfully our captain chose to stay in the bay where it was calm. He said that we would have better fishing elsewhere, but we would have a much more pleasant experience if we stayed in calmer water. Our boat caught 2 King Salmon, while the other 2 boats fought with the waves and sickness. 1 of the boat's decided to come into the bay at lunch time and they also caught a king Salmon. The 3rd boat stayed out there, as they were doing really well with the fish (grouper, rock fish, salmon, etc.), but poor Tammy was sick the entire day. Another great day filled with great company and many laughs!
After fishing we went to see the "Time Bandit" from the Deadliest Catch, and then we headed back to our home in Homer on the Kilcher estate. The home was on the homestead and owned by the family who has the reality tv show "The Last Frontier." This is also Jewel Kilcher's (singer) family homestead. The home was a beautiful log home perched high on the mountainside looking over the bay. The window's showcased breathtaking views of mountains, glaciers and volcanos. We settled in and had a meeting about our week of clinicals within Alaska while Eric made a fabulous Salmon dinner.
So, from day one, I was bound and determined to go fishing in Alaska while we were there. When we were told that there was no fishing at this time, I told Andrea that somehow I was going to find a way to go fishing - I didn't care if I had to ask everyone I met! The first night in Anchorage, there was a man who was having trouble checking into the hotel because he didn't have a credit card. There was a huge snow storm and he had a 4 hour drive ahead of him that he didn't want to make during the night. He had cash on him, but the hotel needed a credit card number to hold in the event there was damages to the room. Long story short, I couldn't walk away after hearing all of this play out. I offered to help him out, and asked the hotel to use my credit card number for his room. My only stipulation was that he "pay it forward." When I found it he lived in Homer, I asked him if he knew of any places that were going out fishing. He said not off the top of his head, but that he would take my number and call if he found out anything. The next day he had a friend of his call me with the news that we could indeed get out fishing! Although we were in Seward, and the boats were in Homer (4 hours away) I was totally in for it. It turned out that the entire group wanted to go, and I was able to talk Captain Josh into getting a few of his friends (other charters) to take us out! Due to the size of our group we had to split up into 3 boats, but he made it happen!
We woke up at 3am with a surprised "fisherman's" bagged breakfast (so thoughtful!), and we were on our way. We were blessed with northern lights along the way - AMAZING!
The weather was perfect in the 40's with full sun, it was a great day. When we arrived we were informed that there was 8-10 foot swells in the big water, and thankfully our captain chose to stay in the bay where it was calm. He said that we would have better fishing elsewhere, but we would have a much more pleasant experience if we stayed in calmer water. Our boat caught 2 King Salmon, while the other 2 boats fought with the waves and sickness. 1 of the boat's decided to come into the bay at lunch time and they also caught a king Salmon. The 3rd boat stayed out there, as they were doing really well with the fish (grouper, rock fish, salmon, etc.), but poor Tammy was sick the entire day. Another great day filled with great company and many laughs!
After fishing we went to see the "Time Bandit" from the Deadliest Catch, and then we headed back to our home in Homer on the Kilcher estate. The home was on the homestead and owned by the family who has the reality tv show "The Last Frontier." This is also Jewel Kilcher's (singer) family homestead. The home was a beautiful log home perched high on the mountainside looking over the bay. The window's showcased breathtaking views of mountains, glaciers and volcanos. We settled in and had a meeting about our week of clinicals within Alaska while Eric made a fabulous Salmon dinner.
Day 4 - Monday March 18th
Today is our official first day of clinicals. I was assigned to the K-12 Nikolaevsk school with Alissa, Eric and Andrea Simek. It is a rural school approximately 30 miles outside of Homer, AK with a student body population of 74 students. This is one of the more modernized school out of the 21 schools in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. The road conditions to get back to the school were not great at best. The were low maintenance rolling rural roads with many curves and steep ditches. Alaska does not use salt on their road systems, so the overall road conditions were poor.
I couldn't help but notice when entering the school that many of the girls were wearing floor length skirts or dresses and braids in their hair as part of the "Old Russian Believer" culture requirement. The other thing that stood out was the poverty rate among the children. Most were very simply dressed at best, and we were told that the poverty rate in the area was very high.
During our visit, our nurse Jane Kilcher talked about the Old Believer culture, history, and also described her job at this school. She was pleased to announce that she was very lucky with this school because the kids were very healthy here. She talked about the community involvement in sports, and how fortunate they were to have such a beautiful functional gym. She said that it has become a place for family entertainment and that they have extended open gym hours at the school. During our visit the girls basketball team was actually at the state participating in the championship games. We had the opportunity to take part in CPR and AED training with some of the middle school children, and also opened up an "open floor meeting" for them to ask us questions about CPR, Nursing, and the healthcare field in general. We were pleasantly surprised at the thought and intellegence behind some of the questions. They were very smart kids! Before we left we were invited into another class room to watch the 7th graders political debates, and it was really fun to hear them relate to real life scenarios as they argued eachother on topics such as the use of social media.
Back at the house, Eric smoked the rest of the Salmon and we also made a spaghetti dinner for those that didn't want Salmon again. We had been invited to come out to Richard's home (deckhand from fishing) to feed the Eagles from his deck that is perched on the mountainside of Homer - it was such a magestic experience to see such magnificent bird come so close to us with such a dramatic back drop. Unfortunately I was unable to get really good shots from my camera, but I am sure you will see some nice shots throughout this site.
Today is our official first day of clinicals. I was assigned to the K-12 Nikolaevsk school with Alissa, Eric and Andrea Simek. It is a rural school approximately 30 miles outside of Homer, AK with a student body population of 74 students. This is one of the more modernized school out of the 21 schools in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. The road conditions to get back to the school were not great at best. The were low maintenance rolling rural roads with many curves and steep ditches. Alaska does not use salt on their road systems, so the overall road conditions were poor.
I couldn't help but notice when entering the school that many of the girls were wearing floor length skirts or dresses and braids in their hair as part of the "Old Russian Believer" culture requirement. The other thing that stood out was the poverty rate among the children. Most were very simply dressed at best, and we were told that the poverty rate in the area was very high.
During our visit, our nurse Jane Kilcher talked about the Old Believer culture, history, and also described her job at this school. She was pleased to announce that she was very lucky with this school because the kids were very healthy here. She talked about the community involvement in sports, and how fortunate they were to have such a beautiful functional gym. She said that it has become a place for family entertainment and that they have extended open gym hours at the school. During our visit the girls basketball team was actually at the state participating in the championship games. We had the opportunity to take part in CPR and AED training with some of the middle school children, and also opened up an "open floor meeting" for them to ask us questions about CPR, Nursing, and the healthcare field in general. We were pleasantly surprised at the thought and intellegence behind some of the questions. They were very smart kids! Before we left we were invited into another class room to watch the 7th graders political debates, and it was really fun to hear them relate to real life scenarios as they argued eachother on topics such as the use of social media.
Back at the house, Eric smoked the rest of the Salmon and we also made a spaghetti dinner for those that didn't want Salmon again. We had been invited to come out to Richard's home (deckhand from fishing) to feed the Eagles from his deck that is perched on the mountainside of Homer - it was such a magestic experience to see such magnificent bird come so close to us with such a dramatic back drop. Unfortunately I was unable to get really good shots from my camera, but I am sure you will see some nice shots throughout this site.
Day 5 - Tuesday March 19th
Today Alissa, Eric, Emily and I packed up our things and left for Soldotna very early as it was nearly a 2 hour drive to our clinical site. We would be staying for the next 3 days. The rest of the crew would be traveling north after their clinicals later in the day.
We arrived at the Ninilchik school and we were greeted by a very friendly nurse named Sam. He was very excited about our visit and was very accommodating with our questions. We learned that he has been a nurse within the school district for 17 years, and prior to that he practiced in a hospital setting working in all areas of the hospital. Originally he was the nurse for most of the schools that we had been visiting, and the district would fly him out to the remote schools across the bay. Unfortunately he was in a bad car accident where he injured his back and the remote roads and the landing of the planes are too hard on his back. He now covers 2 schools in the district and spends most of his time at Ninilchik. During our visit we discussed many topics but most specifically the culture and abuse that is seen in the district (mostly neglect). He said that when a girl reaches the age of 14 if she hasn't had a sexual encounter either by choice or rape that it was abnormal. There has been a program set into place for the young teen pregnant girls or mothers where a social worker supports them throughout and after the pregnancy. Many of these girls are removed from the public school and are enrolled into an alternative school where there are services for the teen mother and the baby while she is in school.
At lunch time an auditor came into review all of the health records and we were able to talk with him at length. We learned about the high number of unvaccinated pupils due to family/cultural/religious beliefs. He showed us the computer tracking system that they are converting to and talked about how they still have a long way to go but that they are making "baby steps" in the right direction. He has a huge area to cover as he is the only state auditor and he described situations where he would be stranded for a week due to poor roads and transportation.
We ended our day over a nice dinner, and we checked into our incredibly beautiful house on the Kenai River. We had a quiet evening visiting with each other while waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive. They all had a long drive after their clinical experience and they stopped to feed the eagles in Homer prior to the trek up the peninsula. They arrived around 9pm and we all re-grouped to discuss our experiences.
Today Alissa, Eric, Emily and I packed up our things and left for Soldotna very early as it was nearly a 2 hour drive to our clinical site. We would be staying for the next 3 days. The rest of the crew would be traveling north after their clinicals later in the day.
We arrived at the Ninilchik school and we were greeted by a very friendly nurse named Sam. He was very excited about our visit and was very accommodating with our questions. We learned that he has been a nurse within the school district for 17 years, and prior to that he practiced in a hospital setting working in all areas of the hospital. Originally he was the nurse for most of the schools that we had been visiting, and the district would fly him out to the remote schools across the bay. Unfortunately he was in a bad car accident where he injured his back and the remote roads and the landing of the planes are too hard on his back. He now covers 2 schools in the district and spends most of his time at Ninilchik. During our visit we discussed many topics but most specifically the culture and abuse that is seen in the district (mostly neglect). He said that when a girl reaches the age of 14 if she hasn't had a sexual encounter either by choice or rape that it was abnormal. There has been a program set into place for the young teen pregnant girls or mothers where a social worker supports them throughout and after the pregnancy. Many of these girls are removed from the public school and are enrolled into an alternative school where there are services for the teen mother and the baby while she is in school.
At lunch time an auditor came into review all of the health records and we were able to talk with him at length. We learned about the high number of unvaccinated pupils due to family/cultural/religious beliefs. He showed us the computer tracking system that they are converting to and talked about how they still have a long way to go but that they are making "baby steps" in the right direction. He has a huge area to cover as he is the only state auditor and he described situations where he would be stranded for a week due to poor roads and transportation.
We ended our day over a nice dinner, and we checked into our incredibly beautiful house on the Kenai River. We had a quiet evening visiting with each other while waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive. They all had a long drive after their clinical experience and they stopped to feed the eagles in Homer prior to the trek up the peninsula. They arrived around 9pm and we all re-grouped to discuss our experiences.
Day 6 - Wednesday March 20th
Today Alissa and I were scheduled to go to the Nikinski High School. This was by far the most modern school that we have visited, and it was a very beautiful school on very nice grounds. The location however, was very remote and Alissa and I got lost on our way there.. we ended up finding it by what I would call is luck.
We met Glynes, who is the High School Nurse. What an incredible women! Glynes inspires me and will definitely be a role model in my book. She had so much passion behind her job, and would move mountains for her kids. She has only been working at the school for over a year, and has completely earned the trust and devotion of the entire community. She recognized the needs for the children and went out into the community to ask for help, speaking to area dentists, clothing stores and business to help supply her with things needed such as clothes, toiletries and toothbrushes for her kids in need. This area had a 55% poverty rate, which you would not know by looking at the school and the area. Many of the kids did not have running water at home, and there was a very high drug rate in the area. Alaska has "Denali Care" that many of these people would qualify for, but it was amazing to me that the lack of use there was in the area. In talking with Glynes we were told that many of them have not simply applied due to lack of resources (transportation, education and/or application understanding). She said that she has held workshops to sit down and help them through the process, but that there is very little motivation among the population. She has set up her office with an open door policy, and the students come in and literally pull their own tooth brush from a drawer and brush there teeth, take showers and get clothed by the donations she has received from the area.
Glynes was a nurse practitioner, and after some very devastating personal losses within her family she has somehow found a family within this community. It appears that they are all taking care of one another. She treats the students with a holistic approach by giving tea for stomach aches and constipation, performing aromatherapy for stress and other things, and she supplies health snacks and meals for nutrition. Since she has been there she has found that 4 of the students have idiopathic hypertension through detailed school wide assessments and has referred them to cardiologist for work ups. I would love to go back to see the progress she has done in 5 years after seeing what she has done in only 1 year.
Today Alissa and I were scheduled to go to the Nikinski High School. This was by far the most modern school that we have visited, and it was a very beautiful school on very nice grounds. The location however, was very remote and Alissa and I got lost on our way there.. we ended up finding it by what I would call is luck.
We met Glynes, who is the High School Nurse. What an incredible women! Glynes inspires me and will definitely be a role model in my book. She had so much passion behind her job, and would move mountains for her kids. She has only been working at the school for over a year, and has completely earned the trust and devotion of the entire community. She recognized the needs for the children and went out into the community to ask for help, speaking to area dentists, clothing stores and business to help supply her with things needed such as clothes, toiletries and toothbrushes for her kids in need. This area had a 55% poverty rate, which you would not know by looking at the school and the area. Many of the kids did not have running water at home, and there was a very high drug rate in the area. Alaska has "Denali Care" that many of these people would qualify for, but it was amazing to me that the lack of use there was in the area. In talking with Glynes we were told that many of them have not simply applied due to lack of resources (transportation, education and/or application understanding). She said that she has held workshops to sit down and help them through the process, but that there is very little motivation among the population. She has set up her office with an open door policy, and the students come in and literally pull their own tooth brush from a drawer and brush there teeth, take showers and get clothed by the donations she has received from the area.
Glynes was a nurse practitioner, and after some very devastating personal losses within her family she has somehow found a family within this community. It appears that they are all taking care of one another. She treats the students with a holistic approach by giving tea for stomach aches and constipation, performing aromatherapy for stress and other things, and she supplies health snacks and meals for nutrition. Since she has been there she has found that 4 of the students have idiopathic hypertension through detailed school wide assessments and has referred them to cardiologist for work ups. I would love to go back to see the progress she has done in 5 years after seeing what she has done in only 1 year.
Day 7 - Thursday March 21st
Today, I went to Kenai Public Health Clinic with Liz, Samantha and Emily. We picked a great day for our visit because there was a few meetings scheduled that we were allowed to participate in. When we arrived we were given a tour of the facility. It was very much like a local doctor's office or clinic here in our area. The clinic specializes in the health of women and children along with infectious control. We sat down and introduced ourselves and recounted on some of the experiences that we have had thus far. In talking with them, I asked a question on how they were including the school nurses in their planning and development for the health of the children. The reasoning behind my questions was from my prior experiences the day before with Glynes at the Nikiski school. She had talked about her resources being scarce and yet that did not stop her. It made me wonder how much the other schools were lacking and whether the public health was aware of it. It turns out that some of the things I brought to their attention had not been addressed due to lack of resources in personnel. There is one women hired to communicate with all of the school nurses throughout the state, and it appears that some of the concerns are either not being addressed or relayed to the correct people. When I brought up the Denali Care concerns and the lack of applicants due to little resources or motivation, they were surprised by that comment. They acknowledged that there is much that needs to be improved upon, and that actually the programs and policies that have been set up in Minnesota has been there driving force.. they would like to eventually mimic some of what Minnesota has already put into place.
The second meeting was involving an infectious control case. A middle aged gentleman had been tested positive for active TB and the local clinic or hospital was not set up for him. Public health had him transferred to a Hotel/Motel in the area, and were caring for him there. I find so many things wrong with this, but they were working with the resources that they had. They were trying to do everything that they could to keep him from leaving his room by supplying him with groceries and other needed necessities.
After we were done with our clinical day, we did a little shopping and then treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner in Kenai. Best King Crab I have ever had!! We went back to the house and watched a movie... Great night!
Today, I went to Kenai Public Health Clinic with Liz, Samantha and Emily. We picked a great day for our visit because there was a few meetings scheduled that we were allowed to participate in. When we arrived we were given a tour of the facility. It was very much like a local doctor's office or clinic here in our area. The clinic specializes in the health of women and children along with infectious control. We sat down and introduced ourselves and recounted on some of the experiences that we have had thus far. In talking with them, I asked a question on how they were including the school nurses in their planning and development for the health of the children. The reasoning behind my questions was from my prior experiences the day before with Glynes at the Nikiski school. She had talked about her resources being scarce and yet that did not stop her. It made me wonder how much the other schools were lacking and whether the public health was aware of it. It turns out that some of the things I brought to their attention had not been addressed due to lack of resources in personnel. There is one women hired to communicate with all of the school nurses throughout the state, and it appears that some of the concerns are either not being addressed or relayed to the correct people. When I brought up the Denali Care concerns and the lack of applicants due to little resources or motivation, they were surprised by that comment. They acknowledged that there is much that needs to be improved upon, and that actually the programs and policies that have been set up in Minnesota has been there driving force.. they would like to eventually mimic some of what Minnesota has already put into place.
The second meeting was involving an infectious control case. A middle aged gentleman had been tested positive for active TB and the local clinic or hospital was not set up for him. Public health had him transferred to a Hotel/Motel in the area, and were caring for him there. I find so many things wrong with this, but they were working with the resources that they had. They were trying to do everything that they could to keep him from leaving his room by supplying him with groceries and other needed necessities.
After we were done with our clinical day, we did a little shopping and then treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner in Kenai. Best King Crab I have ever had!! We went back to the house and watched a movie... Great night!
Day 8 - Friday March 22nd
It was another early morning... we got up and packed up everything, cleaned the house and set out for a one room school in Cooper's Landing (a small fishing community north of Kenai). The school had only 15 students enrolled K-12, and although they were so remote and small, I was very surprised by the resources that they had available to them (smartboards, virtual classes, full size gym, rock climbing wall, full-time nurse). We toured the school and visited with some of the kids and the school nurse. We donated our fresh caught Salmon to them along with all of the unopened food that we had left over. They were very excited about the fish!
We continued our trek up the peninsula back to Anchorage. The group split up today with Kevin, Andrea, Andrea, and Sam going skiing at Alyeska. The remainder of us went back to Anchorage to check into the Millenium hotel, shop, have an early dinner and take the rental cars back to the airport. After packing, many of us met up in the lounge to reminisce about or days, hear about the ski trip and listen to the one man band. It was an early night as we had to be at the airport at 3am. It was another great day none-the-less.
It was another early morning... we got up and packed up everything, cleaned the house and set out for a one room school in Cooper's Landing (a small fishing community north of Kenai). The school had only 15 students enrolled K-12, and although they were so remote and small, I was very surprised by the resources that they had available to them (smartboards, virtual classes, full size gym, rock climbing wall, full-time nurse). We toured the school and visited with some of the kids and the school nurse. We donated our fresh caught Salmon to them along with all of the unopened food that we had left over. They were very excited about the fish!
We continued our trek up the peninsula back to Anchorage. The group split up today with Kevin, Andrea, Andrea, and Sam going skiing at Alyeska. The remainder of us went back to Anchorage to check into the Millenium hotel, shop, have an early dinner and take the rental cars back to the airport. After packing, many of us met up in the lounge to reminisce about or days, hear about the ski trip and listen to the one man band. It was an early night as we had to be at the airport at 3am. It was another great day none-the-less.
Day 9 - Our Journey Home
We were up very early again, but we all made it to the airport with time to spare. Our plane was delayed out of Anchorage, but that was okay because it shortened up our layover. I was so tired and I think I slept the entire way to Minneapolis. We all re-grouped at the airport and spend had our last meal together at Bonfire. It was another quite plan ride back to Duluth, and hard to say goodbye. It was a wonderful experience and I thank all that were involved in making this happen. I will remember this experience forever!
We were up very early again, but we all made it to the airport with time to spare. Our plane was delayed out of Anchorage, but that was okay because it shortened up our layover. I was so tired and I think I slept the entire way to Minneapolis. We all re-grouped at the airport and spend had our last meal together at Bonfire. It was another quite plan ride back to Duluth, and hard to say goodbye. It was a wonderful experience and I thank all that were involved in making this happen. I will remember this experience forever!