Refreshment

I started this a while ago and never finished it, so now I'm finishing it.

After spending 10 days out on the Alaska Peninsula trying to gun down a moose or a caribou, I'm back in the civilized world counting down the days 'til I leave for Seattle to start my Internal Medicine rotation. I wasn't sure I would be able to say this with confidence when I reached this point, but after recent events, I'm ready to go back to work.

I think the reality of beginning a real profession was hard for me to adjust to at first and taking some time off allowed me to come to terms with the fact that my free time was becoming scarce as a rule. I'm actually pretty okay with the idea of not having a vacation for a while and buckling down to get some real learning done. A quick rundown of my 6 weeks of freedom:

Seattle: a few days to see friends, revisit some of my favorite places, do a little climbing and tie up a few loose ends before heading to Alaska. I quickly realized that hanging around Seattle with all my friends there busy with rotations would not be profitable.

Anchorage: (see: "Seattle" addend "and work and school" to "rotations") I also got to see some great live music courtesy of Marijke and Paul.

being back in both places was excellent, but it's not quite the same being there with nothing to do.

Kenai: Stacey needed some attention, so I spent several days in Kenai attending to her needs, several days basking in the glory of doing nothing and some time preparing for the hunting trips. It was great being back at church and seeing everyone. I heard some great truth that helped realign me with the fact that life isn't always about just basking in the love of God, but that there are times of that, and times where we endure and times where we must seek.

West Forelands: I grew up duck hunting with my dad, it was one of those father-son things that was really special for me. I hadn't been since possibly high school and possibly middle school, and getting back out on the duck flats was a high priority for my time in Alaska. My shooting wasn't what you would call stellar, but I managed to bring a few birds home. That wasn't really the point anyway, but if you've never had wild duck, you're missing out. It was a beautiful trip and an awesome time.

Alaska Peninsula: The big moose/caribou/black bear hunt. My dad has friends who live on Lake Clark in the middle of the Alaska Range and run a flight charter service. They picked us up and dropped us off on a lake out about 40-50 miles from the proposed Pebble Mine. It's rolling hills and spruce forests with willow thickets in the low places. Blueberries galore. Our hunt turned into a camping trip where we spent a good bit of time waiting out storms under shelter. We had steaks, burgers and blueberry pancakes to help us pass the time and I think I finished more novels that the previous 4 years combined. Despite not getting anything, it was great hanging out with my dad and brothers-in-law.


Port Alsworth: As we were unloading the float plane and preparing to hop the plane home, Glen Alsworth Jr. mentioned that if I had time, they could drop me off at a bear camp where they were picking up hunters and try to get a caribou. I jumped at the opportunity obviously and got to spend some great time in Port Alsworth, one of the most beautiful places in the world. The highlight was probably hanging out with the ground crew, an awesome group of 20-somethings who were tons of fun, but more importantly, really encouraged me in my faith and attitude toward God.

Alaska Peninsula: Two days of drenching rains, howling winds and rugged country. No trees out here. One of the ground crew guys, Micah, came out with me to do some small game hunting. Despite the weather, we got out and hiked quite a bit, but only glimpsed a caribou herd from across the valley. By the time we had stalked them and made it to where they had been, they were long gone. It was nice to see something though. I had a lot of time for reflection and prayer out there in the open country and started feeling more like myself than I had in a while. The morning the plane was coming, I got within 400 yards of a lone caribou, but we were on an open plain together and as soon as I began edging closer for a reasonable shot, he sensed danger and was long gone. They're usually not so skittish, but there had been wolves in the area.
Kenai/Anchorage: A few goodbyes and some more awesome truth from the home church and I was ready for Seattle. Truly ready.