Travel Log - Vicki Wilson
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June 18th: Vicki and her bush plane, to Katmai National Wildlife Refuge... My goodness.... The airport... and then real Kodiaks.... WOW!! Then Vicki took a drive... "over the mountains to Anton Larsen Bay".... The one with the wild flowers is post card material... Nice job, and thanks: And yes, according to her time sheets, she does have time to work... June 12th: More pictures from Kodiak; I really am going to have to find an excuse to visit that client....
The town of Kodiak... then Chiniak Bay... then Vicki herself.. in the Tongass National Forest. The colors in that forest are Awesome! Then several shots from Buskin Beach.. Wow... Thanks much Vicki. The following was received from Vicki Wilson, RN, working in Kodiak, Alaska on June 8, 2001: Vicki started in April, 2001. There is more from Vicki below (with pictures); but we wanted the most recent to be on top. We are so happy for your positive adventure Vicki; keep the cards and letters coming....! The following are excerpts from her email to us. "Hi guys, latest from the wilds of Alaska - hospital is starting to get busy now that summer is here, fishermen out and getting hurt, tourists everywhere (why don't they look where they are walking?)"... "took care of a real live Russian orthodox MONK last week, he was in DKA with sugar of almost 900, pH of 6.9, dreadly ill - he came with the full bushy beard, the monk robes, the wooden cross, the bare feet, the whole nine yards - looked like he stepped out of a fairy tale."... "found a coast guard guy to take me out to the base and show me around the c-130 transport, the blackhawk helicopter, etc., will take pics - found a bush pilot from the mainland who will hopefully take me flying for free on the float plane, although the flight seeing company he works for may not care for that - and am going halibut deep sea fishing in a week or two..."... "had some fresh caught salmon - beats anything Ive ever tasted, not at all like fish - don't eat that salmon from a can any more, I know how it's processed, and you need to watch out for foreign objects like people's fingers and the odd piece of jewelry or unknown organic substance that may fall into it while processing."... "my CNA and myself made the newspapers, sort of - we had to call the cops to come and hold down a psych patient who was violent so I could give her some ativan, and that story made the local police blotter news - they mentioned no names, but in a town this small, everybody knows who was involved. in a place where the radio station broadcasts lost and found dogs and cats every day for a half hour, a police visit to the hospital for a nut case is really big news!"... "off to another adventure, still so glad I came..." In early May, Vicki sent pictures: Now, if that wasn't enough, this is Vicki's narrative... on more than one occasion:" "hi guys, this place is magnificent beyond belief, my house overlooks a
lake, the hospital is small but well run from the looks of things, people are
friendly, weather in the 40s during the day, I spent about an hour sobbing over
how beautiful it all is, I am blessed beyond belief. "I am thankful for TravelKare and the salary you negotiated for me, and
all of the perks such as free housing, a car, etc - ain't God good - anyhow, I
think Randy and Remar are in for a shock, I have it on good authority (state
trooper from Kodiak via Ketchikan) that there are multiple barroom brawls, lots
of indigents who ran out of money on the way from Seattle to Ketchikan - I trust
they can cope with all this ... ps -typing getting wretched, must be the local winery's influence on me - wine made from local flowers is divine! (We left the typos here... very appropriate; and only because we care about you Vicki.... the red is in honor of the wine....) thanks again, you're the tops - vicki" "still fantastic place after a week: the weather is foggy and rainy in the am, the sun comes out about noon and stays up until 10 pm. Went out to Monashka bay today, 30 mile drive through some of the most beautiful mountains, they start at the ocean and rise straight up to the sky, still snow on the tops of them - looks like a picture book. The bald eagles are EVERYWHERE, they soar on the updrafts, barely flap their wings to fly; there must have been 20 pairs of them riding the thermal drafts from the bottom of the cliffs by the bay up to the tops of the mountains - must be at least 2 miles from ocean to mountain top - never in my life have I been anywhere so absolutely magnificent - God did GOOD when he created this place. Out in the wilderness there is no traffic noise, no lights of the city, no boom boxes, nothing but wilderness. I can't wait to see what happens when spring comes, it is so beautiful now. Pussy willows growing in the marshes by the side of the road, and the trees are starting to bud - I think since the days are getting longer, it will only be another week until everything is green. And nobody here has an attitude, nobody is waiting to be offended, just real people. Amazing." There has been more, but you know how it is when the family is talking about the "vacation".... Nice to get paid for it though right Vicki.... We appreciate you and thanks so much for the updates... |
    
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