Visit to Sitka, Alaska
My week in Alaska is coming to a close and if all goes well, I’ll be back home in Colorado tomorrow. My visit to Sitka was just what I needed. It let me work in a different type environment than I’m used to and made me feel valued because the clinic really needed some help. Being rewarded for stepping outside your comfort zone is a nice thing.
Remote Living is Not for the Faint of Heart!
I am amazed at the things people who reside on islands have to do to live. You pretty much have to fly to another place if your kids compete in sports, you need new clothes, or have to have more than minor medical procedures.
Several of the patients I saw this week were from a local boarding school. Many Native Alaskans live in villages so tiny and remote there aren’t enough people or resources for schools. The option is online classes or sending kids to boarding school. I will stop feeling sorry for kiddos who have to ride the bus for an hour to get to school!
Folks here swear by Amazon Prime and think nothing of taking a flight to Seattle for back to school shopping. All part of life in the last frontier!
Rain with a Chance of More Rain
I would advise people looking for a vacation in Sitka to maybe come during another month besides October. I tried to
use every bit of my free time to take in the sights, but I had a half day of weather when it wasn’t pouring. I got to do some hiking in the Tongass National Forest and visited the Sitka Historic National Park. I saw a whale, and luckily managed to avoid the bears. The scenery is amazing, cloudy or not.
During the week, I worked from 8-5 in clinic, so the weather really was irrelevant. It will be great to get home, but I did enjoy being able to chill out after work and not have to hit the ground running with homework, after school activities, and all the things busy Moms do on a daily basis.
I hope to have more trips like this in my future. Even if the weather wasn’t pleasant, making great income doing what I do best and having an all expense paid visit to Sitka was pretty nice.
Have you been to Alaska? What do you think about having to catch a twin engine plane to get an eye exam?
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I’ve been to Alaska 3 times. It is absolutely my favorite place on earth and move there in a flash if our son was there also. Love everything about it…..ESPECIALLY the bears!!
I would love the bears…. from very far away!
I have been wanting to visit Alaska and it is in my travel bucket list next year. I hope I can have that kind of fun when I am in there Kim. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have not been to Alaska but it’s absolutely a bucket list location for me. I love that you got to spend time in an area that you wanted to while also working and making money. It’s hard for me to be location independent while I have a child in school, but I can’t wait to take advantage of different opportunities like this once he goes to college.
I have never been to Alaska but this place is in my travel bucket list. What I want to visit there are the Kenai Fjords National Park and Anchorage Museum.
There is lots I didn’t get to explore so I hope to go back.
Sounds like you had a fantastic week, Kim. I’m so glad you had this opportunity. I’ve taken an Alaskan cruise but never really got a chance to explore Alaska by ground, but it is beautiful.
It was truly beautiful. I hope I can go back when it isn’t so rainy.
I’ve never been to Alaska but I would love to go one day. We are thinking about taking the RV up there next summer.
I think that would make a perfect RV trip if you had plenty of time.
Sounds like you had a good week Kim! I spent the summer in Alaska after graduating college and loved it. I was in Anchorage most of the time but did a good bit of traveling on the weekends to various spots. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous there – regardless of what the weather is like – as you said.
I would love to go back in the summer. Having daylight for so many hours would give us plenty of time to sightsee.