NaBloPoMo Day 4--Alaska

With so many things to write about today (election results--yay Obama! worried about prop 8... or the sad sad news of the sad sad death of the Tuba Man), I'm going to stick with my original plan--pictures from Alaska.

University of Washington is a unique medical school, in that it is considered the state school for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (aka WWAMI). As such, they encourage students to do their required 3rd year clerkships (where you learn psychiatry, ob/gyn, pediatrics, etc. by following doctors and occasionally seeing patients yourself) in community based settings. I think the idea is to encourage us all to go into primary care in rural settings. For me however, I knew the last think I wanted to do with my medical career was primary care in a rural setting. I also knew there was no real reason for me to stay in Seattle for the entire year. Thus, I took advantage of this and spent almost all of my 3rd year of medical school living in various parts of the west. Most of you know this, so this isn't new. But hey, it gives me something to write about for a few days at least!

The first away rotation I had was in Anchorage, Alaska. I actually had back to back Anchorage rotations, so I lived there for 3 months in October-November 2003. It was a lot of fun, I lived with two classmates who I got to know well. One became my enabler, always happy to go in search of Philly cheesesteaks or Cold Stone. The other, probably would have to be considered my conscious, as she would always be eating salads and going to the gym while I was downing greasy meat covered in cheese. But we had fun. When we weren't working, which was often since they aren't really known for working long hours in the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, we explored.

Hiking at Eklutna Lake:
Visiting Exit Glacier out on the Kenai Penninsula:
Talkeetna with views of Mt. McKinley (aka Denali):
We even spent a weekend up in Kotzebue (where is Kotzebue? google maps will show you):
And moose! There were moose everywhere:It really is a beautiful state, and these pictures do not do it justice. And I had such a wonderful time there, enjoying the Anchorage night life, and I think this is where I first developed my love of road trips. I hope to make it back one of these days, but preferably not in November. Tomorrow: road trip to South Dakota and through a snow storm in the mountains of Wyoming. In May. Unless something more interesting comes up between now and then.