Hockey game

Today was going to be the day that I went to my first hockey Game ever!!!!  But first things first, I went to church with the AWCC owner and his family.  We then went to brunch at Jack Sprat which was delicous.  I decided to try something new...I had a grilled vegetable baguette.  It was so yummy! It had grilled zuchinni, egg plant, squash, buffalo mozerella, and red peppers on eat with tomato pesto.  It sounds weird but it was so good! 

So then we went back to the center and I fed the animals.  I also went and talked to the moose, Jack , for a little while...

I then went home and quickly got ready to go to Anchorage for my first Hockey game.  We were sitting 2 rows behind the home team, The Alaska Aces....

This pic was taken during the shootout.  They were playing the Las Vegas Wranglers for first place standings.  Unfortunately after a 2-2 tie, then a five minute overtime, and then a shootout , they ended up losing...but it was still alot of fun. 

Well I better get some rest since tomorrow is my day off and I will spend it skiing....surprise there....

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

windy!

So last night at night skiing they had to close the upper part of the mountain because of wind.  Today it was non-stop wind!  The animlas still need to eat though.  Here is a pic of the porcupine diet...

grain,peppers,peanuts,half an apple, cherry tomatoes, and grapes

Later, as a rainy/windy day project I cleaned out the freezer that holds the fish for our Eagle.  It smelled like death before I took to cleaning it!  All of the animals really hate the wind so it was a slow day up here.

So there really wasn't much to talk about today...but I did get a pic of one of the black bears....

  Godnight lower 48
ErIn

Night skiing part 2

So last night was really fun!  We got to ski o the slopes for about 2 hours.  The slopes were not busy at all.  I took a few pics....

So today I knew that it was going to be warm enough to really clean out the chicken coop.  It was definitely the project of the day....

Here is a before picture

 And here is the after picture...

ok I know it may not look like that much of a difference but just ask the hens and they will agree that it is much cleaner...one of them even layed an egg for me in return

So the bear cub cabin needed some cleaning, but I was only able to get a few layers of straw off at a time.  So I will be doing some more of that tomorrow...In alaska everything freezes so it is much harder to move a huge pile of straw!

The bison were very photogenic today....
 So I am exhausted after shoveling all day long!  I am getting  my energy back up for part two of night skiing!  Woop Woop!  It is my new favorite hobby. :)
Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

Meet the Aussies

Today was going to be a busy day!  After two days off I knew that there would be a lot of cleaning that needed to be done.  So I prepared the diets and finished making the paper maches for some animals.
I use the paper maches for enrichment.

Next,  I got the wheel barrow, rake, shovel, broom, and rolled away to the first enclosure.  I started with cleaning the sitka black tailed deer. 

Next I went on to clean the porcupine.  He was a little hyper. 

 I moved on to scrubbing the owl and Bald Eagle perches.  I got a few good pics of the owls and eagle.

yeah he looks mad doesn't he......


Woo...I was a little worn out after running around.  I took a few pics of the bear cubs because we think they may be allergic to something.  One of them is losing a ton of hair in patches.  So we are going to send the pictures to a vet to look at.  My day at work was coming to an end.  On my walk home I ran into three people who were taking a tour of the place.  They asked me if I wouldn't mind showing them around.  So I officially had my first tour today.  The two girls I met were from Melbourne, Australia.  They were very nice.  So after I gave them a tour I headed in for dinner.  We had fresh tuna steaks for dinner.  They were so good! It was only 12$ for a pound of tuna!  So we split that and each had a steak.  I still wasn't even able to finish my half of a pound!  We are now getting ready to hit the slopes for some night skiing!  Tonight we are expecting to get 3-6inches of snow....which we desparately need!  This winter has hardly brought any snow.
Alright lower 48 its about that time.....
Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

P.S. Just got back from night skiing and I only fell once....so there is definitely some improvement!

sushi

So these past two days have been my days off.  I actually felt like I had two days of rest.  Yesterday after I fed the animals I veged out in front of the tv for about 3 hours.  One of the roomates here brought a 42inch tv. It is somehow connected to Netflix so we can watch tv shows.  Today I also fed the animals and then watched a couple of episodes of lost.  Then me and a roomate went to Anchorage to run a few errands. 

I finally bought another camera charger.  So I should be able to start posting pictures on my blog much more often.  We went to run a few other errands before church.  I have been wanting to visit the church that my aunt and uncle went to when they lived in Anchorage.  So we get to the church and we walk into the room.  Very quickly we realize that we are the youngest people in the room by about 30 years!  There were only 14 people total in the room.  I really enjoyed the lesson and am looking forward to going back on a wednesday. 

So we have been craving sushi and decided that while we were in anchorage we would grab some.  I had the volcano roll and it was delicous.

Last, because fresh fish is reasonably priced, we picked up some fresh tuna steaks for dinner tomorrow night.  I have had so much fish in the three weeks that I have been here.  I love it!
I will post tomorrow after we go skiing. :)

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

Skiing again today!

So today was awesome!!!!

Ok first, I went to church with my boss.  We went to the only church in the area.  The next church over is an hour away!  I will be trying the Anchorage one maybe on wednesday night.  Anyways, so we went the United Methodist Church in Girdwood.  Ok, so I have never been to a methodist church.  I gotta say it was different but we were still worshiping the same person....so that was good ;)  So when we get there I notice that it is still under construction.  Right away the church secretary shows me around the building.  They have come along way!  She was also very excited and proud to announce that they now had running water for toilets and showers.  One thing you should know about Girdwood,Alaska.  About half of the town only has running water.  So a lot of people go to the local laundrymat to pay for showers.  Even a few of the AWCC workers that live across the street in cabins don't have running water.  So they come to AWCC to shower.  This was definitely an eye opener for me.  Also, the water that we get at AWCC is really stinky, because, the water has alot of sulphur and iron in it.  We can't even drink the tap water here.   So church ended and we headed back to work. 

I prepared,cleaned, and distributed diets. 

hmmmm....we have been thinking about going skiing again tonight....yup going skiing.  After I went the first time skiing I decided that it would be a good investment to buy my own pair of used skis.  So, today was going to be the first time I didn't have to rent skis for 35$, and I would see if I was still horrible at skiing or the new pair made a difference.  Right away I could tell that getting a pair of skiis that are 5 inches shorter than the pair I rented last time makes a huge difference.  I only fell a total of 2 times today!  That beats out the 10 times I fell on monday. It was so much fun!  I can definitely tell that this is going to be a hobby.  But, MAN!!!! IT was EXHAUSTING!  I am definitely still building up my endurance!  I will let you know if I will be able to even walk tomorrow!
  This is at the top of the mountain that we ski down....


So after a long day of skiing we head home, pop some waffle fries in the oven (since I can't get chic-fil-a here), and here I am at the computer....

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

salmon for dinner

The concert last night was great!  I had a blast, but it's back to work today.  I head outside in my thermal and jeans since it is a warm 16 degrees today.  Oh wait! The wind is blowing like 35miles an hour.  So I went straight back in to change into a third layer of clothes.  We head on over to the bear cub exhibit to feed them.  We also added some screws so that we could hang some plastic crates by chains.  This is a type of enrichment for them to play with.  Jordan also spread peanut butter around everywhere for them to find later. 

I then headed in to the kitchen for the daily diets preparation. 

After this, I needed to clean the owls and Eagle perches.  I grabbed a scrub brush and the rest is history.  It was already almost feeding time for the birds so I grabbed the 12 mice for the owls and the filet of salmon for Adonis.  By the way I also am having some fresh salmon for dinner.  Rick, a guy that works at AWCC, his family owns a salmon wheel.  This is basically a huge wheel the scoops the salmon right out of the water.  So this is as fresh as it gets, except when you go fishing for it that day.  I will let you know how dinner tasted tomorrow night. 

I also have been needing to mop the kitchen.  Done, Kitchen cleaned.  Well, I guess I will go throw some boxes from the store into the burn pile. 

Hmmmm, ok I will go re-stock the fridge with fruits and veggies for the animals.  I headed over to the barn to grab some peppers, oranges, and lettuce.  We like to give oranges out when we have a freeze coming in.  The animals like the juice when they have no water to drink.  Also, keep in mind that all our animals are natives to Alaska so most of them prefer to eat snow than drink water anyways.  The black bears really like the citrus fruits when it is super cold. 

All right, well it's about that time to go start putting some zuchini in the pan and salmon in the oven....
Goodnight lower 48
eRin

Friday Night

So on this lovely Friday morning I started the usual tasks of cleaning, preparing, and feeding diets.  I also knew that the Sitka Black Tailed Deer needed her enclosure cleaned.  So I grabbed the wheel barrow,shovel, rake, and I was off.  After I did this I also decided to clean the porcupine house out. 

Then I needed to throw some pears out to the Elk.  You always have to watch how close you get to them since they can get you with their antlers.....and believe me, they try. 

Later I helped out for about an hour in the store.  I price tagged photo albums and coffee mugs...I know exciting huh.  Our gift store is actually a really nice store.  It's probably one of the better ones that I have seen.

Well this entry was short and sweet today since I am going to Anchorage tonight for a concert!  We are going to see Tim Easton.  I have never even heard of him. :)

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

Anchorage Meeting

So today was not a typical day at work.  I woke up at 8 to prepare the daily diets.  I had to do this early since I was going to Anchorage for a meeting.  Well, not really a meeting, it was more of a let's make announcements, meet new people, and have door prizes type of meeting.  Remember the picture of the sheep I posted yesterday?  Well on my way to Anchorage I passed like 10 of them on the side of the road! 

Ok so after realizing that downtown Anchorage has no free parking, I finally found a parking garage and then found a spot where I could even park the huge AWCC Tahoe.  Then I headed over to the convention center.  So right away I notice that there are only a hand full of people my age.  I was definitely the youngest one there.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind at all.  It was very exciting walking into a place full of strangers.  Some people probably would not like this....but I love this!  That's partly what made me so excited to be coming to Alaska.  I love the idea of moving to a place where I don't know anyone.  So anyways back onto the meeting thing.  I met one of the AWCC's employees Ethan there.  He was the one who told me I was going in the first place.  So we get our name tags and enter the business cards for the door prizes at the end.  As we sit down there are trays on our table.  The waiters remove the tops to show us what our appetizers will be.   Um, I still don't really know what it was that was on that plate.  Now if you know me, you know that I am not a picky eater at all!  Well, I just could not aquire a taste for this appetizer.  From what I gether it was some type of Lentnil seeds.  I don't even think that how you spell lentnil.  Well it was some lettuce leaves arranged in the shape of a flower.  And inside the leaves there were 4 different types of seeds.  There was feta cheese arouns the leaves.  Nope, It just wasn't my thing.  But, that's ok because for lunch we had steak, potatoes, and zucchini.  Now, again, if you know me you know that I am definitely a steak and potatoes girl!  To top off the meal we had a rum pudding type thing with fresh fruit. 

So the meeting had a few speakers.  First, a guy that worked on the Iron Man race spoke about the race.  The Iron Man is a 2000 mile race on snow machines.  In the lower 48 you may know this as snow mobiles.  Sarh Palin's husband has won this race, and will be a contender in this year's race.  The race starts tomorrow.   Next, we had a speaker on the Iditarod Race.  This is a race where you have the dog sledding and mushers.  This year it is a big deal because the same guy has won it the past four years!  He is going for win number 5 which would break a record!

So a few more people spoke and then they had the drawings for the door prizes.  And guess what....I won an Iditarod calendar signed by the official Iditarod photographer!  Here's a picture...  not a very good one though, sorry....



So anyways I went home and distributed the diets and now my day is coming to an end.
Until next time...
Goodnight lower 48
ErIn

Running some errands

So today I did the daily tasks of feeding and cleaning.  One of the photographers for AWCC also came in today to take some pictures of the cubs.  Most of the really good pictures that I have posted on facebook are from him. 



So I ran into town with a roommate.  On the way into town I even caught a glimpse of a Dall Sheep.  I wasn't able to take a photo, but here is one of our photographers photos.



 I went to REI and returned my shoes.  I didn't know this but if you are an REI member you can return anything you got from there within in a year of the purchase!  I bought some work shoes about 2 months ago and have not been happy with them.  So I simply took them in today without a receipt or anything and got store credit back!  I bought a new pair and even saved $23.50. 
Next we headed over to Play Again Sports.  It is a store that sells new and used sports equipment.  I got my very own pair of skis! 
We then headed over to Carr's..a local grocery store, and I got my dinner!  Salmon!

We also ran into one of the guys from the show Deadliest Catch!  He lives in the town that we go to get groceries.  Girdwood,Alaska. 

 So I better go check on dinner that right now since it's almost ready!

Goodnight lower 48!

P.S. I wasn't able to see the Aurora lights last night, but maybe tonight.   :)

Alaskan Adventure #1

Today went normal as planned.  I grabbed the bowls, cleaned them, and prepared diets.  It was a very slow day today so I headed in around 2:30.  Eveyone ended up leaving as well. 

So I get home and my roomate is like
"It's a nie day today, you wanna go skiing?"

"Heck yeah I wanna go!"

So I have been skiing only once in my life annnnnnnnd....it was like 10 years ago.  I was hoping that it would just come back naturally,,,,eh (buzzer sound) WRONG!!!!!  As soon as we get off the chair lift..we start going down the mountain...WIPE OUT!  I mean I lost a ski and everything.  I rolling down the whole mountain!!! Well after a few runs on the kiddie slope I am feeling more confident.  So we take a Tram to the the second highest point on the mountain.  We start the slope at about 2700 feet up.  I think I rolled half of that footage!  The trail was about 2 miles long.  It was awesome.  All in all, I actually sucked at skiing, BUT, I am determined to finish that run without falling!
  This is where the 2 mile run started. 

  View from the slopes


Oh yeah and while I was on the phone with my mom we had an earthquake!  I didn't even feel it though. :(  It was only a 2.3 anyways...no worries...

Tonight we may be able to see the aurora lights!  So please keep your fingers crossed for me!  I will let you know tomorrow if I was able to see it.

Goodnight Lower 48,
ErIn

yawn...

So I finally feel like I am getting on the right sleeping system at last.  For the last 2 weeks I have been in bed by 7 and asleep by 8 or 9.  So I end up wakeing up around 5 or 6 and can not go back to sleep.  But FINALLY I am able to stay up till about 10 or 11 and wake up just a little before 9.  I have to be ready for work at 10.

Today it is 5degrees so the temperature definitely beats out yesterday's blizzard.  I hopp on the four wheeler, start it up, and take off......wait a minute!  Turning the four wheeler back around.....heading back to the house....getting extra gloves and my face mask.  This is definitely a different type of cold.  This is the kind where you take off your gloves and one minute later your finger tips are numb. 

Jordan and I tried to build some more enrichment ideas in the bear cube enclosure, but it was still just too cold! 
So After running around and pulling the bowls to clean them, preparing the diets, thawing the fish/rats, cleaning the signs (snow covered them), I am back inside.   Ahhhhhh...I can get the feeling back in my toes.  I am still trying to get the right combination of sock to shoe ratio so I can feel my toes.  I think I will buy these foot warmers that stick to the bottom of your socks that I just heard about.  Later tonight it's supposed to reach the negatives!  Is that possible?

I really needed to clean the porcupine house out since it rained a couple of days ago.  Plus, he may need extra hay since it has gotten much colder. 

After, all the normal outside duties are done I ended up helping in the store some more.  I am really excited because one of the employees that works on the website has told me that they are sending me to Anchorage on Thursday to attend a meeting.  It is a meeting that new people in companies go to to learn about alaska.  I hope I meet some people here!

Well I am getting ready to go out to dinner with a few roomates....until next time :)
ERiN

Finally some real Alaskan weather!

When I wake up, the first thing I always do is take a peak out my window....I can tell right away that today is going to be the coldest day I have experienced so far.  The trees are blowing, and it is snowing harder that I have ever seen!  The temperature is 15 degrees and it is only going to get colder as the day goes on. 

I hopp on the four wheeler and drive away to start my daily tasks.  Well this is the hard part since I don't yet have goggles and I am driving directly into the wind and snow!  Luckily one of my roomates let me borrow his.  The good thing about taking care of native alaskan animals is that when it snows this much you don't even need to re-fill their water bowls.  They actually prefer to eat the snow over the water anyways.  So that is nice about today.  So I have prepared the daily diets.   Also, I think I will give the Bald eagle extra salmon today since it is colder.  He has a wing amputated which makes keeping his body heat harder to maintain.  They actually do not save bald eagles anymore that have wing problems for that very reason.  So by feeding him more, this helps keep his metabolim active and blood flowing.



Ok next, Jordan wants to go in and feed the bears.  He also wants to set up some different things that they can play with.  For instance, he brought blue crates that we would hang from rope so that they can play with them.  We will also try makeing a box by putting two of them together.  This way we can place objects inside the crates to shake and play with.   So we get out there and soon relize that today was probably the worst day to try and set things up.  Our faces and hands are freezing as soon as we get out there!  So very quickly we decide that we will set up on another day. 

Today will probably be a day where I get a lot of computer work done.

Later, I am asked if I would like to go eat lunch at The Lodge so me and three other people jump in the yukon and head over there.  I am so excited because they have WAFFLE FRIES!!!!!! I have not been able to have chic-fil-a since I have been here.  So to be able to have waffle fries is like getting part of my chic-fil-a craving filled.  We pull up...and they are closed!!!! So that gets rid of the one option besides eating from my fridge.

Anyways, at least I saved some money this way.  Because, we have been having a blizzard all day....(not the dairy queen kind the actual weather kind) I decided to see if the store needed some help.  I did learn how to fold shirts and put the price tags on.  Yeah, I like working outside much better!

Alrighty, it is time for me to hopp on my four wheeler and call it a day....
goodnight lower 48
ErIn

How to clean antlers

Ok I know you couldn't sleep from all the excitement!  You have been waiting all day to hear how I cleaned antlers!  All right are you ready to hear this?...I don't think you are....well ok
So soaking the antlers overnight in soapy warm water did get the algea off.  However, when you have a whole pile of antlers to clean this could take a very long time.  Rick (another worker) came up with maybe trying to power wash them.  Genius!  Ok so after I powerwashed a good sized pile I decided that I was going to take a break, not to mention change clothes since I was soaked! 

I fed the bear cubs around noon and then Jordan and I spread peanut butter around their enclosure so they could find it and have a snack.  We also found a huge plastic ball that is made for carnivores to play with so we threw it in and watched to see what they would do.  Yeah, they didn't really care for it.  By the way, all of our fences have and extra electric wire that goes around them on the inside.  I have always known that one day I would slip and get shocked.  That day was today.  Well, at least I know how it feels now. 

 

Jordan and I then drove around to get some good pictures to send.  He wants to send some to National Geographic about our Wood bison program.  We are the only facility in North America that has Wood Bison.  That is the biggest project that we have going on right now at AWCC.  We are trying to re-introduce them to Alaska.  They used to be in large numbers until hunting almost completely wiped them out in Alaska.  Now they are only really found in large numbers in Canada.  So that was a little history lesson about what we are working on up here.  I some good pictures today so once Jordan emails them today I will post them soon!

Goodnight lower 48
ErIn


I also got to catch a sneak at the coyote today that lives in the same exhibit as the 3 Brown bears.....no wonder you don't see him much




                      

pears, musk ox, and elk

yawn.....

alright ready to work...

hmmm...lets see if snickers (porcupine) will eat apricots...yep I think he will eat any fruit basically

By the way all of our fruit and vegetables are donated by Costco (which is like Sam's), it's basically the fruit and vegetables that they can no longer sell

Alright now after I have done the typical duties of picking up the bowls, cleaning them, and preparing the meals for the day, I am now off to clean the owls' enclosure...

Ok I don't get grossed out by a lot of things, but bird poo is one of the things that I just find disgusting!
I finally found a good scrub brush and cleaned off their perches.
So I hoped back onto the fourwheeler when I was done to go feed the cubs.

By the way it was a little warmer today so I really only had to wear my carhart overalls and a long sleeve shirt.  I think the lower 48 got all of our cold weather...I'm not complaining....

I have found a new project.  I will be cleaning the moose, elk, and caribou antlers that have been collected over the years.  They will be making a huge sign saying welcome out of the antlers....I know sounds like so much fun...So I am going to let those  soak over night.  Since I know how excited you are to hear how they turned out I will let you know tomorrow. 

The pears are starting to go bad so I should probably go feed them to some lucky animals.  The elk and the musk ox really like pears! 

Well it is about that time to finish up.  I made a quick trip to the local grocery store in Girdwood , and finally I was able to go to the post office for stamps!

I was so exhausted after running around all day that I didn't even pay attention to the ice when I was getting out of the car.  I completely wiped out!  Did I mention I was wearing shorts?  Yes, shorts, because like I said the lower 48 seemed to have stolen the cold weather.  So that means less padding people!  I better have a good bruise after an epic fall like that!

Adios Lower 48!
ErIn

Moose love bananas

Well my day started and ended pretty well.  My boss had meetings all day in Anchorage so I was basically on my own....which I like.  I fed the bears with another employee.

Then what to do next...

I picked up all of the dirty bowls, cleaned , and prepared the daily diets. 

Hmm lets see do Sitka black tailed deer like pears....yup she does....

ok next to feed porcupine....ok I am gonna give him some pear and apple today...

thaw out the salmon for the eagle....
thaw out the rats for the owls...

Kelly did mention that I could give the moose bananas, so I am gonna do this next since we have a whole crate full of donated bananas that will be going bad soon.  I'll take. let's say, hmmm 10 bunches.
2 for the baby musk ox and 8 for the three moose.
Yep moose really like bananas!

Alright, next I wanna find a good log for the cubs to play with...check
next, I wanna drills some holes in this log so I can put peanut butter or meal worms (for the spring) in the holes so thay they can play around and get the treat.  This is what we call enrichment again.  We are constantly thinking of ideas for the animals that will keep them thinking. 
So after tinkering with the right size drill bit I finally get the holes to look like I want. 

Hmmmm....that refridgerator really needs cleaning....1 hour later....clean! (This is the refridgerator that we keep the animal food in)

ok now my day is coming to an end....

Yay! A new roomate moved in...now I will have more than 2 people to talk to! (keep in mind my only other roomate has been out of town the past 3 days!)  So I have read ALOT the past 2 days!  Now don't get me wrong, I really like being on my own.  I am just ready to get a car and be able to explore the great Alaska!

Goodnight lower 48 :)
ErIn

P.S. Once I figure it out I will post pics of  all the things I talk about in my blog so that you can visually see how my day went...right now I only know how to post a few pics at a time.

Cleaning Outdoors 101 in Alaska

Ok so today we would usually feed the cubs first thing; However, Jordan called in today and something in his car was frozen so he was not able to make it in to work today.  So I just asked Matt to go in with me as I fed them.

Everything went smooth.  Matt also asked if anyone had shown me how to use the four wheeler. 
He explained everything to me and said I could use it whenever I needed it!  So naturally I went four wheeling right after he showed me....don't worry it was all for the animals....
I went exploring and even saw 2 bald eagles perched in a tree.  I still cannot get over the wildlife that I see everyday!

Later, I decided that chicken coop needed cleaning badly!  Well I figured out why no one has cleaned it in a while....
You see up in Alaska it is a little chilly, so the ground tends to freeze.  Rakes do not really work up here.  I grabbed the rake and as soon as I tried using it I quickly learned that even the hay is frozen in one big lump.
So I then took a little shovel to the ground and started jabbing the ground to pry the nastiness up. 
So eventually I figured out the technique, after 2 or 3 different tools. 
In the end there should be 6 happy chickens in that coop!  Also, I was told that I can take any eggs that I want.  The chickens don't really lay that many eggs but, boy when they do those are some good eggs!  So guess what's for dinner tonight....2 eggs maybe I will make another fried egg sandwhich...mmmmmm

Other than that just the typical tasks of feeding Adonis (Bald Eagle) salmon, and the 2 owls a couple of rats....yummy I know...

Anyways until tomorrow the Lower 48.....
Goodnight!

The Lower 48

So today was also kinda of a typical day at work.
However, I did learn that everyone in Alaska refers to the "other" states (excluding Hawaii) as the lower 48 which I think is kinda cool. 

I decided to try some new treats for the bears and the porcupine.  I took pieces of apple and froze them in a paper cup.  Now anyone that has done any kind of enrichment for animals has probably heard of this technique.  You just take whatever kind of food they like and freeze it in a cup so that they can play with it later.

I first saw this at the Houston zoo for the otters.  They would take an ice cube tray and freeze tiny fish in each cube.  These were called fish pops and in the summer the otters loved them!

I have also seen this at the past internship that I did for other types of animals.

So I went ahead and did this and when the apple pops were ready I told my boss about them and he was like "Brillant"...I didn't think they would get such a great response but I felt good about this....

Snickers the porcupine also loved his apple pop...

We also had to go and check on the older 3 brown bears since a photographer told us that he noticed blood yesterday.  We noticed that Patrone had blood on her but we could not determine where it was coming from.  We will just keep an eye on it. 

Tomorrow I will probably go and talk to one of the moose, Jack, who was rescued three years ago by an intern.  He likes bananas. :)

Until next time Adios to my amigos in the lower 48 :)

Erin

Brrrrrr!

So today was the first day that I actually felt cold to the bone!
We went in the bear cub enclosure around 10:45 so that we could feed them and let 2 photographers get some good pictures.
Little did I know that this meant we would be standing around for 2 hours doing nothing but watching the bears.  Now I should have been wearing 2 pairs of socks since I wouldn't be moving around....
So I had to give in and ask to leave to get another pair of socks.  Eventually the photographers felt that they had enough pictures so about 3 hours later they would be done.
Even though today was a very slow day it was just exhausting standing in the cold weather.
However, I still can not get over the beautiful view!

Bison Necropsy

So today started out with the feeding of the bear cubs, along with a photographer taking pictures of us training and just the cubs as well.  All of the pictures that are seen on the AWCC website are from this same photographer. 
Then about 2 hours later I had the opportunity to watch a necropsy of a 3 year old Wood Bison that died yesterday from unknown causes. It was so interesting.  I got to see the heart and basically everything else inside a bison.  The cause of death is still unknown but the vet will run some tests from all of the samples they collected. 
Although I know some of you may want to see pics I didn't think it was appropriate to do this.  :(
Tomorrow we will be open to the public. 
I am ready for a car!!!!  I want to go to Anchorage so badly; another employee has been using the intern car since hers is getting fixed.
ahhhhh!!!
I already watched lonesome dove so I guess I will breeze through a book this weekend since (surprise here) the employee will be using the car all weekend!!!
At least I don't have to pay for gas ;)

Getting Settled In

ok so today finally felt like a normal day
Woke at 6:15 (ok maybe thats not normal)
I don't have to be at work till 10 so....
hmm I will watch some more Lonesome Dove....
3 hours later....
ok nice bowl of oatmeal and I will take some pics of  the bedroom so everyone knows what it looks like, and some nice views from my kitchen window...

Alright get to work...first thing is Feed the bear cubs with Jordan (my boss)
Now I go do my own thing..
Feed the eagle, Owls, porcupine, deer, and chickens.
Later I met back up with Jordan and we did some more bear cub training, we use peanut butter.
They are already trained to stand up, target (go to a tree and place their front paws on it), motion "ok" (swipe air with right paw), and to not eat us...(ok that last one was added)
So after a few minutes of this I go and cut up some apples and see if they are going to like these...THEY DO!! So we now know that they are motivated by peanut butter, grapes, apples, and interns (also added that last part)
Anyways, so some of yall may be wondering how I will get groceries and such.  Well they have a vehicle just for interns to borrow.  However, another employee is currently using it so I have  had soup and oatmeal for that past few days.  But finally today I was able to borrow the car and drive 15 minutes to Girdwood where I pass the only ski resort in Alaska.  I make it to the grocery mart.  It is definitely no Kroger!  I grab two baskets, yes baskets because there are no carts and even if there were the store is way to small to need them.  So I grab a bunch of groceries, minus the ponytails and bobby pins that they don't have, and head back home....
So followers this is the end of todays events.
Tomorrow should be exciting because we (meaning a vet) are going to be doing a necropsy of a 3 year wood bison!

First day at Work

So at 10:00 in the morning my new boss picked me up.  Right away I could tell that I would be able to work with him very easily.  We ran a couple of errands one being us going to a store called Spotsmans Outdoors or something along that line).  I was introduced to (i think their called) chains, so I walked out of the store with ice chains to but on my shoes so I don't slip.  We drive about 50 minutes to AWCC (Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center) where I immediately see why I needed the chains.  W were unloading my luggage and of course I FELL!!! I felt like the typical city girl going to the "little town" and trying to survive.  Anyways I get my stuff in my room (notice the "my" part of room) and I throw my stuff in and right away and I am introduced to the bear cubs that I will be working with.  Their names are Taquoka and Shaguyik. Later I met the owners Mike and Kelly Miller and later I had dinner with them, and guess what it was....SALMON!!! So right away I had the typical alaskan meal...It was delicious!!!!  I will also be feeding the Bald Eagle named Adonis, 2 Great Horned Owls, North American Porcupine named snickers, and and Black Tailed Deer named Jewelie.  At dinner I look outside and think "it's gotta be like 10 cuz I am so tired...it was only 6:45!!!! So I went to bed a little early and then as most of you know I woke up at 5 wide awake and ready to go!! So my friends until next time....I will be posting pics very soon!!! 

Arrival to Alaska

So I am finally here!!! After months of shopping for clothes I am finally able to test them out!  The plane ride was pretty boring ( which is a good thing).  I will get picked up this morning at 10:00 and can not wait to start!!!  I am still tweaking the blog a bit so eventually I will be posting pictures as soon as I can.  I will keep yall updated :)