It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged!  Sorry grandma haha.  Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful…I worked in the ticket booth and gift store both days.  Thursday was dedicated to a batman marathon that Christina, Marcie, Melissa, and I went to.  Yes, that’s right…we went in to Anchorage and watched 9+ hours of batman (including the new one) and I’m not ashamed ; )  It was so fun to have a day/night of relaxing and sitting in the theatre with good company.  The only bummer was it was GORGEOUS out and hot! (in the 70s).  At least before we left in the afternoon we layed out in the sun and read for awhile, I was melting so getting out of the sun wasn’t so bad.  You just really learn to appreciate the sunny days here.  Apparently this July is the coldest July on record for Anchorage…and most of the time it’s much nicer in Anchorage than here in Portage Valley. 

Unfortunately Friday brought the rain and it’s back to being chilly and nasty out.  Since we got back so late the night before we were all exhausted.  I was planning on hiking Bird but ending up staying back.  We didn’t do a whole lot but there was a whole lot going on around us.  There was an armed kidnapper/hitchhiker on the Seward Highway close to the center so troopers closed it down to search.  They still have yet to find him.  Mike thinks he probably got in another car.  Either way Claire and I had the 1 am feeding for Solo and Leia and of course it was actually dark out for once and talk about freaky!  That night we also moved the elk and moose again.  The baby elk went with the herd and moved easily but we lost one of the bulls for a bit.  He ended up hiding in the bushes.  Kara and I found him so I went in there and shooed him out.  I love moving the moose!  Except I’m not the biggest fan of moving Jack…he can get aggressive. 

So your probably wondering who Leia is.  We got another sitka black tailed deer fawn!  She’s definitely more wild than Solo and we haven’t been able to get her on the bottle yet.  She does drink out of a bowl though so we’ve moved her into Solo’s enclosure so they have each other’s company.  I haven’t gotten a picture of her yet (she’s a tough one to have stay still!) but hopefully I’ll get a good one soon : )

Saturday Howie, Claire, Jeremy, and I went into Anchorage to do some shopping.  It was another crummy rainy day so I didn’t mind hiding indoors.  We also got to stop by Carly’s apartment and say hi. 

Sunday was another gift store day…I feel like I’ve had a lot of those lately.  At least we always have feedings in the evening and late at night so I don’t feel totally in the dark with the animals. 

Finally, today I faced my irrational sea lion fear!!!  And guess what…they really aren’t that bad!  Alexis, Kara, Nicole, Nicole’s boyfriend Trevor, and I went to Seward today for an intern fieldtrip and visited the Sea Life Center.  It was awesome!  I was really impressed by their facility and what they do there.  We started with a behind the scenes tour and then went to lunch in Seward.  When we came back we were able to go into the rehabilitation area.  I’ve only heard good things about this field trip and luckily Erin let me take the day off to go since my trip was scheduled while I’m home.  Not only do we get to go to the center but going into the rehab area is the only time in my life I’d ever get to do that unless I work there!  It was great of Sea Life to welcome us and allow us to “intern for the afternoon”.  Sea Life’s mission is rescue and rehabilitate as they take in sea lions, sea otters (my fav), seals, puffins, etc. and try and raise them and release them back into the wild.  Brett (the animal husbandry leader) showed us training they’ve done for vets with Sugar (a 19 year old sea lion) and Woody.  Sugar came right out into the room with us and was probably a foot away doing all the motions Brett commanded.  It was so impressive.  I’m bummed we can’t further develop our bear training with Jordan anymore (he left the center recently).  Animal training is something I don’t know a whole lot about other than horses but I’d really like to learn more about it…that and marine biology in general.  Maria and Lauren (a couple interns at the center) also showed us some of their seals they have, one of which was the one Jeff Corwin picked up.  They were so cute!  We were able to check out the area they work in, the kitchen, help them measure out food and feed them and then the best part, move a few seals!  I moved Moe from one condo (what they call their enclosures) to a new clean one.  They’re pretty heavy little suckers weighing about 40 lbs being younger pups.  The center will rehab them by feeding and caring for them, not allowing much human contact so they don’t get too used to humans, then they move to the graduation pool.  This pool is where they go into together and fight for food that is put in the pool randomly so they don’t rely on a set feeding time.  The idea is that it’s much like the wild and getting their own food.  The three pups that were in the graduation pool today will be released in about a week or so.  They tag them and put sensors on their coats so they can monitor them and see how they’re doing until they molt and lose that coat.  It was a very rewarding day and I can’t wait to go back again sometime.  I think an internship there in rehab would be so cool.  Who would’ve thought I’d consider working with seals haha. 

                                                

Well, off to bed…early morning tomorrow!! Only two more days until I get to enjoy some of Michigan’s heat wave ; )