Harbor Stroll

Both Randy and I found the harbor's very captivating. We enjoyed a couple harbor strolls when we were there. Many of the fishing boats were in the harbor while we were there. We learned about three different way the big fishing boats operate (and if I tried to explain it I would look like an absolute fool). Anyway, every boat was so interesting, like they all had their own personality.

One of the most interesting boats was this boat called the Saga...
It was fun to meet Captain Dennis of the Saga. This was part of their shrimp catch for the day...
Dennis is a storyteller and poet. We brought a little of Dennis home with us in his published book called In the Wake of the Alaska Mail Boat. It is a great book about the life of his father who ran the mail boat route for many years from Juneau going South. He has another book coming out soon about his own life of fishing and hunting in his native land and water. These are great reads!

The green building in this picture is a big cannery...
We saw many seagulls and a few sea lions. Someone compared these homely sea creatures to grizzly bears in the water. They can be big and vicious! We weren't sure how close we should get to this guy...
This is a very rainy place and in late September they head into their rainy season. We were lucky enough to get a couple of days where there was no rain and it wasn't completely overcast...
Some refer to this place as "Little Norway" of Alaska. It was settled many years ago by Norwegian anglers and to this day is largely populated by people of Scandinavian origin. Loved all the Norwegian details on the buildings and the spirit of hospitality and congeniality that we noticed from the towns folks and friends...
This little park on the edge of the harbor is a memorial to all the loved ones lost at sea. So many, many names printed on metal plaques around the park. The life, and death, of many the fisherman...
Along with all the boats, we saw many a float plane in the harbor. The quickest way to go from place to place!
Because this Island is more secluded by narrow passages, no large cruise ships visit here. Looking around as we walked along provided us with some insight into the character of a true Alaskan town... isolated, with an obvious spirit of community and self-sufficiency.

Oh, and I could get used to eating shrimp, salmon, crab and halibut every day... I really could!!! Thanks Auntie Karen for teaching me how to cook seafood the right way!

Up next... Randy gets to go fishing and thanks to Uncle Joe and our buddy Keith, we get to enjoy some of that fish!
(what you've all been waiting for)

Alison