The Mainland

As mentioned in a previous post, we spent the last two weeks of July on the Mainland. I'll just say here, bluntly, that we tried to pack too many things into one short trip--including family time, shopping, fishing, cultural experiences, and camping.

And now I'm going to try to pack too many things into one blog post.

First of all, the ferry ride: We had the good fortune to ride on the Kennicott, the larger of the two ferries that stop in Kodiak, and I have to say that, while the trip was not without queasiness, it was smoother and more enjoyable than I expected. 

Guess who loves riding on the ferry?

No ferry ride is complete without whale sightings.

One highlight of the trip for Rainbow and for and me was watching T and his dad go dip net fishing for sockeye salmon. Rural Alaska residents, a category that includes us, can apply for a subsistence fishing license that allows them to catch significantly more fish via dipnetting than people with "regular" fishing licenses. 

When the sockeye are coming in, hundreds of people drive their vehicles on the beach near the mouth of the Kenai River. Whole families come. They set up lawn chairs and grills. It's not rowdy, it's not a party scene, but there is a feeling of celebration. These people are catching food for their families. The fishermen and fisherwomen carry their ridiculously large nets into the water, where they stand and wait. The fish literally swim straight into the nets on their way to the river. On good days, a dozen fish can be caught quickly and easily.

T's dad in his fancy dry suit

T and his dad waiting for the fish to swim by

T and his dad didn't end up going on good days, but they did catch enough to get some salmon in our freezer. I'm thankful to them and to the fish.

Rainbow sharing a snack with her grandpa while he takes a break from fishing

Girl needed a day of rest after her big dip net fishing outing.

Most of the time when T and his dad were fishing, Rainbow and I hung out with T's mom. We also spent some time in Homer, Alaska, a beautiful, artsy town at the end of Alaska's well-traveled Sterling Highway. T's parents live near Homer. 

Rainbow got lots of snuggle time with her grandma.

View from the playground at Karen Hornaday Park playground in Homer

This seagull relentlessly shadowed this sea otter, hoping to get some nibbles of the crab the otter was eating.

We borrowed his parents' truck and camper for a five-day camping trip with stops in Anchorage, near Whittier, in Hope, and at Skilak Lake. 

Another year, another Crabfest

Here in Kodiak, the last day of school marks the start of Crabfest. This local event has been known to disappoint folks from big cities expecting something a little more, um, big, but this year everyone was excited about Crabfest. The reason was simple: the weather. We had a streak of exceptionally warm, sunny weather that had the whole town grinning from ear to ear all weekend. 


The weather made it easy to stay out all day Saturday, starting with the morning parade (Iris got to march--with me, of course--as a "Shrimper").

Interesting piece of trivia: These friends will (sadly) soon be moving to the New Orleans area and will live very close to where we lived in Metairie, Louisiana over a decade ago.

Rainbow once again rode a horse and enjoyed it with serious intensity.

We also discovered that Rainbow absolutely loves king crab. She ate about $20 worth of it over the weekend.

That's her "rock star" face. She makes it when shes happy or excited.

After looking at booths, eating crab, and having a (short-lived) adventure in the bounce house, our first day of Crabfest ended with a toddler passing out on her mama's back. She woke up from that nap muttering, "Where we going?" I loved her presumptuous question, the idea that there was certainly somewhere interesting to go, and her readiness to go there. It's summer. I want to have that openness and readiness, too. Let's get going, summer. Kodiak, here we come!

A sunny day and a snowy day

I keep hearing people who have lived in Kodiak longer than I have saying that this has been a difficult winter with an abnormal amount of rain and even less sun than usual. So last month when we had a "warm," sunny day one weekend and a snowy day the next, both were unusual, and we got out and enjoyed the weather as much as possible.

We had a picnic at the end of the road at Chiniak. It only takes a little over an hour to drive out there (well, longer if you have a recently potty-trained toddler who is obsessed with peeing outside).

There are always wonders to be found on the beach.

It may surprise you to know that Kodiak gets very little snow. March 20 was our first real snow of the winter--and our very first opportunity to take Rainbow sledding. She loved it!  

It was a good thing we went sledding in the morning, because even by noon much of the snow had melted. That's very typical for Kodiak. 

Fall

I don't know exactly how many minutes of daylight we are losing each day right now, but it's enough of a difference from day to day to be noticeable. It seems like one day I was walking to work with morning sunlight; the next I was walking to work as the sun was rising; and the third I was walking in the dark. There will come a time when I am also walking home in the dark.

But that time has not yet come! For now, as our time allows, we are trying to enjoy the fall colors. Last Sunday, when we woke up to an unexpectedly rain-free morning, we took some time do a family photo shoot with my talented friend Jessica. Here are some of the pictures she took. 

 

Berry picking on Pillar Mountain

I missed the entire summer here in Kodiak, but it turns out that autumn isn't so bad. The rainy weather has been punctuated by many sunny and relatively warm days. The landscape is still beautiful, with lots of green highlighted by warm golden and brown hues. Although daylight hours are decreasing noticeably each day, the sun is still out until almost 9pm.

Oh, and there's berry picking!

Yesterday, we drove to the top of Pillar Mountain to pick

wild berries. Pillar "Mountain" is really more of a tall hill on the west side of town. At the summit are about six wind turbines (98% of Kodiak's electricity comes from alternative/renewable energy sources) as well as several roads and trails perfect for exploration by ATV or foot. 

View from Pillar Mountain of the Coast Guard base south(ish) of town.

We took a short walk on one such trail and stopped at a patch of wild bog blueberries and lowbush cranberries (a.k.a. lingonberries). 

Rainbow loved the cranberries.

It took a while, but we collected enough berries to make a large batch of muffins with a couple of big  handfuls leftover for use in yogurt or on waffles or pancakes. Rainbow can't get enough of the berries despite their significant tartness.

What a great way to celebrate fall.