July 29 dockside at Ocean Falls

This is our 4th night here and we have really enjoyed getting to know the residents of Ocean Falls who are also known as the "Rain People". You would never know it from our time here but this community normally receives 150 inches of rain each year. The town's name denotes the falls that come over the dam but also the fact that it is where the "ocean falls". Those of us from the Pacific Northwest can relate to that.

We had planned to leave at 5 AM this morning but postponed that due to unusually high winds this AM. Hoping tomorrow AM will bring calm winds and seas heading south to Duncaby Landing. From there we will watch for the perfect conditions to make our next big "crossing" in an area of open seas around to Sullivan Bay.

Have met up with several other boats here...a few will be leaving in the AM also. One particular vessel the "Lucky Lady" would be nice people to travel with but they have a 61 foot Ocean Alexander Pilothouse boat and cruise at 20 knots. Don't think our 8 knot cruising speed could even keep us in the same body of water but they have promised to call "back" to us on the VHF radio and let us know how the seas or treating them...of course their boat "rides" a bit different in the water than ours so we will have to take that into account.

More later when we "wash up" at a new destination.

Gary & Linda (the old salts on Old Bro)

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July 24 Hartley Bay

Here we sit at the "Red Feather Cafe" in Hartley Bay, far north British Columbian waters. I will try to describe this unique experience. We are at a wooden table under a makeshift sun umbrella on the wooden deck outside a residence that overlooks their very tiny harbor. The cook/waiter stepped out a large window to come out and greet us when we arrived. (This is the same young man who greeted us on the dock and invited us to come up and try out his "cafe"). He is definitely Indian but is singing melodies in Italian as he works to prepare our breakfast. Such atmosphere and a "floor show" to boot.

Hartley Bay has a population of less than 100 and is just a community of houses clustered around a protected bay with mostly brand new docks and fuel station (most likely government financed). The people have all been very friendly. We purchased fuel and then were told we could tie to their dock at no charge...even for the electric power.

Well my eggs have arrived so I will have to continue later.

Later...
The eggs were so good that we made arrangements to go back tonight for dinner...pizza will be ready at 5:30.

We spent the afternoon walking the wooden boardwalk to see their tiny fish hatchery and marshlike lake that provides water source for it. Most fun were all the local kids who were enjoying the swimming holes on the river. Good clean fun on this hot summer day.

There are no roads or cars in Hartley Bay. It is all rough wooden boardwalks, motorbikes and ATVs. One young father came by with his two young daughters giggling on the front of their family ATV...family car Hartley Bay style.

Local residents are involved in both fishing and logging. We suspect they also receive substantial government funding as their facilities, while limited, are quite new or recently renovated. They seem to have a pride of ownership and also boast the fact that their is a "dry" community with no alcohol allowed.

It was a happy summer evening for the young people of Hartley Bay as they threw each other off the dock into the bay. We both succeeded in staying on the dock and fell fast asleep soon as mother nature turned out the lights.


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July 25 Marathon trip to Shearwater/Bella Bella

We started out at 7 AM to make the comfortable passage from Hartley Bay to Kutze Inlet...just 4 hours south.

Arrived at Kutze by 11 AM and the water had been so calm that we decided to venture further to the native "village" of Klemtu...only another 2 hours south.

By 1:30 we were approaching Klemtu and heard on the radio that the state ferry AND a barge were due in there. The cruising books warn that their docks are not real accessible and subject to lots of wakes when they have ferry traffic...soooo you guessed it...we decided to go on to Salmon Bay...just another 2 hours.

By 4 PM we had been underway for 9 hours and longed for a place to rest our weary bodies. Salmon Bay was a stop we had made with the fish camp group and we remembered it as being very comfortble and how we had watched a bear play on the beach. Well...by the time we got there the northwesterly winds which had been predicted to pick up, had. The bay lines up exactly the way of the strong winds and there was not enough shelter to make a good anchorage under the conditions. Well our next stop on planned itinerary and (thank God) already plotted on our chartplotter was Shearwater....just another 3 hours away!

Yikes...will this day ever end ???

The route to Sheawater was not a protected one and we had no business being out there in near gale force winds but that's where we ended up.

There was a shortcut but without having better knowledge of the waters we could not risk it...we entered the exposed portion taking the waves at a 45 degree angle. They were 3 feet and building.

As we rounded Ivory Island (Gary swore he could see Japan from there) we had 10 foot following seas...not good! The best we could do was surf on them riding up the backs and exceeding speeds of 13 knots until the waves outran us and dropped us back down. With Gary at the helm it (the wheel) was spinning like a top trying to keep us from taking any "abeam". The wierdest part was we had the sun at our back and it would shine brilliantly in the back cockpit windows until we slid down into the trough of the wave and we had the shadow of the wave behind us.

Finally we entered calmer waters. I peeled Gary's hands off the wooden wheel and his tension eased a bit as we went past Bella Bella to the "resort" at Shearwater. Yowie...look at all those boats...they were already "rafted" to each other along the dock and everyone pretended we did not exist for fear that we would ask to add to their rafting.

It was after 8 PM, we had been underway for 13 grueling hours and no one would even answer the VHF radio channels. Gary said "OK how far to Ocean Falls ???" I was going to cry, I was so tired and there was NO WAY we could go any further...besides even Mother Nature was gettig ready to douse the lights. No anchorage spots around. One trawler was anchored in kind of mid-channel but that is not our "thing". We were desperate. About then another power boat cruised in, around and tied up to the fuel dock. You all know Gary is such a "law abiding" person than no way did he want to moor to a dock with big signs that said "NO MOORAGE" but as I already said...we were desperate. I reasoned with him, "We are going to buy fuel when they open the fuel dock at 7 AM...we're just a little early...you like to be early don't you ?" Well we were so early and so tired that at 3 AM when the fuel barge came in to deliver fuel to the fuel dock we did not even wake up as he tied his gigant!
ic vessel up right in front of us! He finally "disturbed us" as he departed.

We woke at 6:45 AM just in time to literally jump into our clothes and be ready when the fuel dock attendent arrived at 7.

Not wanting to do a rerun of yesterday's marathon, we made a glorious passage (this morning July 26th) to Ocean Falls. and once I rest my mind and body a bit I will report on our days of R & R here.

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July 21 Prince Rupert, BC

Update

Spent the day walking around town and catching up on our laundry, especially those items which I dunked in the salt water yesterday.  Do you know how long it takes to dry out good leather "tennis" shoes???

Hoping to head further south in a day or so to some quiet marine parks and anchorages in BC.  Also plan to visit some of the nice, friendly marinas Gary visited last summer.

Thanks for checking in on us...Enjoy your summer as well.

Linda and Gary
Old Bro' and his Old Lady

Making a BIG Splash in Prince Rupert

Another very early morning as we left Ketchikan at 4:15 AM yesterday to make what we hoped would be a calm crossing of the famous "Dixon Entrance".  The weather predictions had been changing a bit so we were not sure what we would encounter but we were prepared with alternate anchorage sites along the way if we started to encounter any really nasty stuff.  It was low overcast, spotty fog and the seas stayed less than 3 feet which made us very happy!

It was JUST 12 hours later when we finally arrived in Prince Rupert.  A VERY long day in deed.  It was very windy in Prince Rupert and descriptions of the port facilities in our cruising books left a lot to be desired.  We pulled into a very choppy dock and called into customs for a Canadian entry number.  The man on the phone could sense I had had a long day and was very kind and understanding when I admitted I was not sure if we were at the appropriate dock for check-in or not.  He looked up our records and gave us the number anyway...must have noticed we have not been a problem in Canada on any previous trips.

By the time I was through with the customs call there we started getting a lot of boat wakes and the wind slapping our poor little Nordic Tug up against this outside dock very hard.  We needed to get out of there!!!  I called the "Rushbooke Harbor" and they said the full fishing fleet was in and it would be "rafting only" which we do not enjoy at all.  When you are all tied together with other boats you never know who will be climbing through your deck or when they will want to leave and have you in the way. 

It was a long shot but I decided to head up the dock to see if Prince Rupert Yacht Club had room for us.  They did so we pulled out and down a few slips to dock up there.  Their docks have wide thoroughfares but the finger piers between the boats are very narrow, metal mesh and very unstable.  Anyway...we pulled into the slot with Gary driving and I stepped onto the finger pier with rope in hand.  Seconds later, Gary left the helm of the boat and jumped both feet flat onto the finger pier about 4 feet from me.  That was it...I was thrown off the dock and into the water!  Shock, wet, cold, Gary said I screamed and went down quite a ways before surfacing.  We have those neat vest type life jackets but they are not self inflating  and we have talked alot about having to pull on the handle to inflate them if we ever fell in.  It did not occur to me so it was just like another piece of clothing on me.  Bet we will be upgrading to the self inflating ones before long.

Biggest problem was how to get out of the water.  Gary got the boat tied up and turned off and then I worked my way over to the main part of the dock and then had three people "assisting me" in getting onto the dock.  Thanks to a hot shower, lots of tylenol and bandages on my scraped arm, I am finally today able to look back and joke a bit about it.  Frankly, it was scary how fast those things can happen.

Gary says the Olympic event judges are still negotiating on what score to put on the cards they hold up for my "diving event".  Think they are trying to figure out how to put a .5 score without having me think it is a 5 score (on scale of 10)! 

 

July 18 Ketchikan Yacht Club

We left Wrangell super early (4:45 AM) to try to avoid fog that had persisted all morning the day before. When we got up at 4:30 the fog was already moving in but the marine weather radio said "fog North of Wrangell". Thanks to technology we left on radar and our chart plotter. We took our time and after about 2 hours it cleared up pretty well. There were no other boats out today...other than private fishing boats as we neared Ketchikan.

The seas were calm all through Zimovian straits and even after we entered Clarence Strait the swells were less than 2 feet. So it was a total of 10 hours (and two pots of coffee) and we arrived in Ketchikan.

Ketchikan looks strange without any cruise ships at the dock...the last one was leaving as we came in. Last time we were here there were five here at a time.

We are moored in Thomas Basin at the Ketchikan Yacht Club docks. It is a little more expensive than the government docks ($20 instead of $11) but they give you a key to their clubhouse which includes free showers and a comfortable, homey place to "kick back" if you want to. Best of all it is located right by the cruise ship dock and all the tourist shops and such. It will be fun to "kick around" and just browse after we are rested up from our early morning.

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July 16 Wrangell Narrows

Today we suceeded in another good passage through the famous "Wrangell Narrows". We are getting pretty good with the tide and current charts on these passages. We get it all figured out and then hitch a ride (following in the wake) behind one of the fishermen who live here. Works great and helps to reaffirm that we calculated it correctly. The tides are enormous this week so you don't want to figure it wrong.

Tonight is a quiet evening in the small town of Wrangell. We arrived right after their weekly cruise ship left...perfect timing...I could not imagine 2,000 tourists off that boat in this tiny town all at one time!

Met some more really nice cruising people today upon arrival. All you have to do is pull into a dock with lots of current whipping by and they all rush out and help you tie to the dock so you do not run into their boat. Great opener when we go over later and say "thanks" for the help...end up finding where they are from and a little of their favorite cruising destinations...all part of the adventure.

We left Petersburg today in a rainshower...first in quite awhile. It had been sunny and hot...even one young gal sunning herself in a bikini on the deck of one boat. We always try to look at the good side of things...so as we left this morning, I commented to Gary at least he was not going to miss out on any good bikini watching days!

For those of you who know our line about "whose day is it to be weird"...we historically have taken turns...but this trip has been so loose and "off any schedule" we gave up on taking turns...now we are both weird every day!

Smile, it makes everyone wonder what you have been up to!

Nuff for now...Linda

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July 14 A Very slow crise Kake to Petersburg

No, there was nothing wrong with us or our boat today but there were so many humpback whales out putting on spectacular shows between there and here that we kept stopping to take it all in.

I am not complaining as it was such a treat but we began to wonder if we would ever get here.

These whales are not content to just surface, they exhale a big flume of steam, make singing noises, jump full length out of the water and crash down sideways, swim on their sides slapping the water with dorsal fins, and of course the traditional deep dive with a full tail fluke held in the air as they descend. There was one spot where an eco-adventure tour boat put people out in a small inflatable to get them up close. The whale was diving right in front of them and we could hear the people squealing with delight.

All in all it was a "magical" day and here we are again in our favorite Alaskan city of Petersburg. We even had a pizza delivered tonight...I couldn't even eat an entire piece but the taste was very enjoyable and we got our "pizza fix" for a while.

Gary just had his first shower in I'd hate to calculate how many days...he says he feels like a "new man"...and I was getting attached to the old one! My turn is next...whether I need it or not! Showers are one thing that is in short supply up here...but I suppose that is how they keep Alaskan moorage costs at .15 to .30 per foot ($4.80 to $9.60 for our boat). We will be spoiled when we go back to "at home" prices (.65 to $2 per foot).

Tomorrow we have declared as an official "day to just rest" and thenon Friday we will head sout through Wrangell Narrows to points south.

Thanks for checking on us from time to time.

Linda
Old Bro's Old Lady

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Read a little or Read a lot...it is your choice

This online blog (web log) is here for you to take away only what you need to satisfy your curiosity about our travels. Read just the title for an overview or read all the "gory" details when it suits you.

We are happy to share with you a bit of our adventures and value your friendship.

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July 12 Welcoming Committee at Kake

We started out this morning for a 5 hour passage to Baranof Hot Springs but ended up coming another 3 1/2 hours to Kake.

It was a beautiful morning with calm seas and blue skies. We enjoyed our transit South to Baranof Hot Springs. Only one or two cruising boats out but LOTS of commercial fishing vessels...seiners. Well, when we got to the government dock at Baranof Hot Springs it was overloaded with the large commercial vessels already "rafted" three deep. There is a large beautiful waterfall at the head of the bay and it provides a strong current making anchoring out of the question. The inlets adjacent were all too deep and of questionable holding so we opted to take a picture of the falls and move on.

Next stop we had planned was the small Indian village of Kake ONLY another 3 1/2 hours away. It seemed like it took forever but we were well rewarded for our trip. As we entered the passage between Chathem Strait and Frederick Sound (just north of Kuiu Island) we began to see splashes in the water and whale spouts. Thus far we had only seen single humpback whales but this was a large pod of them which numbered about 40. Soon they were all around us and what a spectacular show they put on!!! If you know whales you will understand what "spyhopping" is and several were doing that. Some of the humpbacks rolled over on their sides and slapped the water with their dorsal fins to stun the fish. Others were just doing repetitions of diving with the raised tail as they slide gracefully under the water. One surfaced right beside the boat and I got a good demonstration of their size...massive is a good description.

We just took the boat out of gear and sat there awhile enjoying the sights and sounds...yes, they make very loud noises as they exhale when they surface. I rode out on the bow for quite awhile then trying to take pictures as momentos of our experience.

We told the harbor master here in Kake that we loved their "welcoming committee" as that is what it felt like and it was hard to "tear ourselves away" to come the rest of the way into the harbor.

Now we are being treated to a beautiful sunset...what more could we want?

Linda & Gary


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July 11 Appleton Cove

Quiet little anchorage in which to rest up from our day in Peril Strait and Sergis Narrows (coming back North out of Sitka). Amazing how calm the bays can be once you get all tucked away out of the currents of the main passages. Just us and about 7 other boats hanging out (literally) before moving on tomorrow.
ZZZZZZZZZZ


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July 9th A special lady's birthday

Several people in our past have contributed remarkably to our spirit of adventure and zest for life. For me, my step mother Vi was a key part. She was the one who took me under her wing at age 16 and gave me a love and appreciation of life.

She was always the type of person who could never pass the roses without stopping to smell them, never clean her house without stopping to play the piano and always saw the silver lining in the clouds.

Vi has been deceased for a number of years now but I can still remember (and repeat often) her parting words everytime I went out the door to go somewhere...it was always a simple statement..."ENJOY".

Happy Birthday, Vi!

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July 10 Some of the best shows are free

Today was catch-up day with laundry, groceries, showers, filling water tanks and charting our route for departing Sitka tomorrow.

On one of our walks we spotted a number of eagles overhead fighting over something. A little farther along in the harbor parking lot there was a large eagle with a slice of salmon meat and a couple ravens trying to rob it away from him. Walk a bit further and we were right along the beach front and a rocks area where some deckhand off a charter boat were cleaning out ice chests with salmon trimmings (heads and carcases minus filets) and dumping them on the beach. There was a large quantity of it and the number of eagles and ravens that had assembled was in excess of 50 and we were only about 75 feet from them. You could hear them tearing into their treasures. The majesty of a large bald eagle up close is something that cannot be adequately described in words...and then to have such large numbers of them...one of those experiences you will remember the rest of your life!

This trip continues to provide us with such rewarding experiences like this...we are so thankful that we are so blessed at this time in our lives.

Next planned stop Baranoff Hot Springs

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July 8th Sightseeing in Sitka

As the ancestral home of the Tlinglit Indians, captured by the Russians and then sold to the Americans, Sitka portrays a legacy of each. There are many beautiful sights, most famous of which are the Russian cathedrals and old homes. This has been the visit with the greatest diversity due to Russian heritage combined with the mix of Tlinglit totems and ceremonial halls. We took time to visit a bit of each to get the "flavor" of the community.

The harbor in Sitka has been recently enlarged so they have plenty of room for transient moorage. Nice generously sized dockways help to handle the volume in this very busy harbor. We met up with several other boats that have been cruising with us off and on. Our friends from Anacortes had left just 3 days before we arrived...that's what we get for being on a loose schedule. Met some super nice people on other Nordic tugs plus a couple from Minnesota who have been cruising on their 46' Nordhaven since they took delivery 2 years ago. They have wintered in La Paz Mexico and travelled the coast (Mexico to Alaska) on their boat. We learned a lot from them...like don't try it in our boat!

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July 9th Dancing in Sitka

Cultural highlight today was being in the front row for a performance of the "New Archangel Dancers". This is an all-female dance troupe that performs throughout the summer months delivering renditions that represent the cultures of Russian and surrounding areas. The troupe is all volunteer and perform on their lunch hours or days off from "regular" work in Sitka. None of them are Russian but they were trained by Russian choreographers and perform authentic Russian, Byelorussian, Moldovan and Ukranian folk dances in very colorful traditional costumes. The women portray both female and male dancers and it is a very strenuous performance. We loved it.

Another highlight today was a visit to the "Alaska Raptor Center".Here they rehabilitate injured raptors (which we learned are "birds of prey" including eagles, owls, ravens, falcons, and hawks). We were able to view them up close and personal and learn the importance of their rehabilitation work.

Awesome day!


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July 7 Long trip to Sitka

We started off the day to make a relatively short transit of 4 hours to "Angoon" just off Chattam Straits. Cruising books indicated a dock to tie to and fuel available. We had not topped off our tank in Hoonah or Tenakee since their furl was not real easily accessible...i.e. on top of a 25 ' high dock on pilings. So we were down about 1/2 tank and below our "comfort zone".

When we arrived at Angoon we found that their dock had fallen into the straits since the guidebok author had last visited. They had moorage docks but they were in a channel which was not safely navigated by us. The nearest sure thing for fuel was back where we had just come from...BUMMER.

We quizzed the person on the Angoon radio and found there was an old cannery across the strait that might be able to provide us fuel. This cannery was not easy to find but when we called them on the radio they said come on in as long as you do not mind paying $3.10 per gallon for diesel. At that point we would have paid anything! Arrived there and found that their fuel dock was also 25' in the air...BUMMER.

Their caretaker came in from fishing, climbed the ladder 2 rungs at a time (he did NOT us) and lowered down the green diesel nozzle. He surprised us when he said he preferred we write a check for the purchase. It saved him time going back to his residence for change or to do bank card...he wanted to get back to hs fishing! I gave him a $5 tip and you would have thought it was $50...sweet young man. The cannery is closed down and he is merely a caretaker and working or restoring it for historical purposes.

Well once we had a full fuel tank and had gotten out of the 4 foot swells in Chattam Straits...we did not want to go back out there. We had startd out at 7 AM, left the cannery at 1 PM and figured the timing was good to try a transit of the famous "Peril Straits" and "Sergis Narrows". We hit the narrows about an hour beyond the desired "high water slack" so we had a current pushing us along. Our normal cruising speed of 8 knots became 13.5 knots "speed over ground". It was a bit squirrely but we came through just fine.

We arrived in Sitka at 9 PM dog tired but in a good, calm slip with electric, water and showers available. I can even see the local McDonalds...just beyond the city's only traffic light.

Highlight of the day were awesome sightings of humpback whales...a couple surfaced within 50' of the boat...very impressive!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Nite All,
Linda

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July 5 Tenekee Springs

This morning we finally left the friendly docks of Hoonah in search of new adventures. The wind had come up and leaving was questionable until we had consulted what we have found to be the best source of information...local knowledge(in this case the Port Master)! He explained that the winds were westerly and we should be sheltered in the channels we would be traversing (he also added the necessary Alaska disclaimer of...but watch it could change in a very short time). So we proceeded out cautiously and ended up with a fairly comfortable passage (44 miles) with 10-15 knot winds and seas just over 2 feet. A little green water over the bow but that is what these Nordic Tugs are all about!

The "harbor" entrance for Tenekee Springs was difficult to spot but once we saw the cobbled collection of multi-colored buildings we knew we had arrived.

This ended up being a very crowded and disorganized dock system. The "harbor master" is a very young, inexperienced girl with absolutely NO organizational skills. Maybe the moorage rate helped to make up for it...15 cents per foot or $4.80 for our 32 footer.

Tenekee Springs has NO roads, just a 6 foot wide path parallel to the shore that wanders between buildings. Some residents have "quads" and little yard trailers but most just walk or ride bikes. A few residences are new and complete but many have been "under construction" for a number of years or are very old and set on rotted pilings or just logs.

The actual "place" here was disappointing but like so many oher stops it was the people who made it worthwhile!

We were greeted immediately on the dock by a 70+ year old lady and her great grandson. She owns 32' Nordic Tug hull #14 (ours is #208). Hers is a very rough old boat but she has put 7,000 hours on its Cummins diesel and enjoyed every minute of it! She lives very modestly but has a home in Haines and a cabin here in Tenekee Springs. She had lots of cruising tales to share...including a transit of Panama Canal in her younger years.

In the pouring rain we were soon greeted by the smiling faces of a couple we met in Wrangell who own a 35' Mainship cruiser...they were excited to see us again and share adventures.

We are beginning to stage out our stops and transit from here over the next 94 miles to Sitka past the famous "Sergis Narrows".


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July 4 Celebrating Hoonah style

Transcribed from captain's log:

We have been here for 5 days just kicked back, soaking it in. We have seen the hubbub of the cruise ships and the "white eyes". We have seen the poverty that the Tlinglit Indians live in but the real awakening was today. We witnessed the July 4th parade in "downtown" Hoonah.

Everyone turned out (all 881 of them). They had the parade led off with the flags...the US flag, Marine flag, their brotherhood Indian flag, the Alaska state flag, the Army flag and others were carried with such pride and honor. Everyone along the street showed their respect to the flags and their veterans. Their tribal elders are brought to the parade in their wheelchairs and walkers, all afforded honorary seating and full respect. These indians do not have much but they are a very proud people who highly value their heritage and their families.

The festivities of the day extended into round after round of competitions including egg tosses, water bucket brigades, foot races, pudding eating contests, etc, etc. There were awards for just about everyone in attendance, plenty of good food and prize drawings. Fireworks had already extended into the late hours on the 3rd and then started again on the 4th and were still going at 2AM the next morning.

We initially felt like we were intruding into their community celebration but they soon made us feel very welcome...as they had each of the days we spent there.

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July 2 An Anniversary of sorts for Old Bro's "Old Lady"

Due to graphic content...some readers may want to skip this post...

Today, I celebrate a journey I began one year ago. It has become an ongoing journey in search of a healthier body and spirit. I have realized that I cannot have one without the other.

Never having been a "self-centered" person, I have had to become one. The surgical and monetary committment would have been wasted without the internal focus and self-determination.

One year later, I am 130 pounds closer to my goal and, according to my personal physician, have literally saved my life. Unlike cruising, this journey does not really have a set destination or "goal". If I were that fixed on numbers I would be able to rattle off the numbers of inches lost as well.

Instead, it was a matter of changing the tide I had been fighting my entire life and never again "going with the flow". Maintaining the healthy status will be every bit as important as attaining it.

So today I celebrate my "anniversary".

I celebrate the changes that have added enjoyment to this crusing adventure with my dear husband.

AND I also celebrate the fact that I will be around to enjoy many more very healthy adventures to come!

Anyone still reading...thank you for your encouragement and support.

Linda


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July 3 Quiet days in Hoonah

Since the departure of the cruise ship on Wednesday Hoonah has returned to the laid back community it has been for years. We have enjoyed a quiet relaxed atmosphere and the friendly attitude of the local residents who always have a smile and greeting for you.

Low tide is a big event here. Tidal swings total 16 feet lately giving them the opportunity to utilize the tidal grid for a very affordable "haul out" to do maintenance work between tides (for those of you not familiar with this they have special areas where they tie their vessel up at high tide and when the tide goes out it is up on a wooden grid where they can work on it.)
or if the boat is small enough they just "beach it" and wait for the tide to receed so they can lay it on its side and scrape bottom and repaint.

At any given time during the day you can find someone on the docks cleaning freshly caught fish. Halibut is the big catch right now and that was demonstrated to me yesterday with one hanging on the dock that was 80 inches long and weighed in excess of 250 pounds. I cannot even imagine trying to get something like that into the boat!

Yesterday we walked about a mile to a local "lodge" that advertised (bulletin board flyers) a good restaurant. Well after Gary had his treat of a cheeseburger and we watched our dose of big screen TV amidst pool tables in their restaurant "dining room" (real fancy...get the picture) we realized that their "airport" was only another mile out the same road (i.e. only road in town!)...so we kept walking.

Arrived at their "airport" (i.e. airstrip with two metal buildings) just in time for the arrival of a courier plane picking up something which must have been important (gal meeting the plane asked the pilot where her pizza was??? and told him to at least bring her an expresso next time). That was our adventure for the day aside from discussing the size of the bear tracks along side the road on the way back (Gary insists it was just dog tracks but I saw the "Bear Crossing" sign always believe signs!)

Most awesome sight here in Hoonah are the enormous eagles that collect along the stone breakwater. I was estimating them at 14 inches tall and Gary says they are over 24 inches. We have seen them elsewhere before but not in the same size and concentration. They seem to favor this areas due to lack of float plane traffic and proximity to all the fishing and fish cleaning activity (i.e. easy pickings).

They finally received enough rain to lift the local ban on fireworks. This town was desimated by fire about 20 or 30 years ago so they are very sensitive to the dangers. The 4th of July promised to be low key but family oriented...their local festivities include foot races and local floats in a community parade.

Enjoy and celebrate our Independence and the Veterans who fought and continue to fight to guarantee our freedoms.

Still Old Bro's Old Lady

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