SE Alaska – Riveted

Crossing Dixon Entrance and Homemade Salsa

Laura Domela — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 16:49:19 +0000

I set the alarm for 4:30am yesterday morning in Ketchikan — after 4 (so we’d have the 4am weather report), but 4:30 for a little extra sleep since sunrise wasn’t until 6am. No point having more than about an hour of pre-sunrise cruising. The alarm went off, I checked the conditions (they looked good for us to go) and then promptly talked Kevin into another half an hour of snoozing.

We actually left the dock in Thomas Basin at 6am. The water was calm and there was no wind in the channel. We saw several humpbacks as we neared the entrance to Behm Canal. They say you’ll know what Dixon is going to be like once you’re halfway between Mary Island and Foggy Bay. (Foggy Bay is a good stopover if you need to wait for weather, or if you want to split up the 80 nautical mile day from Ketchikan to Prince Rupert…it’s beautiful, and there’s good fishing in the area.)

Conditions were great, so we continued on. We saw a bunch more humpbacks, and got a little escort from half a dozen Pacific White-Sided dolphins. Once out in Dixon, the swells picked up a little but were no big deal at all.

Approaching Dundas Island:

That turqouise hose on the bow is the raw water (salt water) washdown hose, for when we pull the anchor. The anchor rode goes down into a locker inside that’s right at the head of the bed, and if you don’t rinse off the kelp and mud before pulling it in, it can get a bit stinky. So…the washdown is important. Also, attaching the hose to the pump inlet is a pain in the butt, so these days (and since we’re anchoring quite a bit), Kevin leaves the hose attached and on the bow. That means it’s in all of my pictures. We replaced the raw water pump a month ago or so and it came with a dark blue hose…I’m lobbying for him to swap out this turquoise one for the dark blue one. Being married to an artist is rough sometimes.

We called Canadian Customs and were given our clearance by telephone about three hours outside of Prince Rupert. Once through Venn Passage, we decided to anchor for the night in Pillsbury Cove rather than go to the marina. We didn’t need anything in town, and Pillsbury Cove looked nice (and we heard there’s good crabbing in there). Kevin got the crab traps ready while I navigated us through the last of the twisty, shallow canal, and we dropped them before anchoring.

It was just after 6pm when we got in and we’d picked up more veggies for fresh salsa (since we pretty much mowed the previous smaller batch we made two days ago). Buying store-made salsa is fine, and there are some good ones, but there’s just nothing like homemade, and it’s easy! I bought double what I bought last time…here’s a look at the grill:

Five roma tomatoes (cut in half), two habaneros (yes really, the salsa still is not that hot, I promise), 3 anaheim peppers (if they’d had poblanos or pasillas I’d have done a mix, but all they had in the larger mild peppers were anaheim), two jalapenos (I do two on the grill and two fresh…seeds removed).

Inside while the veggies were grilling, I mixed together two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes, a large handful of cilantro, chopped, the juice of two juicy limes, liberal sprinkling of Penzey’s roasted garlic powder (the BEST!), similar sprinkling of cumin, and maybe a tablespoon or so of white balsamic vinegar. Once the grilled veggies are cool, chop them up and add them to the bowl. (I removed the seeds from the habaneros, too.) There’s no fresh garlic and no onions in this salsa, but if you taste it and feel the need to add some, by all means go for it. Also, I don’t add salt or pepper. I know, weird, but just taste it first. Here’s the finished product:

We grilled up some fresh halibut (given to us by a neighbor) for dinner and had that with some sauteed shaved Brussels sprouts and a baked potato. Kevin cooked the halibut perfectly.

Today we will head down toward Grenville Channel, and maybe anchor in Lowe Inlet tonight. We’ll grab our crab traps on the way out and who knows…we might have fresh crab for dinner tonight!

Here’s a map of yesterday’s Dixon Entrance crossing. (Dixon Entrance is that middle part with no land sheltering it from the open Pacific Ocean. Foggy Bay is the bay is on the right, just before Dixon Entrance, across from Duke Island.)

82.4 nautical miles, 11 hours 26 minutes:

Ketchikan | Waiting for Weather

Laura Domela — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 14:47:08 +0000

As (non)luck would have it, Dixon Entrance was completely calm during the two days we stayed to go to Kasaan for the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House rededication, and now it looks like it’s supposed to be crappy the rest of the week. Tomorrow MAY be a window to go, but we’ll see. No need to push it.

In the meantime, we’re taking advantage of the good internet in Ketchikan to take care of a bunch of work things. We got some groceries, we met our boat neighbor, we shopped, I edited some photos, and we washed the boat (okay, more like rinsed the boat). So here’s a mish mash of all that.

Here’s a quick portrait I did of Haida Chief John McAllister in Kasaan:

Our boat neighbor, Jesse:

Jesse was great…super nice guy. He told Kevin all about his favorite fishing spots and showed him the tackle he liked best…he brought over some bourbon so we could do a shot together, and he enthusiastically let me take photos of him on the dock.

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah…since last year I’ve been eyeing the work of Gene Chilton, a native Tlingit artist. I looked at a few bracelets last year but didn’t buy anything. This year, after meeting his nephew over in Kasaan, I decided to revisit the work, and saw a ring I’d seen before online…one that I really liked. The design is called Love Birds — an eagle and raven in gold, overlaid on a carved silver ring. We walked over to look at it in person and it was just as beautiful in person. So beautiful, in fact, that we both got them. Here’s a close up:

Native American Alaska Jewelry by Gene Chilton

" data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?fit=300%2C225" data-large-file="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?fit=541%2C406" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-21359 aligncenter" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?resize=541%2C406" alt="Native American Alaska Jewelry by Gene Chilton" width="541" height="406" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?w=541 541w, https://i2.wp.com/www.riveted-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lovebirds_chilton.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w" sizes="(max-width: 541px) 100vw, 541px" data-recalc-dims="1" />

Meanwhile, it looks like this outside:

We’re going to grill outside anyway. I’ve got some chicken wings marinating (in a mixture of Frank’s Red Hot, honey, cayenne, paprika, Worcestershire, melted butter, and salt). I made some homemade blue cheese dressing to go with some celery sticks and wings (mayo, sour cream, blue cheese, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, Worcestershire) and some of Deke’s wing sauce for dipping (Frank’s, olive oil, sugar, cayenne, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and pepper).

6am Tuesday morning update: Conditions look good (and like they’re the best they’ll be for the rest of the week), so we’re heading out. We’ll make the call at Foggy Bay whether to go all the way across Dixon Entrance to Prince Rupert. Will keep you updated!

Kasaan | The Re-Dedication of Naay I’waans (the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House)

Laura Domela — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 06:50:47 +0000

Oral history indicates the Haida people have inhabited Haida Gwaii for over 17,000 years. Archeological findings have established habitation on the islands as far back as 13,700 years. Regardless of which number is correct, that’s over 100 centuries of cultural history, dating back beyond 10,000 BC. So when the Haida invite you over to share some of their traditions, it packs quite a bit more weight than a “tradition” like watching football on television at Thanksgiving.

The Haida arrived in Southeast Alaska around 200 years ago from Haida Gwaii. The first clan leader to arrive took the name Son-I-Hat. Son-I-Hat’s household settled at the Old Kasaan village (Gasa’aan) site as early as the 1700s. After the first Son-I-Hat passed on, his nephew (born in 1829) took and carried on the Son-I-Hat name. The village grew to include up to 500 people living in 18 lodges with up to 60 totem poles. In 1862, a smallpox epidemic killed almost ninety percent of the population in Old Kasaan. Son-I-Hat moved his remaining family to a new site (about 10 miles to the north) to a new house he built in 1880. The new house Naay I’waans, was nicknamed the “Whale House.”

By October 2011, the Whale House had fallen into disrepair and a plan was made for its restoration. A team of four carver/craftsmen was tasked with rebuilding the Whale House using traditional methods and with as much of the original components and material as possible. Five years later, the work was complete, and yesterday the village of Kasaan (population normally around 50 people) was packed with hundreds of visitors celebrating the re-dedication of the only remaining Haida longhouse in the United States.

Last summer when we visited Kasaan for the first time, we met several of the carvers on the project. They invited us to come back a year later for the celebration and re-dedication, and so we did!

To start things off, people gathered on the beach in front of the Whale House to greet the canoes from other tribes and clans as they arrived.

Kids playing in the water while the canoes came in. (I heard some people a little unhappy that the kids were ruining every photo, but I disagree.)

This kid got right in on the action of greeting the first canoe to land (from Klawock):

Chief John McAllister warmly greeted every canoe and gave permission to come ashore:

This canoe was designed by Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo), and the canoe was paddled over 30 miles to Kasaan from Ketchikan the day before. They are Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian (with friends of Salish, Quinault, and Chinook heritage):

Carver, Harley Bell-Holter bringing in the canoe from Ketchikan:

Announcing arrival and asking for permission to come ashore:

We were standing next to this kid’s mom, and I believe she said the piece he’s wearing was carved by his grandfather and indicated it was very precious to her…she was freaking out a little bit every time he leaned over the side of the boat with it (which I get! look how cool it is!)

After the canoes had landed successfully, everyone made their way up the beach to the Whale House for the re-dedication.

First, there was dancing and singing…the dancers/singers danced and sang, circling the Whale House and then filed inside, filling it with the good spirit. When they were finished, the speeches and dedications and thank yous began (much of it in the Haida language, which in itself is incredible since there are only a couple dozen people who still speak Haida, and most of them are over 70).

Julia Coburn, the eldest Haida matriarch, spoke early on, flanked by her daughter Jeanie and her grandson Lee.

The carvers, L to R: Harley Bell-Holter, Stormy Hamar, his son Eric Hamar, and Justin Henricks.

And speaking of carving, would you take a look at this adze work!

Each of the carvers spoke about the effect this project had on them, and it was….you know what? There are just no words to describe how incredible this whole thing was. I’m trying, but the level of heartfelt communication coming from every person was something so special to witness. Harley talked about the longhouse being a beacon not just to Haida people, but to ALL people, and it really feels that way. The community is so friendly and welcoming, and the level of respect and honor for the Haida culture and tradition is impressive.

Stormy Hamar and his grandmother:

He said he was trying to be all cool and then his gram came up and made him get all teary and messed up his cool. It was pretty sweet.

I took quite a few detail shots of people and regalia during the in-between times.

Detail of Chief John McAllister’s head piece (while it was not on his head):

I couldn’t help this next shot. This little boy was grabbing hands of gravel and pouring them over his open sandals. Then, he’d go sit on a stump and remove his shoe, pour the sand and gravel out, put his shoe back on, and then do it again.

The re-dedication ended and everyone made their way back via the trail to the village center for food, more singing and dancing performances, gift-giving, and socializing. The canoes, leaving the shore:

There was a large variety of wonderful food: salmon, halibut, spot prawns, crab, corned venison and cabbage, deer ribs (bbq style), deer stew, and many side dishes including salads, sea asparagus, pastas, fry bread, fresh fruit, and many, many cakes. The Totem Trail Cafe cooks were killing it…it was a potluck though, so I don’t know which things they did and which things people brought (I know we brought a big lemon/caper/pasta salad with shaved brussels sprouts, but that’s all I know.)

Gifts (such as gorgeous, hand-carved war helmets, masks, drums, and other amazing pieces of art) were presented to those who had a key part in enabling this restoration. The potlatch and gift-giving tradition is integral and central to this culture. Interesting side note: Potlatches went through “a history of rigorous ban by both the Canadian and United States federal governments.” The generous, gift-giving economy centered around potlatches was seen as “wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to ‘civilized values’ of accumulation.” (Wikipedia) WTF?

Okay, and now more singing and dancing!

The Carver’s Dance:

And I tried, but I do not remember which dance groups were from which places (and they were not listed in the nice program that was handed out, dangit). They were all wonderful:

That’s carver Justin Henricks there, next to the man holding the carved orca rattle that was AMAZING. He was behind us in the food line (his little son was playing with the rattle), and he told us it was very old and had been in his family for a couple generations.

I mean seriously (I zoomed in), how great is this??

Here’s a short compilation video of footage that Kevin took, to give you some sound and movement to go with the still photos:

As the festivities wound down (some time after 7pm), we made our way along the shoreline trail back to Airship.

It was a beautiful evening, and a beautiful day (in all ways).

We hung out on the boat and talked about the day, and then a little bit later we heard some drumming and singing. I opened the door and listened. On the shore, a group of people was playing drums and singing around a couple of bonfires. The sound carrying across the water, combined with the clear, starry sky, after such an amazing day…we grabbed our chairs and some blankets and sat up on the top deck, thinking it just couldn’t get any better. And it couldn’t have, but then it did.

Háw’aa.

Kasaan | Canoe Landing

Laura Domela — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 18:36:53 +0000

Today we awoke to drumming and singing on the dock as the first canoe arrived from Klawock. We watched the greeting but didn’t take photos, since it felt like we were a little late to the party.

Another canoe was paddling all the way from Ketchikan (a 30+ mile paddle). They left at 8am and were expected into Kasaan around 6:30pm.

Just as we were leaving to walk into town and back out the Whale House, another canoe arrived by trailer. We asked if they needed help launching it, and they accepted our offer. We helped bail rainwater, launch the canoe, and then helped paddle it over to the dock. This canoe (30 feet or so) was a bit more stable than the single canoe we tried out yesterday.

Paddles:

Michael Chilton, relaxing after the launch:

Everyone is very excited about tomorrow’s celebration. Out at the beginning of the Totem Trail, two new plaques were installed to commemorate the original restoration and the second restoration, and to honor the carvers and contributors to the project.

More boats arrived at the docks in the afternoon…Provider (a boat we knew from Meyers Chuck), a large sailboat (I don’t remember its name) from Sweden (they’d come from Japan, then Russia, then the Aleutian Islands, and now Kasaan!), and a few other boats from Ketchikan (with a few Haida from Haida Gwaii aboard).

We were out exploring in the dinghy when we caught a far off glimpse of the canoe and its pilot boat, so we headed back to the dock to be part of the greeting.

Long house and totem pole (original front house pole brought from Old Kasaan), taken from the dinghy:

Chief John, waiting with his regalia:

The canoe and its tired paddlers, from Ketchikan:

They’re greeted by welcome songs by the Kasaan Haida, and welcomed to come ashore by the chief.

More singing and celebrating their arrival. That’s Harley Bell-Holter in the center, apprentice carver on the project:

This is Freddy in the mask:

We’re excited for tomorrow’s celebration, and feeling so fortunate to be here for such an event.

Kasaan | Carving Shed Details

Laura Domela — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 07:45:38 +0000

We learned a new word while chatting with the carvers here in Kasaan the other day. It’s a German word that means “making something worse while attempting to make it better.” The word is: verschlimmbessern. They’d just learned it from Thomas, a man we met (while paddling the Haida canoe yesterday!). He’s visiting Kasaan from Germany for the celebration. Verschlimmbessern is a concept every artist and craftsperson knows intimately, and I love that there’s a word for it.

Anyway, we did a bunch of work in the morning yesterday on Airship and then wandered into the village to have some lunch at the Totem Trail Cafe. The food was excellent!! We shared a BLT and a Reuben (the Reuben won but both were great). After lunch we wandered over to the carving shed to hang out and chat some more with the carvers (and get another look at the in-progress totem pole). I took a few more photos of some of the details. Here’s the design for this totem pole, with sections from top to bottom depicting Future, Present, and Past:

You can see the texture well in this light:

The male and female figures at the top of the totem pole, representing the family of the future (there is one child on either side, inside the ears (see design drawing up top). Love the fingernail detail!

Detail of the clam shell. The clam and the crab are part of the Present section of the design:

Rope ties all three sections together, running throughout the entire design:

I love how the grain of the wood works with the design of this face (well, and how the design works with the grain, of course):

The canoes will be arriving today (how many? don’t know. from where? also don’t know. but we’re told there will be canoes), so I’ll try to capture some images of that. So far we’re the only “tourist” boat here at the dock, but town is bustling with quite a few people. (Also, the Port-a-Potties arrived yesterday…the sign of a real “Event”.) Kasaan is connected by road to the towns of Klawock (44 miles) and Craig (50 miles) and the Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) goes between Ketchikan and Hollis. Here’s a map, if you want to see the route to/from Craig, Hollis, and the relationship to Ketchikan, lower right corner:

I think we need to take the boat to Craig next summer.

Oh yeah, last night at sunset, I took photos of the light on the shore too:

But see why it’s so hard to turn around? Just look at what’s going on in the other directions!!

It’s even gorgeous in the boring direction!!!

Kasaan | Paddling a Haida Canoe

Laura Domela — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 02:49:31 +0000

This afternoon we got an opportunity to paddle a hand carved Haida canoe here in Kasaan Bay!

This is the first canoe built by Stormy Hamar (head carver on the longhouse project), and he plans to make more (which is great, because they’re super fun to paddle). It’s a little tippy when you first get in, but as you get used to it and relax (and get moving) it begins to feel pretty easy. This is a smaller, single-person version, carved from red cedar with a decorative, yellow cedar edge. If you want to see other examples of Haida canoes, check out this link to some images.

What a cool thing to be able to do! Thanks Stormy!!

Kasaan | Sunsets and Quiche

Laura Domela — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:17:12 +0000

The sunsets in Kasaan are so beautiful. These are three photos from last night, at different stages.

As the sun sets, the low golden light shines bright on the village and the hillside (behind me)…maybe I’ll take photos of that next time, but it’s hard to look away from the changing colors in the sky. Speaking of changing colors, the aurora forecast for last night was high, and since we had a mostly clear sky, I set an alarm for 1am…but by then some clouds had come around so there wasn’t anything to see. I checked again around 3:30am (the sky was clear) but I just saw stars. Of course this morning, the facebook page for Aurora Notifications was lighting up like crazy with a ton of photos of last night’s lights. Bah! We’ll try again tonight maybe, but so far today’s sky is cloudy.

We were in the market a few days ago and I wanted to get some flour and yeast to make some pizza dough, but they only had 5 lb bags of flour and I didn’t feel like trying to find a place for that bag in the kinda-full cupboard back on Airship, so as I was browsing the wall of Bob’s Red Mill small packages of a zillion kinds of flour, I spotted this bag of gluten-free pizza crust, and we decided to try it.

I bought some yeast, but this bag actually came with a package of yeast inside. We made one small pizza with half the dough (and some homemade red sauce), and it turned out really good. We both prefer pizza dough with gluten (mainly because of the texture), but this was not bad at all. The next morning I made some tiny breakfast quiches (in muffin tins) using a little more of the dough (I’d wrapped it in plastic and kept it in the fridge overnight). Those turned out great, so this morning I had some leftover sausage and cabbage from last night’s dinner, so I got out a round cake pan, and with the rest of the dough I made kind of a quiche (eggs, cheese, sausage, spinach, cabbage, a little salsa, salt and pepper). It turned out great!! This dough is actually perfect for quiche-like things…and if you’re gluten free, I highly recommend it for pizza too.

Update (for Pat):

Here are my notes on the quiche I made. Heat oven to 350. Following the directions on the Red Mill package, spread some dough with wet hands (makes it way easier) over the bottom and sides of a round, greased cake pan. Par bake until you can touch the dough and it doesn’t stick to your fingers. In a separate bowl, mix four eggs, a handful of whatever shredded cheese you want, chopped spinach, salt and pepper, and if you like, some chopped cooked bacon or chopped cooked sausage…a spoonful of salsa, etc. You can really put anything you want in here.

Pour mixture into par baked crust and return to oven until the center is a little bouncy to the touch. If you wiggle the pan and the filling jiggles like it’s still liquid, cook it for a bit longer. You want the eggs cooked and not runny. Mine took a while (45-50 minutes) but I’m cooking in a boat oven, which isn’t always as consistent (or as hot) as a home oven.

Slice into wedges and serve with hot sauce.

There, that’s my recipe.

p.s. For the individual muffin-sized quiches, do the same thing…they don’t take as long to cook.

We’re Back in Kasaan

Laura Domela — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 02:20:05 +0000

We left Ketchikan this morning after breakfast and headed across Clarence Strait to the village of Kasaan. Shortly after leaving Thomas Basin, we saw a very large humpback in Tongass Narrows, right in front of the airport (just past the airport ferry dock). Kind of weird to see one in that close and that shallow.

Clarence Strait was a little choppy on the beam, but still pleasant. We traded off manning/womanning the helm and got a lot of work done on our way across (30 miles or so to Kasaan from Ketchikan).

There was plenty of room on the Kasaan float, though things will likely change the closer we get to the longhouse re-dedication and celebration on Saturday. We showered and then walked into the village to check out the carving shed and chat with the carvers a bit. They’re working on a HUGE new totem pole that will eventually stand just at the beginning of the Totem Trail that leads to the Chief Son-i-Hat Whale House. We stopped in the cafe to check out the menu…it looked good! We may go over for breakfast or lunch tomorrow. Anyway, then we continued on to the longhouse. The trail from the float takes you along the water’s edge on a boardwalk, and then it winds through the village. They’re either building a new section of boardwalk here or replacing an old section…I can’t remember if this section was here or not last year.

The carving shed, with the bottom of the new totem pole at the entrance:

Stormy Hamar (lead carver) walked us through the design and concept of this new totem pole (past, present, future) and it’s super cool. For one thing, it’s a new design, not a reproduction of another older totem pole…which is rare. Can’t wait to see it standing next summer!

The bridge that crosses over the stream, on the way to the longhouse:

Pretty cool to see the longhouse finished. Here’s what it looked like last year when we were here:

And here it is now (kinda dark in there with the main door closed):

And the exterior last year:

And today:

There are some great details too, like this copper on the edges of the beams:

Joinery:

Door knob:

No camping in the longhouse, folks:

The beach in front of the longhouse:

Note: It’s pretty fun looking at my post from last summer (on September 1, so one year ago tomorrow). I took many of the same photos, but it’s interesting to see the differences: the stream was steady and flowing last year; this year it’s very thin and dry under the bridge. I took some photos of the totems on the trail near the longhouse on our hike today, but I took some last year too and in last year’s post there’s quite a bit of information about them, so instead of reposting, I’ll just link to that post here!

Canoe, heading back to the carving shed after a water test:

Heading back toward Airship:

Quite a few people arrived today (with suitcases) via float planes…the village seems busy for sure, and that’ll just increase as we get closer to Saturday. I looked at the weather for Dixon this morning and it was calm calm calm today! (Wind variable, 5-15 knots, seas 1 metre). The Central Dixon Entrance buoy this afternoon was reporting waves of 1 foot, 8 seconds apart, and the Green Island light station said “seas: rippled.” So…I hope that lasts until after this weekend!! I’m glad we decided to come over for this though…I think it’s going to be pretty cool. (I need to find out if it’s cool or lame to go out in the dinghy and take photos of the canoes landing on the beach in front of the longhouse on Saturday morning, because that’d be fantastic!)

Misty Fjords with Mijonet | Part 1

Laura Domela — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 23:54:10 +0000

Kevin and Mijonet (granddaughter, 8, on her first solo trip!) arrived from Seattle on time in Ketchikan on Wednesday afternoon. We got Mij all unpacked and then headed up to the Bar Harbor Restaurant to have some dinner (Mij had a pound of clams to celebrate her arrival into the Land of Seafood). After dinner, Kevin and Mij got out their matching (telescoping) fishing rods and Kevin taught Mij how to cast. She caught on really fast!

By morning the wind had died down considerably. We left the dock around 7am and headed for Misty Fjords. Just as we were about to enter Behm Canal we found a humpback breaching like crazy. This guy was so active! We counted about 15 breaches in a row, then fin slaps, then about a dozen more breaches….so much energy! The first breach was usually a full one and the subsequent breaches were not quite full…but still seriously splashy.

We watched for a while and then continued on, since our cruise today was a long one. In Behm Canal we came upon some more Pacific White Sided Dolphins, but they didn’t come swim with us…must have been too busy eating fish.

We arrived in Walker Cove just after 5pm. There was no one else here, so we grabbed the one mooring ball and then went out to set crab traps. While we were setting the second trap we saw a black bear sow and two cubs on shore, so we followed them up the river a bit (from a distance). The sow was combing the shore for fish, as her two little ones followed along. It was so cool (except for the insane amount of bugs flying around us).

Up river a bit (it was just about high tide) we saw several seals, and then something weird floating/swimming in front of us a ways. It was kind of long, and didn’t really look like a seal head. I said “What IS that?” as we slowed down…it was alive, but didn’t look like a seal OR an otter. I picked up the camera and zoomed in…it WAS a seal, but with just its snout sticking out of the water…and it was swimming upside down! Silly seal!

I made a shrimp boil for dinner in the pressure cooker. This is a pretty cool recipe, actually. Beer, spices, potatoes, corn, sausage, and shrimp…5 minutes on high in the pressure cooker and boom! Super fast!

Ketchikan, Cruise Ships, and Laundromats

Laura Domela — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 01:37:59 +0000

This was our view last night from Airship:

And this is the view this morning from the same spot. Quite a difference! It’s still fun to be right down in the middle of all the hubbub.

This morning we had nice surprise. Some fellow boaters we met on Thanksgiving in Friday Harbor last year, Connie and Chuck, are also in Ketchikan on their boat and found out we were here so they came by to say hello. So cool! We chatted a bit and they offered to give us a ride to the laundromat. (We’d pretty much talked ourselves out of schlepping our laundry all the way down there today…so this was very helpful. It’s so much nicer to have it done!) Nice view of Bar Harbor marina from the Highliner Laundromat:

While our laundry was going, we walked over to Tongass Marine to get some more dinghy patch supplies, and this afternoon we removed all the old glue and patch(es) and did a much better job. We hope. We were able to pull the dinghy up on the dock here and so it’s drying/curing in the sun and it’s not raining, so the temperature and reduced humidity should help with Patch 2.0.

This morning I tried a breakfast experiment. I mixed two ripe bananas, four eggs, and two teaspoons of vanilla and then used that batter just like pancake batter and made some little pancake thingies. They were thin and delicious, a little like banana crepes (served with a little bit of syrup). I think I might prefer them less sweet, but they were pretty great (and really easy)!

The cruise ships are gone now and the Arctic Bar is rockin’ up there on the boardwalk. I’ll do something with crab for dinner tonight and then I think Connie and Chuck are going to stop by for a glass of wine later.

Happy Sunday!