Hoonah

Headed to Hoonah for more village travel. Stuck in the airport waiting for the ceiling to lift. We will be back on Saturday with tales of our adventures.

Blueberries!

Our first berry harvest.

Mendenhall

Last weekend we headed up West Glacier Trail in search of some ice caves. Little did we know we were going right up to the Mendenhall! We were shocked when we climbed the last rocks to see this view.....

..and then we got even closer! You can walk right up and touch the ice.

It is absolutely amazing.

Under the edges, the ice was an awesome blue.

We had been given several warnings not to attempt to walk on the glacier without cramp-ons, a guide and full winter gear, but Jason couldn't resist the urge to set foot on the Mendenhall.

Summer Days

Forget-me-nots are in full bloom and everywhere!

Salmon berries are also coming into season and are one of my favorite berries. We are starting to see a few blueberries as well, just another week or so and they should be in full swing.

This is definitely something you would only see in an Alaskan 4th of July parade. There were so many people crowding when she mushed by the first time that we couldn't get a picture, so we had to snap a few as she was heading back to her vehicle. I don't think she was dressed quite right for the 80 degree weather we were having!

We have been enjoying beautiful weather this past week. Temps in the 80s and not a cloud in the sky! We have been warned that it won't last much longer than this weekend but are trying to absorb all the vitamin D we can. We took a couple of videos on our trip down to the island and I am just finally figuring out how to post them on here...not quite sure how well they will turn out, but enjoy!

This was taken in front of the Pflaums house in Ketchikan. There was quite the storm, so if your volume is up the wind will be pretty loud. Bald Eagles were going crazy in hopes of getting a few carcasses from all the fishermen.

A pod of Orcas ( Killer whales) came into the cove. The tide was high so they came within feet of the shore. Pretty awesome to see, I tried to capture a little bit on video.

Prince of Wales

On our trip down to Prince of Wales Island our ferry stopped in Kake for about an hour. We were able to hop off the boat and take a walk into town.

Pulling up to the dock in Kake

the Taku

Kake's ferry terminal.

Another stop along our way was Petersburg. A beautiful fishing town of Norwegian decent. I love their boat harbors. Not sure what it is, but looks like housing of some sort.

After 2 nights and 1 day on the ferry we arrived in Ketchikan. From there we took a float plane out to the island. This was Jason's first time flying on floats which was pretty exciting.

Our plane was completely loaded down with mail, we were the only passengers. As the pilot was giving us our run down he was kind enough to point out that the safety equipment was in the rear of the plane so in case of emergency the mail would have to be unloaded first!

We were able to do a bit of touring and hiking and stopped by Eagle's Nest Campground

...hiked the boardwalk around Balls lake....

and stopped by our old fishing hole on the Klawock River.....

Klawock

In the distance you can see the fish cannery, which was the first one to be built in AK.

Alecia Roberts Medical Center where Jason spent his days.

A view of the school from Totem Park Hill

...and more totems...

We enjoyed dinner with some good friends who have a gorgeous home and lawn!

the evening sun...at about 10:30pm

We spent one evening on Big Salt Inlet picking beach asparagus.

There was an adorable black bear rummage on the opposite bank which made us a little leery,

but a beautiful view,

and awesome beach asparagus made the risk of attack totally worth it!

a small portion of our harvest....mmm....

This sweet bald eagle posed very nicely for Jason

We borrowed keys to the school and wandered through my old classrooms. I was not surprised to find that Beth and Rob's names still adorn quite a few plaques on the walls.

We did, however, discover that playing is not a easy as it used to be!

On our last night Jason had the great idea to eat at B and T Cafe. This was known as Dave's diner years ago, but other than the name, nothing has changed. They still cook out of the old bus attached to the building, the floor slants a little more, and the lights are a little dimmer, but the burgers are as good as ever! The waitress even offered us a few kittens that are currently living "back on the bus." Health Department anyone?!?!

Ah hah! I have found working internet! Unfortunately I'm using Jason's laptop which doesn't have any pictures from our trip...I will try to get those soon. Visiting Prince of Wales Island was great; it was fun to see old friends and show Jason around. We're looking forward to the 4th and hopefully some better weather!