You know you are in Alaska when ....part VIII

it snows for 13 days in a row, your town has 24 inches of snow this month and it is only the middle of November.

you hear the snow machine come around at midnight to scraping the curbs to widen the street.


cars going through traffic circles wibble-wobble from side to side on the ice after hitting the curbs.

you see an 18-wheeler hauling off snow to create a snow mountain somewhere.

the snow mounds next to the driveways are already hip high.

it is five degrees outside and you can still have fun cross country skiing with your girlfriends!

Half-Hikers

The Half-hikers are a newly formed group among the Petroleum Wives Group. I am one of the group founders. We hike, bike or cross country ski at a comfortable pace for about 5 miles or so. This hike was on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which is also a popular biking spot. Not enough snow yet to ski. We saw two moose and decided they were a mother and calf.

Last night it snowed about eight inches. so next week it may be time to ski

Women Listen Fly Fish Retreat

The weekend of August 19-21, I was asked to be a staff member at a fly fishing weekend for a women's cancer support group. It was held at LaVerne Griffith Camp in Wasilla. The weather forecast was rain, but fortunately, It did not rain as much as predicted.

There were about 11 women participants and 8-10 staff members, including Jan Schnorr and Cindy Crawford. They are the two women teaching me to fly fish. Throughout the weekend we helped the women learn how to make knots and when to use them. The perfection knot is used to connect leader and line. The improved clinch knot is used to put a fly on. We fished from float tubes which are small individual seats that you sit in while wearing chest waders and cast from them. Fun and tricky at first.

Wet flys sink and dry fly float. You try to match the fly to the insects the fish are feeding on.

We stayed in cabins with heat and had a separate shower building. All of the meals were provided. The staff was able to fish when the ladies were having meetings.

It was a fun weekend and I also learned about fishing and caught a large rainbow trout.

Dip-netting on the Kenai River

We were invited to join Cindy C and Jan S. to dip-net on the Kenai. One needs to be an Alaskan resident for at least one year and get a free permit in order to fish by this method. The first person in the family can get 25 fish and 10 more are allowed for each family member.

We left early in the am for the 150 mile drive to the mouth of the Kenai and met them at the RV park across from the beach. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. We began by loading all the gear into Jan's SUV, the coolers, a wagon and two large and one small dipnet. The dipnets are five feet in diameter with a twenty foot pole attached. Then we drove around to the beach to unload the car and load the pull wagon. It was heavy empty.

We pushed it out on the beach and unloaded. The beach was not too crowded at 9:30 am, but as fishermen and women began to arrive near the high water tide time an hour later, it became incredibly crowded. On each side of the shore for about a mile long, people were staggered about three feet apart.

The process begins as one "drives" the pole into the water. The net is perpendicular to the sand. It was heavy and hard to control with the current. When a large boat came along, it was even more challenging. Then we waited for a tug on the net indicating a Red Salmon. When that happens the net is flipped to the side and the fisherman turns around and runs to the shore. We were wearing chest waders and it was hard to run through the water with the weight of the net and fish. Our team had three nets for four people, so we took turns being the bonker. That means to hit the fish on the head between the eyes to kill it and then to rip the gills and let it bleed out in the water. It sounds pretty barbaric, but actually is more humane than letting the fish suffocate to death. Next the fish is put in the cooler and the whole process begins again.

The whole beach looked to me like an ant scene with everyone in perpetual motion doing their own thing again and again. In the end, Don caught 10 and I caught 6. Our team divided the fish equally by thirds for three families. We could have caught more fish, but our two coolers were full and we were all exhausted and the work had just begun.

We began the process of reloading the wagon only this time it was full of nets and heavy coolers full of fish. Fortunately, some young strong men helped us get it up the bridge as we left the beach. We had a break and lunch at the RV and then found another spot to clean the fish.

We had an assembly line. I washed the fish with a hose, Jan filleted them, Cindy cut the filets in half and Don packaged them and put them in ice coolers. We were all tired when we headed for home about 7:30 pm.

After about an hour on the road, we stopped in a traffic jam and the trooper explained there were two fatal accidents and the highway would be closed south of Cooper's Landing until 2 am. UGH. We tried to stop at lodges along the way and check for opening with no luck. We called the Princess Lodge and were put on a waitlist. Luckily after dinner we got a room. I didn't even ask how much it was. ($229). We were so happy to have a room.

In the morning we took our fish someplace to be vacuum packed and hiked the Russian River Falls. We came home with 37 pounds of fish.

Bird Creek to Girdwood

Anna and Rick Button organized the first Bird to Gird bike ride. The ladies are Pat H., me, Kitty P, Anna B., Fran, Mary S., Vickie M, and Meg S. It was a very nice, warm Saturday afternoon for the hike. We all met and began the bike ride together and the plan was to end at the Sitz-Mark for drinks and dinner in Girdwood. It was a fun bike. It was also very windy and hilly which made it hard for me. Many of us ended up waking it part of the way uphill.

I called it the Tour de France, Anchorage style, the Winds of Girdwood.

Charter Fishing in Seward

I am a fisherwoman! I was the first person to hit the legal limit of the day. Two halibut, three silver salmon and two rockfish. Everyone on our boat of about twelve people hit the legal limit--hurrah! The event began with Don, Bob Strathman and I getting up early to be on the boat at 6:30 am after breakfast. We were given the safety instructions and then took off out to sea. Fortunately, the seas were calm. Don had a seasickness patch and I had taken dramamine, just in case. First we went fishing for halibut who swim near the bottom. We were told to lower our lines to the bottom and then crank up three times. The poles were heavy and had four pound weights on them. There was a metal rod holder and our poles were laced to the boat so they wouldn't go off if we dropped them. We could tell when the pole bent that we had a hit and then wait about 30 seconds for them to eat the bait which was fish. After that release the pole from the holder and reel it. It was pretty heavy and hard to reel it, but the halibut don't give much of a fight at all. Next we switched to silver salmon, the pole and hook were much smaller and were not tied on. These fish swim about 20 feet below the surface so we lowered the hook just that far. Then when we felt a tug, raise the pole to set the hook and yell "Fish on" as usual so the captain or helper could come with the net. Mine did not give much of a fight, but Don and Bob each had a fighter who tried to take off before being reeled in. We each also caught rockfish. They are sort of ugly and short. In the end we took home about 32 pounds of fish. It was a fun day. Occasionally our lines would get tangled with another person, but it wasn't a big deal.
After I was finished fishing, I enjoyed taking photos. The captain and mate filleted our fish for us. We took them somewhere on the dock to be vacuum sealed while we had dinner and then drove home. Fun day!

Rainbow caught on the Kenai!

We had a friend, Bob, from St. Louis visiting for the week. For the 4th of July weekend we went on a fishing trip to the Kenai and then on to Seward. There were four of us in a small paddle boat with a guide. I explained that I was a beginner as is Don so give lots of instruction! The other man we did not know, but he was pleasant and an experienced fisherman.

We were outfitted with chest waders, boot, poles and tackle. We fished both from the boat and shoreline. The water was swift moving in the center but not enough to sweep us away and we did have on life jackets. Anyway, we were taught the lingo about stripping the line, and whipping the wrist, etc. A couple of times we got tangled in each other's line or on our own pole. Sometimes, I had good casts, but mine didn't fly very far. Practice, I guess.

About mid afternoon, no one had landed a fish. We were fishing from the bank when all of a sudden, I felt a tug and yelled " I got one!" I was surprised. Then I lifted my pole "to set the hook" and began to strip in the line. The guide came with the net and instructed me to let out the line a bit and hold my pole to the side. Then he netted my fish and released the hook. After that I smiled big for a photo. It was a rainbow trout about sixteen inches. It was fun.

Valley of 10,000 Smokes at Katmai

In 1912, one of the largest ever recorded volcanoes occurred. The ash dust caused darkness for surrounding areas for 3 days. Miraculously, no one died. The dust is 700 feet high in areas and spread for miles and miles. We hiked down about 800 feet one and half miles to the falls. The water was powerful. The wall looked like sand, but was volcanic dust. We also saw a confluence of two rivers. The upper trail was gravel with the lower part only being about a foot wide and muddy. Fun and not to hard of a hike. It's about the journey, not the destination.

Brooks Camp Lodge

We stayed for one night at Brooks Camp. It is the only place to stay near the national park headquarters. Each room has two sets of bunk beds, and a bath. There are only 16 rooms. Food could be brought, but must be stored in a separate building and eaten in a electric fence picnic area. We opted to eat all meals at the lodge which was a tasty, spendy buffet. The lodge was just off of the beach where we saw the bear walking. The bridge connects the lodge area to the viewing platform and is about 1/4 mile walk. The farther viewing platform is about a mile walk and part of it is in a very narrow trail. That was somewhat scary to walk in as a bear could be surprised by us. It was fine.

There was circular seating area with a small fire burning. It was nice to sit by the fire and have a glass of wine.

Katmai Brooks Lodge Bear Viewing

We were delighted to see bears at a safe distance in Katmai National Park. The park required visitors to stay 50 yards away from a bear alone and 100 yards away from a sow with cubs. There was a platform where we could see the bear in the falls. The ranger told us he was named Lurch because he steals fish from other bears. At this time no salmon were running so we didn't see any catches. They said he stood in the river for hours just waiting. The other bear was seen walking along the beach in mid-afternoon and after dinner one was napping on the beach. We saw another from a distance rolling in the sand just off the river.

The farther platform was about a mile walk away and I was relieved that we didn't see any bears when we were walking in that remote area. Immediately after landing we were required to attend a bear safety class put on by the park rangers. We were told to make noise, back away slowly, etc. That is all of the usual bear info we already knew but there were many visitors from Italy, Australia, Switzerland and the lower 48 who needed instruction on how to behave.

Sockeye fishing on the Russian River Bow

Another great BOW event. Julia and Mary went with me. We left my house about 7:30 with our coolers full of ice for the big catch! It was a nice drive down, and then we wandered through the campground in search of the pavilion. We found the group and began with introductions and lessons on knots. Tracy Smith led the program with help from other staff members. We learned about bear safety and cutting our line if necessary. After instructions and lunch we walked down a board walk toward the river. It was somewhat slick on the rocks, but no one slipped in. I learned how to release a snagged hook, point my pole towards it and yank on the line. It worked. I also snagged my own boot and Mary's! No one caught any fish that day. At the end of the day we walked toward the sanctuary. That is an area closed to fishing where the fish move between the Russian and Kenai Rivers. It is just south of the ferry. We stood in the water and watched the fish swim swiftly around it. It was cool to see them even if we couldn't fish for them there. After fishing on the way to the santuary, we saw a black bear in the brush about 25 feet from us. The group ahead noticed first, they gathered and raised their arms to looks big and softly talked to it. We did the same as it passed. I was not too scared and this was the first time I saw a bear in the wild. On the way back we saw one across the river. It looked bigger than the first one.

Moose on the trail!

It started out as an ordinary hike for the "half-Hikers". We were going to hike about 4 miles roundtrip on Wolverine off of Prospect. I think it was one of the first hikes for Julianne. Pretty far into the hike I said to be quiet because I thought I heard a moose. Everyone couldn't imagine how I said that with the bear bells, laughter etc. Anyway they were quiet and we heard nothing. Suddenly a moose came galloping quickly towards us on the trail. Dodie shouts out "moose!" The four of them jump off the trail to the left and try to get behind a tree. The moose was coming too fast for me to cross the trail and I quickly get off to the right, but there are not large trees around. Just after I get over it runs past us on the trail. About 50 feet later, it turns around to look at us. My heart was beating fast....it was scary. Joanne took the photo later on down the trail. We decided it may have been running from a bear or fox and it should be time for us to turn around also. That was a memorable hike.

Float tube fishing BOW Becoming Outdoor Women- AK

I went with one of my Petroleum Wives friends, Brenda, to the BOW program. We had introductions and told why we came to the program. Next, we learned how to make fishing knots such as the surgeon's knot, palomar, improved clinch knot and the blood knot. Tracy Smith who is a very knowledge fish biologist led the program and also told us much about how to handle a fish if we caught it. For catch and release, it is necessary to have wet hands so as to not damage the slime layer on the fish skin. Hold the fish gently until it swims away after releasing the hook. Tracy hand picked our flies to resemble the insects on the lake that week. So much to learn about this fishing business............

She told us many fish regulations, always have your license with you. Never snag in fresh water. She gave us a booklet of all the regulations and told us to call her with questions. After that we were geared up with chest waders and boots and went out to the Canoe Lake in Palmer a short drive from the state office.

We were given fishing poles and we tied a fly on with our new knot skills.
We were assisted into our tubes and put on fins similar to snorkel fins. Then we paddle out on the lake. It was not cold as I wore fleece and long underwear under my waders. I kicked around and they told us the fish were near the shore. Try as I might, no fish came to me, but it was still a super fun day.

The lodge at Kennicott

The lodge was a reconstruction of one that was in the same spot and burned down about 1985. The lodge was sold and the new owner obtained the blueprints and built it back with some additions. The main lodge was two stories, built on a hill we needed to climb about two stories to reach the small lobby area. The dining hall was in the center and our package had all meals included. Matt was given special vegetarian meals. One night we had prime rib and the next bbq ribs and chicken. We were served family style and assigned tables to mingle with the other guests. The restrooms were down the hall from the rooms and so were the showers. The lobby had a gas fireplace going even in late May. The rooms and hallways were decorated mainly with antique magazine ads and small items such as kitchen tools.

The front had a long porch where we ate lunch one day. It overlooked the main street of about six small stores and vendors who led hikes, etc. The National Park office was at the far end. It was originally the town store and was still set up as such. The friendly rangers helped Don with bird questions.