last weekend

Landon and Tara Roberts! It was such a privilege to stand along side them on their wedding day. It was a special day for all of us.

Traveling from Sand Point to Ketchikan takes two days. I overnighted in Anchorage on my way there and Juneau on the return leg. In both places I stayed with special people I feel lucky to call friends! To Penny and her dad Steve, Dylan and Abby Burt, Shannon, Trevor, John and Tabitha Gentry and John and Keely Bannister/Moon, it was so great to spend time with you, though I have to say it was waaaaaaay too short.

And Cori surprised me by flying from Portland!!!
It was such a fun, emotion-filled, whirlwind
weekend, the pictures are necessary proof to myself that I was there. I didn't realize how homesick I am for Southeast until I was there among all those trees and mist! There is just no place on earth closer to my heart. It's even better when I'm sharing it with my sister.

here fishy

Sand Point, AK. Population 950.

While I was in Ketchikan to be a bride's maid in my friend Tara's wedding (pictures of that will come later), the fleet settled on 70 cents a pound for reds, 18 cents for chum, and started fishing on the 14th. Lately it's been chilly and wet, but not enough to notice among all the fish slime and forklifts on the dock.

Over the last couple of days I've snagged enough jack kings (juveniles under 7lbs) from the bycatch tote to can a batch of salmon. I'll be canning all summer in preparation for winter. There are few things I like better meal-wise than sitting on the kitchen counter with a fork and a jar of salmon I canned myself. Delicious!!!

hanging tight

Area M (Sand Point) fleet, staying in port and fighting for change.

So, I should have waited to post my last blog before leaving the house... turns out that with the fuel price jumping up 65 cents the day of the opening (the fuel barge got in the day before), and sockeye only rising a few cents a pound out here in Sand Point, the fleet stayed in and called for a meeting to negotiate prices.
From what I've learned by eavesdropping around town, diesel, at $4.85 a gallon today, is over double what it was last year. The price for reds (sockeye) has barely moved in the last several. What's even more interesting is that the same processing plants in Kodiak (Trident, Peter Pan) are paying roughly $1.30 a pound for reds, which is nearly double what the fleet gets here, at the recently raised price of $0.70. I have heard that this is justified by volume--the number of reds coming in from the south Peninsula fisheries is huge compared to Kodiak, which has a higher percentage of pink harvest. Still, I think people are looking for $1 a pound before they go out.
Trident and the fleet are at a standoff, with all the cannery workers standing around waiting for fish, people that still have to be fed and housed by a plant that's not making any money right now. The fleet is in the harbor during the first opening, letting hundreds of thousands of $$ swim by. I can't even attempt to touch on the politics of it all--there's no way I think my mind could get a good handle on it without being a part of it for a long time. In the meantime, with no fish to sample, I'm hanging out waiting and watching.
With imaginary beer in hand (preferably not a $5 can of Bud Light), I'd like to make a toast to the Sand Point fleet and all involved. Everyone needs to work, everyone needs a paycheck, no matter who you are.

the last of the pre-season lull

A nice view of Mt. Pavlov. Wouldn't know it from all the snow, but I saw this volcano erupt with a huge river of lava last August from where I was standing on the docks.

On the 4th, the weather was still pretty nice, but definitely cooling down. Lisa took her shiny new Necky kayak on it's maiden voyage before she left it for safe keeping with me (ha!) until the middle of the month. I christened it with a cracked egg and a sprinkle of Dasani since a bottle of champagne is equal to a down payment on a house around here.

It snowed June 5th. Back to being house-bound with all planes grounded, Lisa and crew were delayed for King Cove. Lisa spent the time waiting for the weather to improve by ripping up my kitchen right before ditching town. I could pretend to be mad, but really it lets a lot more light in through the porthole that is my kitchen window. I swear the bunkhouse feels more like a boat than an apartment. We all had sea legs for the next 4 days after our 30hr ferry ride. My theory for sea legs lasting longer than the actual boat ride is based on the maritime feng shui of the place. I guess it's fitting.

The wonderful Fish & Game pilots Steve Hakala and Paul Horn made it in on the sixth, and flew everyone out of town to their perspective field stations. The photo of all us WASSIP girls with the state rig cracks me up. According to our boss Mark, none of the guys that applied qualified. I got to ride along to King Cove with Steve, who's been flying this area for at least 40 years. It was so nice to be back in a deHavilland Beaver. I know they're slow, but they're beautiful! Though I have to say it sure is alarming to see one without floats. The bird's eye view of the Shumagin Islands and south Peninsula is always an awesome sight. It's really crazing to see how volcanic the local geography is when you're flying over it all.

Today, I'm planning on going on a hike before my first night of sampling. The fleet got their nets wet at 6am this morning, and are fishing on a windy but sunny day. I'm curious to see how they do tonight, and am SO EXCITED to get my hands on some silver-backed salmon. They're so pretty this time of year.

"testing, testing"

Passing Castle Cape on the AK Peninsula

Thanks to my colleague Laura, I'm trying out a blog this year since my history of consistent email updates is so . . . bad.

Summer is here!? I can't believe it for 3 reasons:

First off, I had a great time in sub-arctic Fairbanks. The school year was busy but I had a couple of "shady bar" adventures and winter camping trips to break up the studying a bit. Dad got me an awesome bike the day after I got in town, and besides having some air-headed lame-o stealing my bike seat, I discovered I LOVE bike riding. So much, in fact, that I’ve hauled it all the way out to Sand Point for the summer. I don’t think there are too many bikes in the world that get the privilege of such scenic trips. The more I see of this state, the more I’m convinced that to live anywhere else is not for me (sorry Mom and Dad and Cori).

Secondly, when I left Fairbanks it was 70 degrees and rising. Today in Sand Point is the nicest of the three I’ve been here, and it’s about 40 F with sideways rain and variable winds gusting to 20 knots. Everything is brown, brown, brown. Yay! (Not really.) Actually, it is awesome to be back on the coast no matter how windy and cold and wet it is. After a frozen and still landscape for most of the 9 months I was in Fairbanks, where there aren’t even smells because things are so frozen, the brown, cold and moody Shumagin Islands seem more alive than I can describe.

Finally, getting off the ferry after a 30 hour ride from Kodiak to Sand Point felt surreal because it seems as though I just left last weekend. This time, however, I have another year of experience and lessons in me. I’m still at that age where the learning curve is extremely steep and you feel so much wiser than you remember being last year. It’s great to grow, but I have to confess I wouldn’t mind hitting a plateau sometime soon. Learning is painful and humbling most of the time. But also fun and motivating. I know you all who have been before me can relate with the kind, wise smiles that make us youngin's feel sooo young. Not in a bad way.

Look for more later and pictures when I take them!