Tues, May 22, 2012

SITKA!!!
What a beautiful place this is.  But first...to fill in the past 9-10 days. 
Saturday afternoon before we left Ketchikan we ran downtown and wanted to stop at Safeway for a few last minute things before we left the next AM.  If you've ever been to Ketchikan's Safeway you know that they used to let you push your cart to the dock and then down to your boat.  A nice feature if you have $200 worth of provisions to get down the dock.  But then 3 years ago they realized how many grocery carts are/were at the bottom of Kethcikan harbor....some less than conscientious folks didn't return them to the top of the dock (Safeway is at the top of the dock!!!).  So Safeway had an electric fence run under the pavement around the parking lot and put locking devices on the front wheels of their carts.  So there you are, mindlessly pushing your cart across the dock when WHAMMO the wheels lock and you have whiplash and a sternal bruise from ramming into the push bar on the cart.
WELL, this time when we made our last minute run to Safeway the power was out and guess what????
when the power is off so is the parking lot wire.  We thought we'd push to the edge and then carry but suddenly we were half way to the boat when we realized we were still rolling along. Life is good!
We took the cart back!
So Sunday AM we left and ran up to Vixon Harbor on the mainland.  Nice little place a bit tricky to enter as it shoals out to about 2 feet.  We slid in with me doing a bow watch.
The next day on to Anita Bay on the NW corner of Etolin Island.  Good anchorage but big and open...not to my liking.  However, we did get a very nice pull of prawns.  Not a lot but BIG!

Tuesday was my birthday and we were off to Prince of Wales (POW) Island and Red Bay on the NW side.  What a pretty little place.  Tucked in, peaceful, eagles on the beach.  Dropped the anchor and looked across to see a big grizzly bear chowing down on the grass.  Then here comes a skiff with two guys in camoflage (sp?) who ran their skiff up on the beach and got out with rifles!!!  They were down wind of the bear.   Then suddenly one of the guys raises his gun and the bastard shot the bear~!!!  Happy Birthday, Carol!!!  I was just sick!  A couple of days later we were anchored at Murder Cove on the south end of Admiralty Island.  Gary took Diesel ashore and found a bear carcass.  Intact but for the head and front paws...like it had been poached.  Pretty disgusting.
Then we ran into a Fish and Game guy at Warm Springs and he told us that taking the head and front paws is acceptable in Alaska hunting of bear.  Not liking this sport.

Bath house

Public Bathhouse

Baronof Warm Springs

Warm Springs did renew us though.  A nice hot soak in the public tubs was refreshing and soothing.  Gary tried to hike up to Baronof Lake above the hot springs but ran into 2 feet of snow on the boardwalk.  A man there told us the lake was still frozen over.
On of one of our favorite bear places....Appleton Cove on Baronof Island.  We saw 4 bear there and they were all alive with no sign of hunters!!  Then down to Hoonah Sound and our prawn fields.

A nice haul of prawns and a bear to boot!  Life is good again.

Mt Edgecomb @ Sitka

Through Sergius Narrows in Peril Strait today an into Sitka this afternoon.  Need to rest before we start the chores tomorrow.
I still have a wsy to go with this blogging attempt but each time is getting a bit better.  Bear with me!