I'm Back...

Sorry for the delay in the past few weeks. My internet was out for about 2 weeks and the summer is starting to get busier, with less time off (this is a good thing). Since it has been a while, I have so many new things to say and pictures to show.

The past few weeks have been filled with more new friends (the lumberjacks), bonfires, more amazing wildlife, skiff rides, and fresh seafood! The Lumberjack show is right next to where we work, so we would run into them everyday. A group of us started hanging out with them, which is a new adventure every night.

Last week a couple of my tours were canceled, so I got to hop on the big boats for some Misty Fjord tours as the back-up naturalist. The highlight that week was the main reason I came to Alaska, Orcas. We saw them on 2 different occasions that day. There were 2 separate family pods at first, and then later on in the day they came together as one large pod.

In the first meeting they swam around our boat on there backs, so you could see the white bellies! They were so cute. There were males, females, and babies. On the way back when we saw the larger pod, our captain slowed the boat down for one last look. That is when the babies started to breach (leap out of the water).

2 Breaching babies.

After both Orca sightings, there were tears in my eyes, I have been lucky to see so many different animals that I love in the wild, and get to be up close and personal. But nothing will ever compare to this moment of seeing the baby whales leap out of the water for pure joy! The naturalist on board (Colleen) came running up to me afterwards and gave me the biggest hug. And it was nice to know that there were people around me who understood what I was feeling. It was a magical moment that I will never forget.



My captain is house sitting for a family on the island across the narrows for the month, which means she gets to drive a skiff to work everyday. This also means we get to go on skiff joy rides when we want! So one day after work she took me on a tour of Ketchikan by water, the parts that we don't see on our tours. It was a beautiful day and the water was flat. It was just another reminder of why I love my life here in Alaska.  

One other part I love is that bonfires at lakes and beaches have become a normal in my life! Last week we had a cookout/bonfire at Ward Lake with the Lumberjacks. They brought some fresh Halibut that they had caught so we grilled it on sticks over the fire. And it was some of the best fish I have ever tasted! Kayla and I also saw the most adorable little Merganser duck family, with about 15 little ducklings!!

This week we had another bonfire with the lumberjacks at Refuge beach. It involved hammock time with my roomies, tidal pooling, a tire swing, rock skipping with Bryce, and one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen! Kayla had been fishing and crabbing earlier in the day and brought us home some Dungeness crab for dinner. So Alex (one of the lumberjacks) and Kayla got the crab legs ready and Bryce and I did the cooking. I can now say that I am an expert at cooking crab. We enjoyed a few before we left, then took the rest to enjoy around the bonfire.

The past few weeks we have really gotten into the swing of things. The tours have been great, and I've seen lots of humpbacks on my own tours along with lots of seals and eagles. Everyday I fall more and more in love with Alaska. I promise to not take 3 weeks to update the blog next time, as long as my Internet doesn't leave us again!

Sunset at Refuge Beach.

One Month...

Today marks one month that I have been here in Ketchikan. I have made some amazing friends and memories already, and the time is flying by way too fast! There has been sunshine for the last 3 weeks (which is completely unusual since we live in a rain forest), so I have been taking advantage of every minute that we have!

Leather Sea Star

Last Friday we kicked off our weekend with a bonfire on the beach with some of the Forrest Service staff. We watched the most beautiful sunset on a black sand beach! We roasted marshmallows, made smores, and got to know new people. At some point someone pulled out a guitar and 4 different versions of Wagon Wheel were sung...good to know that no matter where I live some things never change!

Playing with an Ogre Sea Star

My favorite moment of the night was sitting on a rock with Kayla looking out over the water when she asked me where I was a year ago? Then she asked me if someone had told me I would be living in Alaska a year ago, what would I have said? A year ago I was preparing in for summer and sea turtle season at EBSP, and loving every minute of it. As for moving to Alaska...that wouldn't have surprised me too much, I'd been thinking about coming back up here for a while! We ended that conversation with wondering where we would be next year this time. I have no idea where I will be next May, but I am in no hurry to find out!

Giant Pacific Chiton

Sunday was spent exploring tidal pools with Gwen (my captain), Stephanie, and Annie! We headed up to Coast Gaurd beach and hiked down to the most beautiful cove! There were so many creatures to be discovered! I spent my day playing with sea stars, sea cucumbers, snails, hermit crabs, sea anemones, chitons, sculpins, and tubeworms. For those of you who know me well, you know I was like a little kid on Christmas morning with all these animals! It was an absolutely amazing day! Everything is so brightly colored here, and there is just so much to discover! We were the only ones on the beach, and we hiked along the rocks back to a shortcut up the trail.

Just playing with a sea cucumber.

This week I have grown much closer to my housemates and my captain. We had a Memorial Day cookout and played Uno and laughed until we cried! We have had sleepovers and movie nights and family dinners. To me I have established my Alaska family to go along with my NC, Myrtle, Tybee, Ringgold, and real families! One month to down, and 4 not so long months to go! I have never wished for a summer to slow down and not end as much as I'm wishing for it now! But I can already tell that 5 months here in Ketchikan will never be enough!

Things will break and when they do go on a hike!

Exploring above Ketchikan.

This has been the week of malfunctions in my life. My trusty IPhone decided that it needed to update itself, which is great. But after the updates it didn't want to let me send or receive texts or phone calls. So after spending an hour on the phone with Verizon, it came down that my phone had to make a journey back to the lower 48. So my phone is now on it's way back to my daddy where it will hopefully be fixed! 

So after that very frustrating conversation I took a walk with Kayla and Bryce to explore a little! We took the tram from creek street up to Cape Fox Lodge and walked down some dirt paths to find a great view of the city from above! 

The next day was supposed to be my first double cruise day, and I was super excited! We saw a humpback, some seals, lots of birds, and had some great views of eagles! It was an absolutely beautiful day, and then one of our jet engines sucked up way too many sticks and didn't want to run anymore. So we had a nice slow cruise back to Ketchikan, thankfully the guests were wonderful! 

Ketchikan Creek

After those two days I was very ready for two days off! The first day off, I explored a little around town. I found some cute spots along the Ketchikan Creek that make you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere while you are still in the middle of downtown. Then we had a wonderful girls night with Pitch Perfect 2! Seeing Clay Matthews and the Green Bay Packers singing and dancing to Destiny's child made the entire thing worth it! 

View back down the trail.

The second day Kayla, Annie, and I decided to hike Deer Mountain. The trail is almost 3 miles and full of stairs, switchbacks, and a landslide crossing that climb up the 3,000 feet to the top. The hike was full of beautiful views and bugs. Thankfully, I've lived near a marsh for the past few years, so bugs are something I am familiar with! We didn't make it all the way to the top, we stopped about .25 miles from the end of the trail. But that just gives us motivation to hike it again! We did stop to have a snack at an overlook that had some great views of Ketchikan! While standing on a landslide scar looking back over the islands around Ketchikan, it finally felt real that this is my life and I live in Alaska! 

We found the snow.

Landslide scars

View of the islands from the Landslide

So yes my phone broke, but it has actually been nice not having it glued to my side every minute of the day. I'm using my actual camera to take pictures, and I'm not updating the world about my every move. At meals with my new friends, instead of checking my texts or social media while waiting for my food I'm just enjoying being there. I'm very ready to have it back and fixed, but I believe that everyone should take a break from their phone from time to time!

In life things break and everything doesn't always go exactly as planned. But with all of the things that went wrong there have also been so many smiles, laughs, and new memories made over the last week. I got a package from my daddy, the sun has been shinning in Ketchikan for 2 weeks straight, Uno has become a regular game in our house, and late night explorations have been had. 

Life is not perfect, but that's what makes it all so enjoyable! So when things break sometimes the best things you can do is just go for a hike! 

Awestruck...

Yesterday I took my companies boat trip into Misty Fjords. And the only word I can use to describe my reaction was awestruck. I thought I had seen Alaskan beauty, but I was proven wrong yesterday. 

According to google, the definition of a Fjord is a long, narrow, deep inlet with high cliffs formed by glaciers. Those words don't exactly lead your mind to think of beauty, but that's exactly what fjords are full of. The Misty Fjords get their name from the clouds that hang around the tops of the mountains, and they were especially beautiful yesterday. 

From the very beginning, it was a beautiful day for a boat ride! The sights left me breathless, and the wildlife was amazing! Yesterday I was reminded how lucky I am to live in this wonderful place. I was on a boat with 60 people on the vacation of a lifetime, and it was another day at work for me! I am so thankful for the decision I made to come here every single day! 

Speaking of wildlife, yesterday was full of it! There were Dall's Porpoise almost from the very beginning. These cute little porpoises are very energetic, and the dart through the water right at the surface leaving a very distinctive tail spray! We saw several different pods of them along the way. We also saw a beautiful Humpback whale! It was lazily swimming along through one of the straits, and even waved at us with it's beautiful pectoral flipper. There were some beautiful birds seen throughout the day as well Harlequin ducks, Pigeon Guillemots, Marbled Murrelets, Buffleheads, and of course Bald Eagles just to name a few!

But the highlight of the day was the Alaskan Brown Bear that we saw on the shore along Punchbowl cove. While in Punchbowl we were admiring all of the beautiful waterfalls, due to all the rain here in the Tongass National Forest. Then our captain let us know that he had seen a "furry rock with ears." There are only a few bears seen on our tours each year, so we were very excited. 

Misty Fjords was a magical place. There were cliffs that went straight up out of the water and ribbon waterfalls that went where ever the wind would take them. The geological features left from the glaciers were breathtaking. It is very hard to describe the Misty's, so I just hope you can get a sense of how wonderful this place is from the pictures!



  

Exploring a little...

My cruise on the Sea Lion is called the Cultural Tour of Annette Island. During my cruise our guests have the opportunity to explore Metlakatla, a Tsimshian Indian village. This week I was able to go on the tour myself and it was pretty great to get to experience the culture of the Tsimshian Indians.

Cedar carved Totem Pole

View of the harbor at Metlakatla

Tsimshian artwork at Metlakatla

The Tsimshian have beautiful artwork, and we were allowed to explore the Healing Arts Center where they had a lot of their artwork on display. We also got the chance to go to the Longhouse to witness a native dance ceremony. We were invited to dance with them after a few of the dances. Thankfully Bryce (one of my housemates) was nice enough to share his pictures with me.  

Dance ceremony at Metlakatla

Friday was CPR day...thankfully for me, I already had mine...which meant I had the day off. So Kayla and I did some grocery shopping and explored the tourist shops a little. Then we found some places for our hammocks in the backyard for some napping! We found a local place with 1/2 wings and nachos.  

Basically this week has been training and more training. But I did get to co-lead my first tour this week. We saw river otters and a humpback whale. While my group was on the tour of Metlakatla, I had a little time to bird watch. There was a beautiful eagle that hung out around the breakwater. I also had the chance to do a little exploring with the creatures that were growing along the dock. There were amazing anemones and urchins! Along with training, it has also been cleaning! 

View from Surprise beach at our Cookout.

After my first cruise, I went to do a little beach exploring with some of my housemates (Danielle and Matt). We had a cookout on one of the beaches, basically Matt cooked while Danielle and I explored. We did some tidal pooling and climbed around on the rocks. The tide was rising, so we missed out on the sea stars. But we did get a great view of a Humpback that was swimming around the beach. We had grilled asparagus, corn on the cob, and brats. It was a great way to end the day! 

Just a little tide-pooling! 

So far I have really enjoyed living here. Everywhere you look it is absolutely beautiful! This week the weather has been incredible, only one day of rain showers! It was even warm enough to wear a tank-top a couple of days!  This week the weather is supposed to be sunny as well! I'm looking forward to my first Misty Fjords tour tomorrow, and then my first tour on my own Tuesday! It is looking like it will be another fantastic week in Ketchikan! 

Week One...

Week One...


Well I have survived Alaska for one week! I managed to live through 100+ winds, learned my way around an engine room, and most importantly have made several new friends. I don't think I am going to have any problem enjoying my time here.

View back over the harbor towards my house.

View of the Ships out our window.

The sights have been amazing. I still wake up every morning and have to re-grasp that this is not vacation, I won't be leaving tomorrow.  Even in the rain, this is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen! Because we are the land of rain, we are also in the land of rainbows. There is nothing more magical than seeing a double rainbow stretch over the city and end in the water! The sun has been out the past few days and we have had incredible views of the snow-covered mountain peaks. There is truly beauty every where that you look.

If you look very closely there is a double rainbow.

Just playing with cute sea stars.

I amazed at every single creature that I see! There are sea stars literally everywhere! I have seen a variety of colors, and shapes. At low-tide on our dock they are located on every piling and all over the shore. The number of jellyfish in the harbor amaze me. So far I have seen thousands of little moon jellies. I have seen a couple of harbor seals and yesterday I saw my first sea-lion.




The birds are everywhere. Gulls are the most plentiful and I've seen Bonapartes' gull  in breeding plumage, Mew gulls, Glaucous Gulls, and Herring Gulls. The mergansers are beautiful and I've seen a few common merganser pairs. Pelagic cormorants and Pacific Loons are also numerous. My goal is to keep a running count of all of the animals that I see on each cruise.

At work we have mainly been training and cleaning. My boat just arrived here, so she needed lots and lots of cleaning. Her name is the Sea Lion Express! My captain's name is Gwen and I'm really excited to work with her. Other than cleaning our boat, we have been running drills everyday. We also spent one day shooting off fire extinguishers and learning how to use flairs.

There is a lot to learn, and not a ton of time to learn it in.

My Boat.

There will be plenty of times that I am sure I will feel like I'm in over my head, and that's alright. Everything here is a new challenge for me, but that is how I know I made the right decision to come here. I love that everything is new, and that it makes me think. I will just keep my childhood wonder and excitement about everything, and it will be a wonderful season!

  

Riding out Storms...

In case you didn't know...there is a lot of rain in Ketchikan. It is located right in the middle of the Tongass National Forest which happens to be the largest rainforest in North America...making Ketchikan one of the rainiest cities in North America. In fact they get an average of 160 inches of rain each year.

Tree down on Creek Street

Well on Tuesday morning we had some driving rain...we also had a little wind. And by a little wind, I mean winds around 100 mph. The largest gust was actually clocked at 104 mph. Lets just say this wasn't in the forecast...and not really anything that I was expecting in AK. I mean I managed to live on islands on the east coast for 6 1/2 years and never have winds that high.

Thankfully did managed to sleep through most of the storm. I woke up around 5:30 (which is around the time the power went out) to the house swaying and the trees moving back and forth...then I just went back to sleep.

View from my living room window

Now I can live without power most places...but it's still pretty cold here in Ketchikan, especially with winds and rain! So our house got a little chilly. Thankfully the power company got all the power back on by mid-afternoon, and there wasn't too much damage! There was a tree that went down just up the road.

Today was my first day of work, where I learned that the winds hadn't been that string here in over 15 years...go figure. We had a great orientation and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the captains and other crew members. I am looking forward to all of the new skills that I am going to be able to learn from everyone else!

While at training I saw a couple harbor seals playing around the boats. And I can't count the number of eagles I saw. They are everywhere! This afternoon I sat on my couch with my binoculars and watched 2 different eagles move from the top of one boat mast to the other. I don't think I will ever get over walking down the street and having 4 eagles fly over your head like it is nothing!

Soon cruises will start coming in, and it will be non-stop. And I'm sure there will be many more storms and exciting wildlife to come! So for the next few days I will enjoy the slow training schedule! And after that...I'll just ride out the rest of the storms as they come!