Kodiak

Kodiak Island, the nation’s second largest island, is a lush, green 3,600-square-mile landmass with snow-capped mountains and rocky bays. 
Inhabited by Alutiiq natives for thousands of years, the island was settled by Russian trappers in the 18th century.
After the Japanese bombed the Aleutian Islands during World War II, Kodiak became the heart of the U.S. government’s Alaska military operations. Remnants of concrete lookout posts, gun emplacements and other installations are still scattered across the island.

During Alaska’s devastating 1964 earthquake, the island was hit by a 30-foot tsunami that killed 15 people and wiped out several communities and businesses. The quake also changed the shape of the island, raising some coastal lands by as much as 30 feet.

We arrived at Kodiak at 0600 in the morning, as the ship was pulling into the port you could tell we were landing on a large rock in the middle of the Pacific. On top of the rocky mountains, just overlooking the port in Chiniack Bay are six windmills that, together with hydroelectricity,  provide 99% of all power on this island of about 11,000 people.

It was interesting getting Bigfoot and Elkhorn off the blue canoe. Below deck our vehicles where facing bow to stern, but we had to exit the side of the ship thru a side door, that is about 20 feet taller than the deck we were parked on. After the side doors opened, there was a large gantry Crane that extended from the side of the ship that lifted a ramp that fit from the ship to the dock. Then on our deck, we drove onto a platform that just barely fit both Bigfoot and Elkhorn, and it was rotated 90 degrees. Once we were facing towards the side of the ship, hydraulics lifted the platform up even to the ramp that was just placed on the dock. There was a lot of engineering that went into this process, and it worked great !

As we drove off the ship at 0600 we headed to the largest Coast Guard base in America. With over 3500 personnel, they operate five HC-130J aircraft, five MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters, and five MH-65C Dolphin helicopters. It was a Navy base until 1972, and was transferred to the Coasties. As we drove through the security checkpoint, once again we felt like we were home ! Nothing was open yet, so we proceeded to a parking lot where we planned our day and let me tell you it was quite the busy day. We decided to do laundry, go grocery shopping at the commissary, go to the parts store, we dumped our gray and black water, and filled up with freshwater, topped off with diesel at $6.70 a gallon, went to the visitor center and also went to the Kodiak museum.

We explored the 7500 years of Alutiiq Heritage, which was broken down into three eras. The Ancestral Life, Russian Rule, and The American Era. Wow, the Alutiiq’s have an interesting and rough history. The Russians colonized and enslaved the Alutiiqs in 1784. The Russians sold and traded the Alutiiqs goods as Alutiiq were excellent fisherman, hunters, weavers, beaders, and carvers. Very good museum, even Ann Marie made it through it!

When all of our chores were done, which was a full day for us retirees, we headed north to the White Sand Beach trail head to boondock for the night. The tide was out and the beach was large and it did have white sand along with black sand. Ann Marie found a starfish that didn’t quite make the tide and ended up in her “collection”. On top of the hill (mountain?) was a buoy suspended by a cable between two spruce trees. Yeup, not us..

We settled in for the evening and everything was nice and quiet until about 9 PM when cars started to stream in to this small parking lot, some of their radios blasting. Young adults getting out of their cars laughing shouting and just having a good all-time.

Well, the good old time turned into a drunk fest with a bonfire down at the beach and kids hooting and hollering all night long until almost 3 AM. They didn’t physically bother us but I didn’t get any sleep either. In the morning Virgil went for a walk and found the aftermath of this young adult party.  The beach and the trail head was a waste land of empty liquor and beer bottles, solo cups, and of course sorry to say this but vomit.

 So Virgil went back to the Elkhorn to get some trash bags and he picked up all the trash from the beach the parking lot in the water area. He took pictures of it and he sent an email to the Kodiak Police Department. They said that White Sand Beach is outside the city limits and it’s a jurisdiction of the Alaska State Troopers and they would forward the email to them. Within an hour an Alaskan State Trooper arrived. Virgil explained what was going on and he and the trooper loaded all the trash that he had collected into the back of the Trooper’s pick up truck. The State Trooper said that to expect a sequel party, as tonight was Saturday night. Kids will be kids…Okay then…

About a half hour later, a car pulled up and two woman got out and began trying to break into a car parked next to the Bigfoot (which was left over from the big party). Come to find out, the daughter locked her keys in the car, and mom drove her here. Virgil grabbed his fishing pole and a crescent wrench and with a little wiggling and jiggling he was able to unlock the door. Virgil is two for two in the good deed department today!

It was a very rainy and windy 50° day so we decided just to hunker down. At 3 PM we left the vacant party central and proceeded to what is called Deadman‘s Curve. We had heard about Deadman’s Curve from a lady at the visitor center where she had spotted a sow and her cubs. Of course seeing Kodiak bears is high on everyone’s list so we decided, what the heck, let’s spend the night with the bears! Deadman’s Curve is a paved pullout on a bluff overlooking the Chiniack Bay that was totally obscured by clouds and rain with the wind blowing 30 miles an hour. So we didn’t see any bear but we survived the storm plus we had cell service.

We SP at 0930 for Fort Abercrombie to explore the abandoned World War II bunkers and pill boxes.

 The weather was better, still 50° with a slight rain, but no wind. As we approached the state park there is an “Iron Ranger” where we had to stop for our entrance pass. We filled out the envelope and deposited five dollars. Just then, a car pulled up to my side and I could see the driver leaning across the passenger. So I rolled my window down and he says are you George? I replied how do you know that? (not thinking that our names are on the back of Bigfoot). The driver says, I’m Sam and I saw you and Elkhorn driving through town and from my dads (Jeff) description I knew it had to be you ! Wow, what? Did this just happen? How freaking cool!

So just a little explanation, remember when we where traveling across country and we stayed overnight at a free city campground in Chester Montana? (come on, really?) As we were getting ready to leave that city park a man (Jeff) was walking on the trail and we stopped and chatted for a while. Jeff was interested in an our journey and when he found out we were going to Alaska, the conversation got real interesting as we had allot in common in our travels. We exchanged phone numbers and from time to time on our journey Jeff would text me and ask me how our journey was going  and give me suggestions on places to go and see. He had done this numerous times throughout our trip and every time he was spot on with his recommendations.

When we were in Juneau I received a text from a man named Sam, who is Jeff’s son and he wrote ” Hi this is Sam from Kodiak when will you arrive? I think it’ll be a blast to show you around. Well Okay, now you have the rest of the story, and it gets better, so here we go, but part of the circle has been closed.

So Sam and his family drove off in his car to the parking lot waiting for us to arrive. We all get out of our vehicles introduce each other and Sam and his wife Julie, and sons, Cole and Oscar. They gave us suggestions on places to go and what to see, OH and where the bears are! They also invited us over for dinner at their house at 6 PM. And oh by the way he says there’s a vacant lot across the street on the bluff overlooking the Chinook Bay from their house, and he would ask his neighbor (Pete) if you guys can park there overnight. Heck yeah we said, and sure enough Pete agrees and asked Sam if we are the two truck campers  that overnighted at dead man’s curve last night? Really? This is great another small town atmosphere where everybody knows everything and we’re on a rock in the middle of Pacific that has a family ties to Chester Montana. Incredible….

Sam and Julie prepared two fillets of fresh red salmon that was outstanding, and all the fixin’s, to include homemade rolls. Yum… We chatted about all our lives to get to know one another. They had spent some time in New Zealand, and he is a Doctor for the Native communities, and travels by bush planes to many native small villages, some less then 80 people, providing them with health care. Next thing we know it is pushing 9pm so we gave our sincere thanks for their hospitality and rejoined Bigfoot and Elkhorn, in the now recently named vacant lot as “Pete’s RV Resort” ! (Thank you Jeff !)