Yakutat and Beyond

Yakutat is NOTHING at all like Aniak.  Where Aniak is 2/3 native (and that is Yup'ik/Athabascan), Yakutat is only 1/3 native (Tlingit).  Here in the town of Yakutat the roads are paved.  And in the borough of Yakutat we could actually drive up to 30 miles away on a pretty decent gravel road.  There is some subsistence living here but not to the same extent as in Aniak.

Beth checking the view on the 30 mile gravel road

Yakutat seems to be a little bit more of a tourist attraction.  We have met folks from Washington, Idaho and California who are up here for the fishing.  Halibut are a big draw out on Yakutat Bay and into the Gulf of Alaska.  Trolling in the bay will net plenty of sockeye, some reds and very, very few kings.  The king population seems to be rather scarce due to either over fishing or just late arrival (perhaps they are on a different schedule this year).

The work for Beth and I has been going fine.  It is definitely different here in the big "city" as compared to out "in the bush" but we are adapting here after our first week and have a little less than two weeks left in Yakutat.

It is the exploring of this area that really has us excited.  We have been over to the Gulf of Alaska to watch some of the best surfing waves on the Pacific Ocean.

Also out by the beach, we have been in awe as we watched a small group of eagles soaring from the tall pine trees out over the water.  

Mark on the bridge over the Anuak Salt-chucks
Salt-chucks have been a fascinating sight and have captured our attention much the same we were enthralled with the salt marshes of coastal North Carolina.  

Best view ever...Harlequin Lake

Glacial ice is everything we heard it would be: majestic, blue and BIG.  The waters fed by these monstrosities have the most peculiar blue/green color.  The rivers are cold, clear and tasty and while not teeming with salmon, we are hopeful that we will see some before we depart this area.

Moose track

Wildlife is the only thing really missing from our short visit to SE Alaska...so far.  

Eagle talon track

We see traces of many animals but to date the only ground creature we have seen was a rabbit hopping across the road in front of us.  We will keep you posted when we finally see a bear.


Mark 

Things To Do In Aniak

Happy Arrival

Our daughter, Miranda, came to visit this last weekend out here in the bush.  She discovered the joys of a one way 5,000 mile trip.  And lest she had the notion that there was nothing to do "way out here",  Beth and I showed her ALL the sights.

It all started with her arrival at the airport, ANI.  Those are the call letters for our one runway strong extravagance of an airport in Aniak.  Though actually the real eye opener took place at the ultra modern baggage claim when the fork lift pulled up outside with everyone's luggage piled into a big bucket.  How quaint.

Baggage Claim

With that excitement out of the way we proceeded to show Miranda most of the sights...on foot.  We pretty much walk wherever we go.  We had a truck at our disposal but once you have ridden our pot-holed dirt roads, and have your internal organs jumbled enough, you will agree with us that God gave us feet for a very good reason.  So, walk, we did.

Miranda and Beth above the Kuskokwim  River

Miranda in charge of fish cleaning

Yes!  $7.14/gallon!

We walked along the river a lot.  It is prettier than walking "in town".  We saw...some of the ice that still has NOT melted from the break-up one month ago;  a fish cleaning platform that is till being built (the kings should start running any day now);  a float plane on the river;  the high price of gasoline in the village;  a cow moose track along with two of her calves and finally, said mamma moose wandering through town!

Moose on the loose

The last day she was here we braved the roads and drove the truck all around.  I started our trek with 1/8th of a tank of gas and pretty much finished with the same amount (though we actually did cover quite a bit of ground).  We saw such sites as...Roger towing a boat with a four-wheeler;  the quarry (we saw a bull moose in the woods but could not get a picture);  Aniak High School (the Half Breeds);  the dump ( I am not posting any of those pictures) 

Proud papa!

 and made one final stop at the shooting range where Miranda fired off some rounds of 30-06 on my Winchester 700!

Aniak By The Numbers

I, Mark, exceeded the speed limit the other day.  And I must confess...I tried to go fast.  The store had ordered (2)  4-wheelers and when they arrived at the airport, well, someone had to volunteer to bring them over to the store.  The first trek I was a little tentative.  But by the 2nd journey I was primed and ready.  Zooming around the perimeter of the airport I actually hit 28 miles an hour!  Incredible, right?!? 

As if we need speed limit signs

So far I have only noticed 2 speed limit signs.  There is 1 right around from the store on a side residential road with access to the river.  The posted sign states a 15 mph limit.  Out on the road that circles the airport on the west end (where there is one of the 3 stop signs in Aniak...we also have 1 yield sign) the posted speed limit is 25 mph.  I drove to the dump yesterday, and because my load in the back of the truck was a little unstable, I never exceeded 15 mph.  And this is the "norm".  Due to the fact that there are not any paved roads in Aniak, the place is quite dusty.  So people try to keep their speed down in order to keep dirt in its place...on the road.

Heading home across the slough

2 days ago I drove 2 family groups down to the river to deliver them and their groceries to their boats.  I was hauling 7 large boxes of goods, 2 women and 2 children in the cab of the truck and 1 man, 1 woman and two children in the bed with the goods.  I had to drive down a steep river bank where there is a "road" that runs along the river when the level is low.  It was full of bumps and holes and in some places was quite muddy...deep mud.  But I did not lose a single package or person.

Just wait...I'll capture a pic with multiple riders

Often times customers arrive at the store by vehicle.  Some arrive by truck and if the family group is large it is not uncommon to see some of them sitting or even standing in the bed of the truck (remember..no one drives very fast...no seat belts are used and in fact, most do not even possess a drivers license...they do not issue them in the bush).  But a large majority arrive at the store on a 4-wheeler.  Sometimes it will be just 1 person but more often the case it is numerous people.  I have seen up to 6 on a 4-wheeler at one time.  This usually involves at least 1 child sitting in front of the handle bars and 2 or 3 more hanging onto the back in some sort and direction.

I took my new rifle out to the range to get comfortable with it and decided that no grizzly bear stands a chance with me.  I only fired 4 times.  I did not hit anything in particular but the back end of that range is quite fearful of me at this time.


Now that is what I am talking about!

Well, that is all I have at this time with Aniak by the Numbers.  See you soon.



Mark