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Summer in Alaska

The summer heat in the DC area can be oppressive, causing feverish dreams of cooler places. This year I had the good fortune to escape to Alaska for a couple of weeks in August.

Slim explains how to catch fish The Salty Dawg from the harbor

I went fishing with my dad right away. Slim here tried to explain how to catch salmon, but I wasn’t really paying attention – I think I caught one to his three.

Peter coils crab pot line

My cousin Peter was dad’s deckhand for the summer – baiting hooks, filleting fish, and washing the boat. Here he’s coiling the crab pot line as the puller brings up one of the pots.

Checking out the Husky II Seldovia Slough

We went to Seldovia, a pretty little town across Kachemak Bay, a couple of times. There’s this big old rusty boat, the Husky II, sitting there looking like it’s been underwater recently and might be headed back soon.

Spit Sisters Cafe The Peregrine

Spit Sisters makes great espresso, and happens to be located conveniently on the way to the boat. Harbors are full of things to photo, especially if you like reflections – I really like the landing craft’s colors.

Dad on the Rebel

To top off the trip, dad bought an old Honda Rebel! We spent some time getting the blinky bits working and each rode it around Homer. Given past events, you might expect a tale of broken bones next, but I made it out of Homer intact this time.

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The Paul Buck

The Paul Buck

While we were pulling a crab pot this huge tanker appeared to be heading out of Kachemak Bay right for us. I’m not whether they turned to avoid us, or they just always leave the bay in a curved path. Either way, it was fun to see a tanker that close, and nice that they didn’t crush us to bits.

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Pretty pollock

A nice pollock

I’ll get around to posting some photos from my latest trip to Alaska soon, but in the meantime please enjoy this lovely photo of a pollock.

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Alaska trip photolog

Within 24 hours of arriving in Anchorage I was on Kachemak Bay with my dad, looking for oysters and salmon:

Working an oyster net Me and my salmon

I talked my father-in-law into going on a couple of trips, including one with nice weather and fun fishing:

Slim & Pete & a halibut Mike fishing for halibut

A lot of the Anchorage-area family came down to Homer for Memorial Day weekend, so for a fun trip we went clam digging and mussel gathering in Sadie Cove:

Washing the mollusks Our ride back to the boat

We all went to Bishop’s Beach in Homer to fly kites and turn over rocks before heading back up to Anchorage to fly home:

Assembling kites at the beach Madeline at the beach

There are a lot more photos in this Flickr set.

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Pulling a crab pot

A video from last summer of my dad and his friend pulling a crab pot in Kachemak Bay.