Minnesota Boys

Let me introduce you to the two other Minnesotians that are working at the lodge with me this summer. First, there's PJ (in the funny hat and burgundy sweatshirt)- he's from Coon Rapids and is working as a dishwasher. Then, his best friend since childhood - Joel Swanson (navy pull-over) from Andover, MN, who is a dockhand. They both graduated from college this spring. PJ is an art major who wants to teach. The other day, he painted three little forget-me-knots so that I could use the art as a tattoo. Very pretty!

In the first picture, they were headed out hiking to the lake to do some trout fishing. In the other photos they hiked with me to the bench. (With thier beverages!) Joel kind of reminds me of my brother, Lance, and PJ is just a goofball, so it's fun hanging out with them.

I'll get more crew photos up soon so you can meet the rest of the gang!

Luv from AK!

~Sharon

Summer Solstice 2009

June 20, 2009,

With the calendar marking today as the Summer Solstice, Yes Bay Lodge commemorated the
event with a long standing tradition...... Burning a boat and then jumping off the dock. (Although I have a feeling every summer celebration around here involves jumping off the dock - especially if Nicky is involved!)

Oh - I almost forgot, you get to write down everything you want to come to you in the next year on a piece of paper. Then the paper is put on the boat to burn. Fun Eh?

Well, the water was FREEZING! It took my breath away. I just kept thinking, "do not bitch about the cold water, do not bitch about the cold water" and "hurry up and get me out of here before some wierd and scary fish bite my toes!" (that's about where panick set in and I went straight back to the dock where Dan pulled me up - Phew! I made it with 10 toes still in tack and no jelly fish stings!)

I guess our fun must have attracted some of the guests as well, because one of the guys took a video of the entire thing. I'll have to watch for it on You Tube.

(It was cute though, his 10 year old son asked us why we were drinking ice tea after jumping in the water, because that was only going to make us colder.)

Hope you enjoy the photos!

I'm getting paid for this?

June 18, 2009

It's about 8:30 am here. My day started at 5:15 when I went to the office to turn on lights and talk to a few guests. Since then, I've been sitting here thinking how surreal this whole thing is, and how blessed I am to get to do something like move to Alaska for a summer job!
I feel like I'm 12 and on a wild summer vacation and don't have a care in the world. My meals are prepared for me, my dishes are washed for me. I only worry about laundry once every week and a half, and with no cell phone, car, errands, bills arriving in the mail, or "to do" lists, I can't remember being this carefree and relaxed in a long time! I can't believe I'm getting paid for this!

To give you some idea, here's a typical day for me:
Wake up at 4:45. Pop my head into the kitchen to say good morning to Scottie (the head lunch chef) and Jill (my roommate and lodge baker). Say hello to my fellow Minnesotan, Joel, on my way to the office, as he is busy lighting the fireplaces. Head to the office by 5:15. (Check my email, facebook and blog) At 6:00 breakfast is served. I have yet to witness a day that eggs, bacon and orange juice hasn't been served. Today was Blueberry pancakes! Back to work at 6:15 on guest files and charges.
I try to keep Kevin (my boss and lodge manager) in line while he pokes fun of my "minnesotan" accent and that fact that I talk a lot.
At 11:15 I head to the dock to take pictures of the guests and thier fish. Then I print and post the photos on the board in the lobby. At 12:00 lunch is served. We had alfredo lasagna the other day - YUM! Then it's back to work until 1:30. After that I can do whatever I want. Fish, hike, scrapbook, watch TV, read, take a nap! It's amazing!! Then, at 5:00, if I'm at the lodge, I go back down to the dock to take pictures of guests and thier fish again. At 6, we get supper (we eat a lot of fish and have had crab legs, crab cakes, halibut melts, fresh clam chowder, salmon, etc... )After dinner we hang out in the crew room, chating, watching TV, or playing board games. Then at 9/9:30 it's off to bed.

Phew - it's pretty rough out here.
Love from AK~ Sharon

This is the way we row our boat...

Tuesday, June 16th

Jill and I had the afternoon free, and since the weather was good (and she LOVES to hike) we decided to go all the way to McDonald Lake.

(The photo on the right shows part of the hiking path we were on.)

It took us about an hour to get there.

There were some great views along the way,

including this one of Wolverine River.

(On a hike on Monday, we found a spot to

stop and walk around in the water -

it was freezing cold! but felt good while

we were hiking!)

A couple of the guys like to come up this was to go Trout fishing. Maybe I'll have to try that some time.

You know you made it to the lake when you

get to the cabin. The cabin is run by the forestry

department and you can "rent" it out for a

small fee via the forestry dept's web site. Normally, they fly people in, and

drop them off with a boat motor and fuel.

It's pretty rustic - no plumbing and just a small wood stove inside with some bunk bed frames. But, there's cut wood for heat and a bon fire.

It might be fun for an overnight, although hauling all of your camping stuff back there along the trail might be a big pain in the butt!

Anyway, once we made it to the cabin, we

decided to "borrow" the small boat that

was outside. (Thanks to Jill, who found the

ores inside the cabin!.)
This turned out to be an adventure in itself....

First, we had to heave the boat down to the water. (trying to get it back up the bank was hillarious too!)

Then, we realized we had to put the plug in (after we were ankle deep in water). Then we had to

learn to row. (Which caused us more giggles than anything.) After a while we did figure it out.

Next time we'll have to row the other way though, because I think we were going backwards through the water!

Oh well - we had a great time!

The lake water was just black because it was so deep, and

it was so quiet when we were on the lake - very cool.

We didn't see any wildlife though....maybe next time.
(This is a photo of the lake from the little boat.)

Until next time -

Luv from AK!

~Sharon

Lucky Boots

June 14, 2009

Let me introduce you to my lucky boots. (thanks to Jill and Amanda for the inspiration to buy these before I came up here!)

First off, I should explain that due to the rainy weather and dock-work, everyone here wears the brown XtraTuff boots (pretty much all day long and 7 days a week). In fact, in the stores, they call them the "Ketchikan Sneaker." (AND, they are like $80.00!!!) But, since I require fashionable footwear, (even in the middle of nowhere) I wanted something more exciting than brown.

Now, they didn't become "lucky" until I wore them fishing...and caught fish. In fact, the second day out, I was the only one who caught anything in my boat (even if they were just two puney rockfish that we threw back!)

They guys like to poke fun at my boots....especially because they match my coat and are pink, but that's okay with me....they're just jealous! LOL!

P.S. Dan, one of the guides has a pair of white boots that everyone makes fun of too!

Luv from AK!

Take a hike....again!

These pictures are from the hike Jill and I took to the back bay. This is a much shorter hike - I think we made it to the bench in about 15 minutes. The terrain wasn't much better, but it was still fun. Plus, the view was amazing!

~Sharon

Take a Hike....

Here are some photos from the hike to the lake. The Forestry dept says this hike is .9 miles, but I'd like to dispute that! I'm sure they didn't take into consideration all of the "ups and downs" and "zig zags" that you do. Once you know the trail, and can walk it faster, and then it takes over an hour to get to the lake. (I have yet to make it that far.) The photo I have above shows a wooden walkway, which is only at the beginning of the hike. After that, you follow a narrow trail of rock, tree roots, and pine needles! At one point, you walk up a creek. It's nuts and very easy to get lost. One of these times I'll bring tape to mark the way!

~Sharon

A Whale of a tale

June 9, 2009

Ok Lance, this one is for you....

My first "picture" of a whale that I've seen up here. This guy - a humpback - came cruising right into the bay, right in front of the dock and headed out into the back bay to go fishing.

It was crazy to see something so big so close!

This is the first time I've seen a humpback whale up here this summer. I got to see Killer Whales on my first day as I was going to the lodge. Can't wait to see more! (The guides keep reporting them around, which is bad news for fisherman since they eat or scare away the fish).

Oh - and so far, I've seen lots of seals and sea lions....one even took the bait right off my hook the other day when I was fishing! Sneaky sneaky!

Luv from AK!

Sharon Goes Fishing:

June 6, 2009

Today I got to go fishing! I spent my afternoon with two new guides, Fred and Sean. Both of whom are from Florida. We went Salmon fishing and I caught two Chum Salmon!! (well, I actually just reeled them in....Sean did the baiting and Fred was driving the kicker.) It was fun....and reminded me of fishing as a kid, they have some fight in them and the second fish I had to put on the "nerd belt" so I could reel it in (I'm not quite strong enough I guess!)

The biggest one was just under 12#s

Picture #1: Me and My Catch
Picture #2: Fred (one of my guides)
Picture #3: Fish #2
Picture #4: Fish #1

Love from Ak!

Fish Stories from Yes Bay

Check out some of the season's first fish pictures....

We have John with the first halibut - 45 lbs; then we get up close and personal with a rockfish (which are poisionous, by the way); Dewey (A.K.A. "Cutter") filleting the halibut; John, Ron and Dewey unloading their catch, and finially...one of the jellyfish that you see off the dock.

Love from AK

~Sharon

Lodge Firsts

Here are pictures of the first float plane this season to the lodge. (We had our frozen food/groceries flown out.)

Also, photos of the first helicopter of the season to the lodge. It picked up a fisherman that was dropped off by a passing ship.

Love from AK!

~Sharon

Views from around the lodge

Finially! You can check out what I get to look at every day!

Luv from AK!

~Sharon

Photos: Home Sweet Home