More photos from Bailey Bay

Here are a few more photos from the Bailey Bay hike.

Enjoy - Sharon

8/10/2010

Today, Dewey and Art returned from their hunting and camping trip at Hooker Lake on Prince of Whales Island. They got to camp in a Forest Service Cabin and, despite a lot of jeering from fellow co-workers, also packed a small generator and coffee pot. (Guess "roughing it" includes waking up to Folgers in your cup.) Besides being away from work and out in the middle of nowhere in the woods (Dewey's personal idea of heaven) they got a deer!

Since I love showing off my boyfriend, I thought I would post a photo of him and his deer.

You should note, that unlike the Midwest, there are no white-tail deer here. Instead, there is black-tail, which is a smaller breed.

~Sharon

Bailey Bay

8/8/2010

Today we got to hike at Bailey Bay back to the hot springs. I got to hike this last year, and it was a highlight of my summer, so I have been looking forward to doing it again.

This year I hiked with: Guy, one of the guides here; Lara, the house float; Jaimie, the morning server; Brian, the dishwasher (he is a little strange - to say the least); & Michaela, the bosses' 11-yr old daughter.

We got dropped off at 9:30 and were picked up around 2. Even though it was foggy/cloudy, and it started raining in the afternoon, we had a GREAT day!

Attached are photos from the day: The Waterfall; Canoe we used to cross the lake; all of us at the Lean-to after a lunch of PB&Js; all of us in the hot tub. Enjoy!

~Sharon

A Halibut Adventure

8/7/2010

Well, I finally got a few "official" days off. August 6-8! I slept in, read, worked on a crew & personal digital scrapbook of this year at Yes Bay, got some fishing time in and went to Bailey Bay hiking. It was wonderful to not have anything to worry about. (Then again, the lodge was empty of guests for three days, so everyone was kind of bumming).

On my second day off, I got to go Halibut fishing with a couple of guides: Kicker and Batman. (those are their call names. The guide with me is Kicker.) We went out around 9:30 (we had to sleep in, of course!). We went to Belle Island, to a spot they've dubbed "the corral." It was pretty windy and thus wavy, so I was glad when we finally found calm water. (I was putting the Bownine and Wrist bands to the test with me and my motion sickness!)

After a couple of hours jigging for Halibut I got a bite..... Then, I (expertly) set the hook, and reeled....and reeled....and reeled.....I was hooting and hollering a lot too (I'm sure the other lodge boats around the area could hear me loud and clear without the radio)...and then reeled some more. Finally, we could see my catch - a halibut!! (After all, you just never know what you are going to pull up out of the deep - especially at 308 feet of water!) After that Kicker harpooned it, and it took off again trying to swim away. Eventually, Kicker used a gaf-hook to get it half in the boat. Then I got to beat the sh&*t out of it with Kicker's little bat/fish beater. (I almost popped out one of the eyeballs!). However, Kicker decided I wasn't hitting it hard enough and took over for me. Guess my arms were just too tired. Then we finally got it in the boat and into the box. Phew!

After that it started to rain, and since I felt bad keeping the guides out in bad weather on their day off, we decided to call it a day and come back to the lodge.

When we got it back, we had it weighed before processing it & also took the picture that is attached. I couldn't believe that it was 51.5 lbs! That is, hands-down, the biggest fish I've ever caught!

Hope you enjoy the photos...more to come!

Love - Sharon

Misty Fijord Flightseeing Tour

8/4/2010

This morning at 7:30, myself and 4 other crew members got to go on a Misty Fijord flight seeing tour. We flew on the Pirate Airworks plane, with "Huffelpuff" as the pilot. He made sure to poke fun at me (he calls me "streak" because of my hair) when I accidentally fell asleep - due to the Dramamine - mid-flight. The flight was about an hour and 15 min. and we cruised around the mountains, through valleys, and over mountain lakes and streams. It was a perfectly clear and calm morning, so the flight was smooth and the photos were great. I've attached a few.

It's crazy to realize how big the world/Alaska really is, and how many places have never been touched by people.

What a great way to start off the day!

Enjoy!

~Sharon