Glacier Lake (6.14.13)

We couldn't let Harrison miss seeing Glacier Lake, especially since it gave us an excuse to take a gorgeous afternoon hike.  This lake is fed by the glaciers on Baranof Island. Harrison wanted to fish the frigid waters, but the trout are notoriously small and very hard to catch.  Maybe someone should offer them a space heater or a nice wool sweater.

Conveniently, the hot springs were just another 5 minutes away.  Chilled to the bone, a warm bath seemed like the right thing to do.

Echo Bay (6.14.13)

Named appropriately, Echo Bay was an acoustical playground. We stopped here for lunch, but ended up staying for hours.

When we'd had our fill of beach combing, Doug met us to take me and the kids back to the lodge.  We left Shelly and Lloyd with Mike to fish some more.

Our Last Full Day (6.14.13)

We had but one full day remaining at Baranof, and we weren't going to waste a minute.  Mike Trotter himself stepped up to the task, and we started the day off with just a little more fishing.  In addition to trolling for salmon, watching whales play and combing the beaches were also on the agenda.  We checked off our to-do list one by one.

Entertainment (6.13.13)

For the nightly entertainment, Lloyd and I would play music, the Russian dancers from Sitka would teach us the Kozachok, or Bruce would demonstrate his Olympic gymnast talents.  You can't make this stuff up.  America's Got Talent!

Flash Frozen (6.13.13)

The girls chose a good day to stay inshore.  Shelly, Lloyd, and Harrison got a little taste of Alaskan weather as the temperature dropped and the winds churned up Chatham Strait.  Undeterred, they brought home the groceries (delicious chum salmon) nonetheless.

Hot Springs (6.13.13)

After a long hike on a cold and dreary day, wouldn't it be nice to take a long hot bath?  And, what if your tub was in the most picturesque of settings, with a roaring waterfall just off to the side? And, what if that bath was fed by natural hot springs, so that the water never cooled down?  If you were really blessed, you could share this experience with one of your most favorite people on earth.  Yes, I'd call this just about perfect.  We were only missing the boys.  

Bubble Net (6.13.13)

On our way back to the lodge, we witnessed the unique cooperative feeding pattern of the humpback whale called bubble net feeding.  The whale uses its dorsal fin to swim in a circular pattern, creating a whirlpool effect for unsuspecting small fish.  As the whale goes deeper you can see the bubbles rise to the top.  Seconds later, whoop!, the huge mouth shoots out of the water, swallowing the corralled bait.  Truly amazing!

Girls Day Out (6.13.13)

Tired after fishing for three days in a row, Grayson and I decided to strike out on our own.  Well, with Dutch and Rebekah leading the way.  And what do girls do in the Alaskan wilderness?  We dig for clams, pull our pots for shrimp and crabs, and spot the occasional blacktail deer out for an afternoon swim.  It's a good thing the bear we saw was a vegetarian.

Squatters (6.12.13)

It's easy to be a guy on a fly fishing trip in the middle of Alaskan nowhere.  Even in waders, the essential breaks that one must take from time to time somehow seem easy for the men.  For Grayson and me, however, it's a bit more complicated.   Lucky for us, the grass was tall.

Shelly:  "S'up Grayson?  (translation:  "What's up Grayson?")
Grayson:  "Squattin'."
Shelly:  "Squattin'?"
Grayson (with a head nod): "Squattin' in d'Alaskan grass."

Invincible (6.12.13)

We felt pretty invincible in our waders.  We hoped the bear could appreciate our confidence.

God's Country (6.12.13)

An Introduction on The Fly (6.12.13)

We were thrilled to have Bruce and David as our experienced guides on the Chiak River.  They showed us how to follow the fish, starting at the mouth of the river at low tide and working upstream as the water flowed in.  Our first lessons were to learn the roll and overhead casts.  Harrison may have been the first to land a Dolly Varden, the iridescent first cousin to a brook trout, but we were all hooked at this point.