Salmon Derby

Last weekend, the annual Salmon Derby began. We drove out to Knutson Cove to check out the activity. I was hoping to see a fisherman come in with a king salmon and watch it being weighed. No such luck.

We did, however, have some yummy fries and a great view of the marina. Then we drove about 3 miles north and took a hike on the Lunch Creek Trail which goes into the forest but has great views of a waterfall and also steps to the beach.

Root Canal in Anchorage

Yes, the title of this post is correct. I'm in Anchorage and have just survived my first root canal. Not as bad as the term implies, in my opinion! The whole situation evolved quickly and before I knew it, I was booking a reservation on the "milk run" to Anchorage. In plain language, that means you hop from small town (Wrangell) to next small town (Petersburg) to bigger town (Juneau) before you actually get to your destination. The whole trip took 6 hours. It IS 800 miles away from Ketchikan, but next time I think I'd do what many people do and take a direct flight to Seattle, get off the plane (which you can't do on the milk run) and then get back on and fly direct to Anchorage.

I'm staying at Elmendorf Air Force base which is great - the galley is stupendous - it looks like a deluxe ski lodge restaurant. I snapped the bear photo above as I was getting off the plane - apparently they roam through the airport. Just kidding! It's a stuffed one - maybe you can tell by the glazed look - and part of a cool diorama in the airport lobby (only in AK!).

The other exciting part of this unexpected trip is seeing an old friend from PA whom I haven't seen in over 15 years. We met for dinner Wednesday night and then she was my tour guide as I attempted to buy jeans, books, and unusual cooking gadgets I can't get in Ketchikan.

The root canal went well - I won't get into a long tired description but I will say that the view from the office window of Mt. Susitna (aka The Sleeping Lady) and of a distant and fogged in Mt. McKinley was incredible. The mountains here are much different from Ketchikan. There are more snow-covered and much rockier. The Ketchikan ones are all covered with trees which means, I think, the snow melts faster.

Tomorrow, it's back to the island (but only two stops this time - Juneau and Sitka). I've loved being here in the "big" city - Anchorage is easy to get around and great - but I'm also ready to hike up and down hills (very flat in town here) and get back to my island life.

Plus, now that it's finally warm, I need to get my plants for the deck garden I plan to start. More later!