Fall Update

As fall turns slowly to winter we're snug in Oystercatcher bobbing around at the dock. Mornings and evenings are dark and often rainy. A wet splash to work for Blain, he is often accompanied by Mo and Chance for the morning walk.

Mo typically heads to the pool or library, or helps out as a volunteer around town. There is something fun going on in this town every day.

Blain knocked on the door at Sitka Trail Works one morning and walked out with a job beginning the next. He works on trails, drives a big green truck, and smiles alot.

We've really been welcomed to the community, to dinners and events, to hikes and evening drinks. We are wondering if we're home.

Sitka Soup with Blair

We soak in Goddard Hot Springs, south of Sitka with Blain's second cousin once removed, Blair. He just finished up working on the Anchorage to Fairbanks and Denali railroad for the summer and met us in Sitka for a few days of sun, wine and fun. He's a great guy and a fine crew member and loves to cook. That was a good thing, too.

 Dinners were quite the treat. Blair's travelled extensively in Central America and China. Mexican night was quite good.

Then pasta night. Here Blair's rolling out the pasta and hanging it in the cabin to dry a bit before running it through the spaghetti attachment and was eventually topped by the last of the black cod.

The hot tubs were big round wood tubs and were great, but it was a shame there was no good weather tub to soak in. Lots of colorful grafitti to laugh at. A fine kettle of humans. A cannibal's dream.

 Blair's been on the boat twice - once back in Belligham, and we enjoyed a nice sail back to Sitka before the wind.

  

Blain put in a new solar-powered vent fan before the coming storm, but it still hasn't kicked on. The directions say it might need a few back-to-back days of sun before the battery is charged. We hope that happens before 2011.

Two thousand five hundred and ninety-seven nautical miles so far

Made it to Sitka. A welcome and familiar town. We were relieved to see they still allow liberals here... !

But also important for boaters - they have a Coast Guard training base, too. This bouy tender was parked  and the crew joined the 4th of July Parade.

In the docks, we have been shopping for our second boat. We figure something along the lines of Sequoia here. A stout and handsome wooden troller. Though Blain has told Monique several times that she can divorce him immediately (and really should) if he ever buys an old wooden boat.

We made a pilgrimage to the National Historic Park to check on one of our favorite places. The wooded trails criss-cross through totem poles and the historic battleground between the Russian fur traders and the Tlingit natives in 1804. The park itself is 100 years old this year - the oldest in Alaska.

Monique designed the landscape planting plan for historically important regional plants, and was glad to see they have begun to get there. We saw lots of native species like goatsbeard and beach wild rye, but they have a way to go to get rid of the foxglove, and a few other invasives. Still, it's great to see. We'd love to do interpretive name placards for visitors, though.

The totems were as stately and beautiful as ever in the rainy forest.

And the dancing. Yes, well, we watched the contra dancers thump it up in Xtra-Tufs and carharts. The band was great, though it should be noted. Sitka has a very talented music community. The party really kicked it when 200 teens from the Sitka Arts Camp showed up in costumes, ready for the parade.

Chance thinks people are ridiculous, though he probably also was remembering his own puppy training classes where we marched around together in circles and stopped a lot, circled around, etc. He probably thought all these folks were being obedience trained.

Or he was just ogling my smoked black cod tips. As good as he is, he still doesn't qualify for a sample of this morsel from the gods. Note the glazed eyes and crooked hat. Blain likes black cod. Alot. Chance got some of the brown rice.

Chance did get some fun with a thorough examination by the fire chief. He wanted to know two things: 1) does he bite? and 2) does he poop?

After we answered in the negative on the first one, and the affirmative on the second, he checked "under the hood" just to be sure Chance had the necessary equipment. Then it was off to ride in the fire truck for the parade.

The whole town came out to watch the parade, rain or no rain. Rain, of course - it is Sitka.

The electric vehicle gang was out in force, followed by the lone Harley. Yes, that's an electric mazda pickup.  

This fellow pretty much summed up the day in the rain.

We were glad to see the Park Service was well represented in the parade with employees in full period costumes and their electric vehicle.

Though Blain was looking through his viewfinder at a group of costumed people marching by, and not really paying attention and yelled out, "Yay Park Service!", and got immediate feedback that they were, in fact, the Forest Service. Ooops how embarassing.

Towards Sitka

We made it to Sitka. We'll post some photos soon. The Fourth of July fireworks display was postponed due to rain - go figure. But the waterfight between the Coast Guard and Fire Department is still on.

Scary, though, it feels like we've come home to both of us...

We hiked the Eva Lake Trail and groaned at our stiffness in the morning from the exercise. All 4 miles of it. Sad to admit. Boots and adventurous spirit needed. Looks like there's some trail work planned. That's good. Two of the smaller cruise ships were lined up in the bay to disembark their passengers for this hike, so it is getting hammered by use.

In Whitewater Bay, Mo spotted a treasure in the moss, behind the drift logs. A Japanese glass ball. These are quite coveted by coastal folk, and we've found two in 12 years. Actually three, but the other was just the top of one of the big ones.

A pretty little special thing (or two).

Our passage through Peril Strait was uneventful due to the keen navigation planning of Capt. Monique. Hovering just outside the entrance to the Narrows, Blain caught a 10 pound rockfish that was enjoyed over rice. Here's the recipe:

Rockfish Peril

1-2 skinned and de-boned fillets rockfish, flounder, lingcod, halibut, or cod
2 tbsp mayonnaise
one leek, sliced into thin rings
1/2 cup breadcrumbs or tortilla chip crumbles
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup shreaded parmesan, romano, or grana padano
lemon pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of wasabi powder, or horseradish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Saute leeks and garlic in oil. Meanwhile, lay filets in a buttered baking dish or breadpan. Mix the mayonaise and seasonings together, then slather over the fish fillets. Sprinkle breadcrumbs or chip crumbles, and grated cheese on top. Cook leeks and garlic until browned slightly, then distribute over the whole thing. Bake for 20-25 minutes. At the last 2 minutes, switch the oven to broil and braize the top, being watchful. Serve over rice pilaf or buttered noodles. Enjoy, and send $10 to Blain.

Here's one more photo from Warm Springs Bay. A friendly fellow cruiser tried to help Chance fetch. Some days, he's not the sharpest dart in the board. But it was a fine "chamber of commerce day", and we all enjoyed the gorgeous sunny bug-free lake.