Sunday-Monday, May 21-22, 2006: Ketchikan-Shoalwater Pass, Misty Fjords National Monument

We bid farewell to the Maizel's and the city of Ketchikan. The Maizel's will be staying in Ketchikan for a few extra days as Susanna needs to fly to Washington, D.C. Both Jake and Susanna are renown research scientists and Susanna is scheduled to give a talk. We are hoping to meet up with them in Sitka. We have decided to join the Hollister's (Amavi) on a trip thru Misty Fjords National Monument. The numerous cruise boats that we have encountered since leaving Campbell River are with us again as we start our Misty Fjords journey. Most large ships do not venture into Behm Canal but unload in Ketchikan and local charters take the passengers on a day excursion to tour the highlights in Misty Fjords. Lots of fast boats and float planes. These cruise ships provide needed income to the communities they service and tourism is the third largest revenue source for the state of Alaska. We cruised about five hours and chose a beautiful anchorage in Shoalwater Pass on Winstanley Island. I was feeling very tired and crabby so we did a little fishing, set our crab traps and came back to the boat for a quiet evening alone.

The next morning I checked our traps and we had three very large dungeness. We invited the Hollister's over for a seafood dinner. Bob Hollister was putting a shrimp pot down so we will add that to the feast. The day started off windy and cool, so we stayed in until the wind settled before we went fishing. It turned out to be a beautiful warm day and although we had very little luck with the fish, the scenery was beautiful, lots of coves and a huge rock with many sea lions on it.

When we returned to "Kasekuchen", I took the kayak out to try clamming. I have never clammed before but was told to look for holes in the sand. I think there is more to it than that, e the clams were safe with me looking for them. So we raided our freezer for ling cod, Costco shrimp, our fresh crab and Bob Hollister's two tiny shrimp that added local flavor. But what a feast!!! Bob made fabulous choppino and a rhubarb and berry tart for dessert. We played dominoes that night with the Hollister's and had great fun!!

Note from the Blogmaster: This is a draft; some photos still pending