Unalaska September 19--24

I tried a case in Unalaska, a jury trial,  Sept. 20--24.  It would be poor form to blog an account of the trial, so what follows is, mainly, a tourist's impressions. 

Unalaska is a town of some 4,500 people located in the Aleutian Islands, more than 800 miles WSW of Anchorage. Sometimes it is called Dutch Harbor, but that is the name of the harbor, not the town.    Unalaska is a fishing and fish processing town.  It handles more fisheries product (mostly bottom fish and crab) in terms of tonnage  than any other US port.  Its seascapes include 4 or 5 factory like processing plants.


part of the view from my hotel--the Grand Aleutian

 I was surprised to learn that only about 8% of the population is Aleut.  "Whites" are about 40%, and there are large numbers of Filipinos as well as a substantial Mexican population.  Originally, of course, it was an Aleut village, then an Aleut--Russian village. Later still the Navy and Coast Guard added bases, and the Army came as well in WWII.  I think the Coast Guard is the only service that remains.
 Below and at the beginning of this post are pictures of the old Russian Orthodox church.





The Russian Bishop's house--badly in need of restoration

Below are pictures of the court house and the court staff--Roxanna Winters and Nancy Betzen with visiting judge.

          

More pictures follow.

                                                

                                                     

The alphabet is Cyrillic, but the words are Aleut

The scene of the crime---we had a jury view here.

The islands were treeless, but the Russians brought in some Sitka Spruce.  They have slowly taken hold, as the distant copse shows.

                                                     

                                                Scene from the town footbridge.  Unalaska is famous for its police blotter, published in The Fisherman, the weekly paper.  Here is an entry:  11:25PM Caller reported screaming from the area of the footbridge near the library.  She was unsure whether the screams were from foxes or women.  Officers responding to the area found numerous foxes actively involved in the annual consummation of their relationship.
One night I had dinner with the high school principal.  He said the schools were very good.  They always pass the no child left behind standards and have won or done well in academic competitions. 
The travel budget, he said, is pretty high, but the parents help out. 

                                                          

"Unalaska" according to some tourist brochures means "the great land" (like so much else in Alaska).
I heard another explanation.  The name refers to this beach, a shortening of a phrase meaning "curved beach where boats may be pulled from the water." 

To the outside part 2

What's this Maya?

Local version of Nantucket sleigh ride. 

12 pounder fresh from the sea

Here is a film clip that I also posted on you tube. It was taken when the fish were jumping, as is typical for this place but not striking our flies, which seemed unusual.

We noticed as we left for the last time--this was late September--that the river that runs into the lagoon was dry.  This is strange because this year has been pretty wet.  I guess there is a very local climate here.  And I hope and assume that there will be sufficient rainfall soon enough so that the silvers can move upstream and spawn. 

To the outside Three trips in September 2010.

Ames and I took three day-trips to the outside last month.  That is what he calls a lagoon where silver salmon gather before heading up a short lake-fed river.  The silvers are big there, 15 plus pounds, bigger than almost anyplace else in Alaska.  Here are some pictures. 

September Morn   Ames's Cub on Sand Lake

The lagoon



As you can see the place is like a paradise.  But like a skeptic's heaven it has its stinging things.  Note the head net.  When there is no wind, the sand flies swarm and land and bite and they are not deterred by deet.  In this picture the wind has just come up. 

                                                                      
                                                                        

                           
                                                 We fish mainly with surface flies.  This is an example, called a wog.  Like a popper bug, but made with feathers and fabric.    It's quite a thrill to see a wake approach and then either take or veer away.

                                                         

                                                                           We always see bears.  I've inserted a couple of clips.  In the first the bear  was walking toward the plane so I tried to row to shore to save our lunch, filming  the while.  Then it occurred to me that we were going to reach the same point on the shore at the same time.  The bear was full grown and not cowed by my presence.  So I abruptly changed course as the camera fell and stopped.  Later I recovered and as the next clip shows the bear veered into the tall grass.  We ate our own lunch. (The third clip is a duplicate of the first.  I have not been able to delete it.)  I'll write a little more about our recent trips in another post.     

                                                                 

                                                                       

Bellingham to Anchorage 9/3-7





Queen Charlotte Sound beyond the islands--4 hours of open water, but only gently rolling on this trip.

Gliding to Alaska at 20 miles per hour has much to recommend it.  Especially after driving some 4,000 miles.  Here are some pictures of the first full day on the ferry.



Bella Bella (literally very pretty)

 







At the end of the day I had dinner with Steve Linbeck and Patti Ginsberg.  They were also bringing a new car to Anchorage.  I enjoyed their company.  Here is a story about recently deceased Ted Stevens.  At the outset of the Falklands war he was asked if he approved of Britain retaking the islands.  He said yes, but he would recommend an invasion of the Argentine mainland. 

Here for you cruise ship lovers is a panorama of downtown Ketchikan taken on the second full day of the trip.

The weather closed in for the rest of the day.  But about dusk on the Wrangell narrows I looked closely for the land we bought 40 years ago at a state sale.  I think I was able to identify it.  It does not appear to be adversely possessed. 

Here are some scenes of the third day in Lynn Canal. 




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A nose, not a fluke.

Mission Carmel?

Steve joined me for a round of golf at Haines.  A very scenic almost ready made course.  After our round the owner, Stan Jones, a retired MD, gave us a brief geophysical history.  Stan has been a riparian owner along the Chilkat River for many decades.  The course is built on 93 acres that were added to his property by isostatic rebound (tidelands rising to uplands due to the weight of glaciers being removed). He showed us pictures of bears carrying salmon along a fairway and of thousands of euchalon (hooligan) stranded by a high tide on one of the greens.

Reached Haines junction just before dark and had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant with Steve and Patti --the upscale Raven was full.
The next day I got up early and drove to Beaver Creek for breakfast at Buckshot Betty's, a shack with a slanting floor and muddy parking lot.  The rest of the town seemed shut down. I asked the waitress if she was Buckshot Betty--she didn't look the part--she said no but Betty was on the phone and I could talk to her if I wanted.  I declined.  All the breakfasts came with a plateful of diced potatoes.  Mine sustained me all the way to Anchorage.  Here are pictures of the van at the Yukon-Alaska border beyond Beaver Creek.



 You can see that I had an extra reason for stopping at this photo opportunity site.  Almost immediately upon crossing into Alaska the scenery becomes spectacular and stays that way all the way home.  The drive from Haines Junction to Anchorage took 14 hours.  But the van is very comfortable and I wasn't especially tired.  When I walked in the door, Donna, like Maya, gave me a warm welcome.

Tualatin--Bellingham 9/1-3

 In Tualatin I picked up the new Sienna (it took 3 trips to Gladstone because on the first day there were no floor mats and on the second they were for a different configuration) got new tires for the Subaru and cleaned it up, and out, and golfed at Island Greens and King City (a place for 55+'s, but everyone I saw seemed 75+).  Most notably though I visited with Maya and Holly and Filip.  Here are two father and daughter stills in which a family resemblance seems apparent. 





serious business




tickle business



As I write I am trying to add some movies, but for now at least the upload is not allowed.  I'll try amending this post later to add them.  (Success--see and hear below).

On the third I drove to Bellingham.  Interstate all the way.  Toward Tacoma it became quite crowded but still fast.  Sometimes I felt like I was in the blue angels with a truck 18 inches off each wing and no particular training.
 Fairhaven is the section of Bellingham where the terminal is located.  It reminds me of Port Townsend both in architecture and tone.  Persuaded by the lovely proprietor at Magdalena's cafe, I tried the cucumber soup.  Dining al fresco, it was delicious.  Here are two pictures of Fairhaven. 

When I drove aboard the Ferry Columbia I was instructed to drive onto a lift that would raise the van to a mezzanine deck and to set the emergency brake.  I complied.  But having been lifted, releasing the brake was necessary.  This was an unfamiliar and difficult experience, especially in the dark of the deck with an attendant yelling.  I groped around on the left under dash and managed to release the hood and the gasoline door.  After an embarrassing delay I repressed the brake and that did the job.  North to Alaska.

Ontario--Tualatin 8/29--9/2

Crossed Oregon on blue highways.  About seven summits.  Here is Brogan Hill summit between Vale and Ironside.   

Stopped to read an historical marker at Unity.  Something about a feud between Baker and Malheur county residents over a ditch taking our water to them.  Took this picture hoping to capture some mountain quail that were in the garden.  The picture seems ok without them.

The east slope of the Blue Mountains out of Unity is nicely forested with big orange-trunked pines.  There is little undergrowth.  Very park like and pretty.  No picture of this.  The next picture looks west from the Blues to the Valley of the John Day River. Here is a pretty little place in Mitchell, in the Ochoco Mts.  They don't take American Express or Visa, but the BLT is generously made.  The shack is across the road.   

Before Mitchell the John Day River flows through a canyon with sheer rock walls.  I proceeded through Prineville, more forest than farm, Sisters, beautiful forest intensely developed, over the Cascades and up the east side of the Willamette Valley.  Passed from Sublimity to near Needy  (no kidding) till it made sense to cut over to Tualatin.  Lovely farmland, and quite a lot of land burning going on as part of seed cultivation, I think.  Creates smoke beyond nuisance levels.  I regret I did not stop for more pictures.  Saw a coyote in a foggy meadow after sunrise near Vale, a rock formation west of Mitchell that looks just like The Thinker  (did Rodin travel the Oregon trail?) old Amish appearing buildings, Yoder's Store, and Gribble's barn and much more that was worth recording.   Called Holly from Freddy's in Canby, and brought a pizza for dinner.  Was greeted by Maya when I walked in the door with a full body three minute smile.   

Ontario OR 8/23-29

Fished and read at the ranch for the last four days.  I decided to learn how to take videos with my still camera.  The enclosed is my try taken from the bridge over the creek.  I'm including it despite its obvious deficiencies, because it shows some of the beauty of the place.  I sometimes can't believe it exists.  This is Ames at the boundary pool.  When he worked his way to the upper end I told him "you are going to catch a big brown right here."  Then a big head rose and sipped in his fly.  I knew because that had happened to me in the same spot on the two times I had fished this pool.  This is a 17 inch brown trout resting in the shallows after being released.I left the ranch yesterday.  At my suggestion Ames changed his point of departure from Butte to Twin Falls, saving about 300 miles. ( I suggested Idaho Falls but something was lost in transmission and both are on the way.) So on the interstate till past Boise when a reasonable blue highway option was available, thence on to Parma,  beets and hay but no cheese,  across the Snake on a low bridge, no canyon here, to Nyssa OR, home of a huge onion packing plant, and up to the farm town of Ontario.  In Parma I passed the Motor Vu Theater, a drive-in theater with current features on its marquis.  I wonder if its the last one standing.  I hope to reach Tualatin today, if I can do so without using the interstate.  Driving"s no fun there and there are interesting alternatives.