I was just thinking the other day about a friend of mine who was fishing for salmon. He had caught a couple silver salmon from the shore and had put a rope through their gills tied the end to a log and left them in the shallows. Much to his surprise a halibut had swam up grabbed hold of one of the fish and was attempting to pull it into a deeper section. My friend actually grabbed the 50lb fish and pulled it up on to the shore. It must be some sort of record for the largest halibut caught without fishing gear.

Southeast Alaska – Petersburg

Petersburg Alaska was founded by Norwegian fisherman more than 100 years ago. Petersburg known as “Alaska’s Little Norway,” is a town of approximately 3200 residents. It is located on the tip of Mitkof Island on Frederick Sound. The town’s income comes primarily from seafood. Petersburg has a strong Norwegian heritage and visitors will appreciate it’s off the beaten path atmosphere. The local residents celebrate Norwegian Independence Day each year in mid- May. Petersburg is not a large cruise ship destination (some smaller cruise ships include Petersburg as a port of call), air flights are available via Alaska Airlines. Popular activities include whale watching, fishing, hiking, and viewing of several species of wildlife. Lodging is available at local motels and bed and breakfasts.

Southeast Alaska – Craig

Craig Alaska is one of my favorite small towns in Southeast Alaska. Craig, a town of approximately 1400, is situated on a small island connected to Prince of Wales Island by a small raised road. The town is in a beautiful setting, there are panoramic views of the ocean from most of the island. The primary industry is logging and fishing. The town’s history goes back to 1907 when a fish saltery was built in the vicinity. Access to Craig is either by Ferry through nearby Hollis via Ketchikan (Hollis is approximately 30 miles from Craig), or by plane. I flew by float plane from Ketchikan one summer’s day and the trip was incredible and is one of my favorite memories. I’m not certain of the lodging options in Craig but I have stayed at Ruth Ann’s Hotel and although it’s not a 4 star Hotel I found the Hotel and staff accommodating. I believe there are a few small B&B’s in Craig as well. Sport fishing charters are a popular choice among visitors

Southeast Alaska – Ketchikan

Ketchikan, Alaska a beautiful city that has a charming mix of the old and new began as a small salmon cannery in 1884 and was incorporated in 1900. Its current population is an estimated 14,500. The primary source of industry has recently changed from wood products to tourism. The city averages 162 inches of precipitation annually (that’s 13.5 feet.) Ketchikan claims the title of the salmon capital of the world and as such is an attractive destination for fisherman. Ketchikan’s airport is located on Garvina Island and requires a quick ferry ride across the Tongass Narrows to access the city. When departing on an Alaskan cruise from ports in Washington or Canada or the Alaskan Marine Highways Ferry out of Bellingham, Ketchikan is usually the first stop. Must-do’s in Ketchikan include a visit to the old “red light” district on Creek Street, a trip to Totem Heritage Center to view the world’s largest collection of totem poles, and a tour of the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center which is located at 50 main Street.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/discoverycenter/index.html

Single Men in Alaska

I thought it might be interesting to provide some statistical data on single men in Alaska since the common belief is that Alaska is ripe for the picking of future husbands. According to the 2002 census, Alaska has a population of approximately 640,000 people. These people are spread over a landmass of 570,374 square miles giving it a population density of 1 person per .89 miles. Alaska is the largest state in the US by area and 47th by population (only North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming are less populated.) According to the 2000 census the population under the age of 24 equates to 248,009 or approximately 38%. The population over 65 equates to 35,669 or approximately 5%. This leaves us with approximately 364,800 people between the ages of 24 and 65. The 2000 census stated that 43% of adults are married in Alaska. Which would lead us to believe there are roughly 207,000 single people between the ages of 24 and 65 in Alaska. According to the US Census there are 114 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women in Alaska. If we apply this ratio we can conclude that there are slightly more than 110,000 single men between the ages of 24 and 65 living in Alaska. Of course there are 97,000 single women between the same ages living there as well. So, there is roughly a male to female surplus of 13,000 or in terms of geography about 1 extra man every 43 square miles.

Maybe in a future blog I’ll take the opportunity to discuss the real selling point for Alaskans in general… character.

Global Warming and Alaska Glacial Retreat

For those of you who have been wondering if global warming is fact or fiction it appears to be fact when you observe the details. Alaskan Glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate. The Mendenhall Glacier named after Thomas Corwin Mendenhall a superintendent to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in the late 1800’s; the most visited glacier in Alaska is retreating at an alarming rate. A glacier begins to retreat when the melt rate exceeds the rate of snow accumulation. It's estimated that the Mendenhall Glacier began retreating in the mid 1700's and has retreated 2.5 miles since. Although the glacier as a whole is now retreating between 100 to 150 feet per year it was reported to have lost over 600 feet on it's east side in 2004 and over 260 ft on it's west side in 2005. This is but one example related to Alaskan Glacial retreat. Apparently the rate of glacial retreat is increasing in essentially every Alaskan glacier (the exception being the Taku Glacier which is actually advancing.) It's unknown how many glaciers exist in Alaska, we know that over 600 have been named but there are several that remain unnamed.

Gardening In Southeast Alaska

After viewing the pictures of Alaska's extreme weather most people might assume that Alaskans would have an extremely limited variety of plants that can grow in a perennial garden. Southeast Alaska is a rainforest with some locations exceeding 120 inches of precipitation a year. There are several amazing gardens and many dedicated gardeners in Alaska. The visitor can see incredible collections of primroses, hostas, roses, rock garden plants and even bamboo. There are active clubs consisting of people who love to garden, many have a lifetime of experience. In Juneau dedicated members from the local primrose club took a trip to China to collect new samples to plant in their gardens. There are commercial gardens as well. When visiting Southeast Alaska, it would be to your benefit to arrange a tour of some of these gardens. I would highly recommend "Glacier Gardens." www.glaciergardens.com