15 facts....

Hello Again,

In no particular order:

1. Thunder and lightning are VERY uncommon, but mist (rain) is not.

2. Although Kodiak Island is the second largest island in US (Hawaii is biggest), there are only 100mi of roads & not all of them are paved. Most of them are well-enough maintained that even cars can use them. And it helps that the rental car I found came from a "rent-a-heap" place so it's older. Not really a heap, but I did rent it dirty for a discount. It's Alaska. It rains almost daily. And the roads are dirt. I do not need a washed car. And the radio works, which is much more important in my world :-). Thank goodness the one LIVE radio station is a good rock/pop station. I even stopped in to thank them for good road tunes. And they gave me a couple of off the beaten path suggestions.

3. Population is about 13k - about 6k is US Coast Guard. The base here is huge!

4. Speaking of the radio, while I cannot confirm this, it does seem that Kodiak Bears (Brown Bears about 2x the size of Denali's Brown Bears) like Train's current Top 10 hit....50 Ways To Say Goodbye. Maybe it's good fish hunting music or maybe they like the part about the lion.... I've seen two bears & watched both get a salmon.

5. About the Kodiak Bears: This is how NOT close I've been to them. The bear is shaking off the water after catching a fish.

And THIS is how close I could get if I paid a guide - or had a lucky & safe encounter or was brave or stupid :-). The guide is a local woman & the red-hooded man told me after that he was semi-comfortably close (about a car's length). I know some of you will disagree....but this just cool!

6. Bears and residents seem to co-exist quite well. Bear count is approx. 3,000. Fishermen & hikers see them often. I have yet to meet one on a path... Kodiak doesn't have injuries or deaths from bad encounters around here. That's reassuring, but I still seem to do a lot of talking (yep, out loud) to bears as I walk....just so they know I'm around before I can see them. Walmart is out of bear mace. There's a sow with 3 cubs that I really want to see. Have seen pics & they're just SO cute and cool! So far, they have eluded me...but I know which river/bridge to check.

7. Bear watching is a popular hobby with the locals... There's a pretty regular group of people who drive out each night to look for bears. I already recognize several of them (people, not bears). One of them, a photographer, told me about being attacked by a Bald Eagle. I thought I just had to watch for bears....of course, he was too close to a nest. It attacked him twice because after the first attack (resulting in a bloody scalp) he kept taking photos. Lesson?

8. Kodiak doesn't need tourist dollars & mostly seems not to care one way or another if we're here. They get a couple of cruise ships here from time to time (250-700) passengers usually. Locals tell me they'd just rather not have them because cruise ship lines want to change & control the town. Not going to happen here! I got all this from a local who just assumed I was one too by my attire....I'll take that compliment.

9. Kodiak recently added 3 new wind turbines. Locals are very proud of them. The gravel road to the mountaintop is well-maintained & you can hike or pick berries once you get there. They have a total of 8.

10. Wild berries: I have picked a few just to taste them. Not too many because I want the bears to be FULL when we meet! But I see people gathering berries along the roads and trails everyday.

11. Hitchhiking is very common and safe in Kodiak. When I arrived at 6am I hitched a ride with the ferry terminal guy who (a) first stopped at the closed terminal/visitor office to get me a local map and (b) then drove me to McDonalds. A couple hours later I was offered a ride (didn't ask, wasn't looking) to my rental car...but it was just a block or so away. Basically, if you are walking people often stop & offer rides.

12. Locals are very nice. I met the first local on the ferry (he hopped on ferry the day before we arrived in Kodiak). 12hrs after arrival my phone rang & he gave me a 3hr tour of Kodiak - including an off the beaten path spot where there is a bear skeleton & good photo spots. He and his wife moved here 22yrs ago, but he knows the place & stories so well you'd think they'd never lived anywhere else. Yes, I took a pic of the skeleton but I wasn't sure all of you would want to see it.....

13. Just a glimpse of the white granite said to be the spine of the island.

14. Passing along a tip: do NOT eat at the local Chinese take-out place. They have rats in the back. Furthermore, when a mouse ran across a customer's shoe, the restaurant folks were overheard saying, "Oh, not this again." I'll tell you about the good places to eat another time.

PS about the last ferry stop, Chenega Bay - I learned yesterday that when the ferry comes to town the locals run down to the boat to buy cheeseburgers & fries for dinner from the cafe. I guess that would be a treat if you lived in such an isolated place. Did I tell you milk can be $11/gallon in the most isolated spots?

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