Beautiful Island

The day was overcast and about 55. In spite of the dull skies, our eyes were illuminated by the beauty of the island.

This morning, I had to do a bit of research regarding Kodiak Island. As I said yesterday, I knew the Island was big but I didn’t realize it was this big. Kodiak is the second largest island in the US, second to the big island of Hawaii. It is almost 100 miles long and 10 miles wide at it’s narrowest and 60 miles wide at it’s widest. It is just about 3600 square miles. About 6000 people reside in Kodiak City, whereas the population of the entire Island is 14,000. 

One thing I have not stopped to think about; everything that is needed on the island arrives by ship. Food, clothing, cars, furniture, etc.; everything arrives by water. As a result, the Port of Kodiak is a busy one and we saw shipping containers everywhere. Kodiak has the largest crane in Alaska.

There is an island very near Kodiak Island; oddly enough, it is called Near Island and is connected via a bridge. Near Island is still part of Kodiak City. In spite of overcast skies, we still thoroughly enjoyed all of the views.

We rented a car here on the island in order to explore a bit. We did a drive to Fossil Beach which is about a 40 mile drive from our motel. The drive was full of hills and turns with wonderful vistas.

Kodiak has two marinas; St. Paul Harbor:

And St. Herman.

As we were driving to Fossil Beach, we were stopped by a herd of Bison. We were surprised to see them but they paid us no attention at all.

We saw an abundance of Bald Eagles today.

On the way back from Fossil Beach we saw a sign warning of cows on the road and sure enough, there they were along with horses. We were surprised but pleased to see horses and cows able to roam free near the farm to which they belonged.

One thing that amazed us today; I inquired as to where I could find Kodiak's best King Crab, knowing that it had to be the freshest I have ever had, after all, it is caught right off the shores of the island. I was told that the King Crab here is the exact King Crab in the lower 48. Yes, the crab is caught here but it is immediately flown out. The restaurants here on the island get it from the same source as the lower 48. Just to be certain, I inquired about the salmon and learned that the fresh caught salmon, halibut and trout are also shipped out. Salmon is also ordered from the same source as where the lower 48 orders theirs. The only difference, locally they charge a premium due to it being "locally caught". Yes, locally caught, shipped out and then shipped back. I did have some great seafood and fortunately, I avoided falling for an expensive scam.

And so, sadly, we have reached the furthest point from home and tomorrow, we begin the trek back home. It’s not that we don’t want to go home, but this has been such an incredible adventure. On the way home, we will indeed see things that we haven’t seen and will continue to post as our internet permits. We will begin driving more miles in a day than we have until this point. Facing today, we realize our trip is nearly over. We are into our ninth week; we end after completing ten weeks. This has indeed been a trip of a lifetime.

Till Tomorrow!