Fish Tales

So I've had quite a bit of time off lately. Its been absolutely beautiful weather so I'm loving it. I had Thursday off, I worked 2 hours yesterday, and I had today off. The only reason that I haven't been working is because we didn't have guests in so there's really not much to clean. On Thursday 8 of us had the day off so we went on a little adventure. I saw my first bear! It was just a little baby blacky but it was still sweet. We stopped at a beach on the low tide and dug clams and mussles. We did have rakes so I was rockin the "Alaska Hands." That basically means that they were very dirty, and all of my nails have broken off. Anyways...we did that for about an hour then went to Kasaan which is an extremely tiny village on the island. They're famous for their totem pole park. I was expecting a big open field with a whole bunch of totems, but it was way cooler than that. You go down this really long trail that winds along the beach (saw some bear scat, little freaky), then out of no where you go around a corner and there's a totem jetting out. It goes like that for quite a while, and then ends at the chief's house on the beach. Inside the house there were three totems and a huge fire pit. The whole place had some strong spiritual energy and it was quite the experience. There aren't many places left in the world where you can go and feel the history and not know a thing about it. I sat down at the beach on a piece of drift wood, looking out at the mountains, it was wonderful. We got some great pictures but they just can't capture everything.

After Kasaan we headed to the town of Thorn Bay. Holy smokes. I'm so glad that I didn't grow up on this Island. Thorn Bay is probably about the size of Kingsley (maybe smaller) with a whole lot less to do. We stopped at the Post Office/Gift Shop/Bakery and got killer milkshakes, it was quite the treat. It did set me back $5, but we don't have ice cream at the lodge so it was worth it. After Thorn Bay we started our treck back to El Cap and stopped along the way to do a little mushroom hunting. One of the guys that we were with knows his Morrels and we found the absolute motherload. The island is covered in clear cut forest patches and apparently that's the best place to find them. I found a patch that was probably bigger than Thorn Bay. We fried them up last night, it was just like home. It was good day.

Yestday I spent the day reading in the sun. I also took the canoe out for a little spin around the bay. I'm having a great time, that is for sure. Its gorgeous again today so I'm going to head outside and do a little more reading/sun bathing. Oh, if you haven't noticed I've added more photos and there are more to come when I get them up. If anyone wants to call me or send me anything I'll leave my address/number. I would love...anything. I'm pretty desperate for pictures or things to spruce up my room. Also a bottle of glycerine would be great because I get SO extremely dirty. You can call anytime. The number is for the crew lounge, so just ask for Caitlin and they'll find me! I love you all, keep it real.

Caitlin Warner
P.O. Box 1174
Craig, AK 99921

206-792-7040