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

I apologize that its been so long since I've written anything. The first few days have been pretty long work days...but I'm still loving it! By the time I'm done with my daily tasks, I'm pretty wiped out. I'm working split shifts where I work from about 8-12pm cleaning rooms and the bar, then I work from about 6-8pm in the Kitchen cleaning dishes. I'm getting into my rythm with the cleaning thing. I'm working up some mean bed making skills. Even though I'm washing dishes, I like working in the kitchen because then I get to eat what the guests are eating (prime rib, stuffed chicken breasts, SALAD). You know, I was never much of a hound about eating my fruits and veggies, but when you they're not available, you REALLY long for them. One of the girls went into town yesterday and she bought 4 apples for $5. I couldn't believe it. The food here is WAY better than I expected it to be. I've now had fresh salmon twice since I've been here and its incredible! Everyone just knows what they're doing when they make it and its been amazing both times. I also had homemade salmon pate yesterday and that was equally amazing. A couple of lodge assistants go out to pull shrip pots every few days, so we get those a lot too. I'm going to be a sea food snob by the time I get home. I'm worried that I'm going to eat too much when I'm up here, but NONE of the roads are flat so I'm constantly hiking up and down hills. Its been a pretty good workout.

The weather is pretty much just cold. Its not as bad a Michigan winters. I'd say more like October/November. It rains close to everyday. But its not downpour rain. They call it the Seattle rain where it just mists all the time. A lot of the machinery (like our time clock) breaks down because of all the moisture in the air. Apparently it gets warmer and the bugs get a lot worse. I haven't even seen a mosquito yet. Just a lot of really creepy looking spiders.

Lets see what else...paper money is pretty much useless up here unless some one is going to town. The currency is basically dealt in cigarettes and drinks at the bar. I sat and threw rocks for a while after I got done with work today. We've become pretty good at making up games, like throwing rocks at things for points. I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore. Plus, a couple of days ago they found bear scat near by, so there's that to worry about. I did go down to the docks yesterday to watch the fish cleaners. The fish here are HUGE. A couple of the guys have said that they would teach me how to fly fish, which is very exciting! I get tomorrow and Friday off so I'll finally have a chance to adventure. I love it here. The people I'm working with are great and we're already becoming a little family. I love it.