Meyers Chuck, Alaska

Hi Everyone,
We have been out of touch for a couple of weeks. Alaska has been beautiful and we've seen lots of wildlife. This morning we left and headed back to Canada, arriving back in Prince Rupert just a few
minutes ago. As soon as we crossed the border it was sunshining and much warmer. We will take our time coming south and do some fishing. The fish should been here by now. Hope everything is OK with everyone. Almost forgot, the two girls we met that were taking their kayaks to Alaska, we saw them again yesterday. They came aboard and we fixed them some pizza. They are still headed north. Regards, Russ, Pat, Maddie

Misty Fiords National Monument, Alaska

Hi everyone;
This has been a really amazing week. We left Ketchikan on Tuesday of last week a cruised up Behm Canal which goes all the way around Revillagigedo Island,which is the island that Ketchikan is located on. The first night we stopped at Neets Bay and spent two days there. We saw a black bear on the beach one night. On the morning we left we saw two killer whales up real close. Our next stop was Fitzgibbon Cove where we went fishing and I caught a halibut of about 30 pounds. We also saw a black bear here. From there we pulled into a bay where the Chickamin River dumps in and saw a mother grizzly and two cubs. We could not get very close because of the shallow water so was not able to get any pictures. That night we stayed at Rudyerd Bay at a place called Punchbowl Cove. Never before have we seen scenery like this. The cliffs go straight up 3000 feet with water falls everywhere. While eating lunch the second day,one of the rocks on the beach moved. It turned out to be a grizzly. We watched him about an hour and he got fairly close to us. What a treat. Tonight we are back in Ketchikan to pick up some mail and get more supplies. Tomorrow we will head out to Wrangle,taking about a week to get there. It has rained the past two days but tonight the sun came out.
The salmon fishing still has not started around here yet, about 3-4 weeks away. So we've had to settle for crab, shrimp, and halibut. What a drag!
I probably won't have Internet or phone service for another week. Will leave here tomorrow,mid-morning if anyone need to call us. Hope all is well at home. Russ, Pat, Maddie

We're in Alaska !!!

Yesterday we entered Alaska waters,and tonight we are tied up in Ketchihan at one of the marinas. This is a very busy place. There were four big cruise ships here today and there are float planes coming and going all day every few minutes. Lots of commerical fish boats tied up in here too. Clearing customs was a breeze.
Tomorrow we will head out but stay fairly close to Ketchikan as my mother is going o send us some mail so we will come back in about 10 days to pick it up. We have not seen any mail since we left in April. I bought some more bottom fishing tackle today and we will need to get Alaska fishing license's also. The salmon are just starting to show up here. Alaska does not go on daylight savings time and its now 10:45pm your time and it's still not dark out. They average 17:49 hours of daylight here this time of the year. See you guys, Russ, Pat, Maddie

Get out of the " BIG GUYS " way!!!!!!!!

'We passed this BC Ferry today as we were heading north. This is why we have our radar on all the time because you never know what might sneak up behind you. This actually is kinda small compared to the cruise ships that travel these waters.
Today we are in Prince Rupert,about as far north as you can get without actually being in Alaska. Sorry I haven't posted anything for a few days but we have really been out in the boon docks. Saw several more black bears,one in the harbor we stayed in last night. Once again there are three other boats here we have spent time with at some other place in the past few weeks.
We can't believe how nice the weather has been. Two nights ago it was 85 in the boat at 7:30pm. We are seeing some really awesome scenery. The channels are sometimes very narrow and the sides go straight up 3000 feet, and the water is 1700 feet deep. We traveled one and half days without seeing another boat.
Most of the boats here tonight will be going to Alaska in the next few days. This is kind of the jumping off place. Monday morning if the weather report is good, we will head out too. The first day we will go to a place called Foggy Bay, then on to Ketchikan the following day to clear customs back into the USA. This is the last of the open water crossing we have going north. Of course we will need to cross them all again coming back. Keep in touch you guys. Just click on post a comment at the end of these and say hi! Hope everyone is well, Russ, Pat, Maddie

Ocean Falls

Ocean Falls, at the head of Cousins Inlet, is pretty much a gost town. Until it closed a quarter century ago, the Crown Zellerback mill was the

second largest mill on the coast. Today there is a fish farm where they raise salmon smolts for the many fish farms we have seen on this trip, a few business's left, a dam that supplies power to Bella Bella and Shearwater, and a small marina. But as dreary as that sounds, it's really pretty here. The mountins go straight up from the water, there are crab, shrimp, and fish to catch, and the sun is out today and it must have been close to 75 here today. There is power on the dock and the water is very good, which is not the case at alot of the places we've been. Reguards from the Aye Aye Sir!

Are we still in Canada?

Yes,this picture may look like something in the South Pacific ,but it really is Canada. These beaches were created over thousands of years by the Indians that lived in these waters. Clams and other shellfish were a major part of there diet,and they would just throw the shells on the beach. Over the years they would break up into small pieces and create these neat shell beaches. Some of them have been found to be over ten feet deep and more. We have seen alot of them up here. They are called a shell midden. So when we see one we know that the Indians used that beach as a camp. So much for the history lesson.
Tonight we are tied up to the dock at a place called Shearwater Marine Resort, still heading north. We have been out of internet and phone reception for several days. We crossed Queen Charlotte Strait on Wednesday,the 27th. Had a good crossing. No wind,just a low westerly swell coming in from the Pacific. Those swells probably came all the way from Japan. After crossing we spent the night in Fury Cove,where this picture was taken. The next morning we went to Green Point Cove,located in Fish Egg Inlet. The next night we stayed at Codville Lagoon. We are still seeing the same boats as we go along. Tonight there are five other boats at this dock that we have spent the night with at some other place in the past few weeks. Most are American boats,but a few Canadian too.
Yesterday was my birthday so Pat made a cake and we invited the folks from the three other boats in the cove over for cake and ice cream.
The weather has been good for the most part except for yesterday it rained hard. We had our first fog this morning but it burned off early and the sun has been out all day. The forcast is for fourty mile per hour winds tomorrow so we might just stay here for a few days. The Eagles are getting bolder too. Today they were throwing herring out on the dock and they would come down and pick it up. Hope everyone is well, Russ,Pat,Maddie

Port Hardy Eagles

This morning we are tied to the dock at Port Hardy,on the north end of Vancouver Island. We have been out of range of Internet service for several days. As I look out the windows,is make no difference which direction I look,I can see a eagle. They are just everywhere. There is a large fleet of commercial fishing vessels here and a river that empties into the bay so I guess that is why they are all here. We can't let the dog off the leash here.
This is the jumping off port for Queen Charlotte Strait. There are several boats here waiting for a good weather report. Today is not to bad but tomorrow is suppose to be better. It will be about 40 miles to the other side of the Strait,so about a five hour trip for our slow boat. After this we are back in protected waters until we cross over into Alaska.
We have been this far once before back in about 1980 but don't remember much.Everything looks different. Have not been shrimp fishing again but did catch a nice batch of crabs. Still have not been fishing. The weather keeps getting colder the further north we get and the days are much longer. Even here you could read a book outdoors at 10 o'clock at night. I guess it stays light really late up in Alaska.
That's about it for now. I will post the locations we have been the past few days on our google maps. Please feel free to respond to any of these posts. Would love to here from you guys.
Until later, Russ,Pat,Maddie