Eyak River
Day One 9/6/08
We drove to Vegas Friday night and flew out Saturday morning. When we got there Gary my dad's cousin met us at the airport and helped us get all of our luggage and coolers to the apartment we were staying at. As we were gathering all of our coolers because we had 14 there were some guys from California kind of making fun of us because we had so many. One of them ask what was in them and we told them that we had made all of our food and froze it to bring with us so we wouldn't have to buy groceries there and they laughed and said what a pain and they were just going to go buy theirs here and we said good luck! The first night we played cards and went to the grocery store to get our fishing liscenses. Can I just tell you that I could not believe the prices of their groceries. Milk was $5 a gallon, a bag of chocolate minature candy bars was $18.15, a twelve pack of pop was $7.35 etc. low and behold we ran into those guys who were just going to do their shopping there and all I have to say is whos laughing now! It is crazy! We decided to leave Stetler at home with grandma and it was a good thing because it rained every day.
Jeremy, Me, Robert & Sharon in front of the boat harbor
I love this picture because it reminds me of the show Deadliest Catch!
Day Two 9/7/08
Christy at the ocean.
The second day we got up and hit the river first thing in the morning. The first spot we were in we were not catching anything so we moved up river and everyone caught one except Robert. I have to say he was a pretty good sport about it. Next we headed to the ocean because it was high tide and the fish are all right there in front of you. Well they don't like to bite. Everyone was fed up except dad and he just kept casting and not catching a thing. So I decided if he was going to keep fishing then I was to. I went down there and after awhile I caught one but dad never did!!
Robert trying but no sucess.
Sharon didn't have alot of patience when it came to fishing!
Dad casting away.
Me and Jeremy in front of the Ocean.
They have the prettiest mountains. There are tons of waterfalls because it rains all the time and there is moss all over the trees.
Day Three 9/8/08
Day three we got up at five thirty thinking that we might have better luck but we didn't and when I say we didn't have good luck it just means usually when they go to Alsksa they catch a fish at least every five cast. We were lucky to ctach one or two a piece all day! We went to the sporting goods store and bought some lures and the guy that owns it told us about this other river called the Alganic. So we headed there to see if we could catch something. No luck there either but it sure was a pretty ride.
This is the end of day three. Ya I caught the most fish but Christy's fish was huge!!
Day Four 9/9/08
This is the only picture I got on day four because it rained so much that you couldn't take your camera on the boat. Once again I caught the most fish. They were so heavy that my dad had to help me hold them up! Notice Jeremy has been Skunky for two days now, no fish for him!!
Day Five 9/10/08
This is a thirty pound salmon that I caught on day five. Rod helped me reel it in beacuse I had already lost two fish because the river was so high that we didn't have a beach to drag the up on.
Jeremy finally made it in a picture! I have to tease him but he was always helping everyone when they had snags, broken lines and anything else you can think of!
Day Six 9/11/08
This is Jeremy standing in bear country!
Today we did some sight seeing. We decided to take a three mile hike to Saddlebag Glacier. During our hike we ate lots of blue berries, raspberries and then there was this berry that nobody knew what it was. Well nobody ate one except Jeremy and after our hike we saw a sign that had a picture of the berries and said "Don't eat six could be fatal." It's a good thing he only ate one!
Rod, Robert and Jeremy standing on the other side of the river half way to the glacier.
We found this tree that had split so boys being boys they had to climb it!
Finally Saddlebag Glacier. On our hike back to the van we were feeling very blessed that we had not encountered a bear. Well me, Jeremy, Sharon and Robert were walking along talking and all of the sudden we heard this big crash in the trees and it was a bear. We immediatley got all together and I took a mad dash towards Rod, Christy and my dad who were behind us to tell them that there was a bear in the trees. At first I think they thought I was pulling their leg but then they realized how scared I was because all week everyone teased me that I was the slowest and would get eaten first. Anyways we all got together and of course I am scared out of my wits and the next thing I know all the men are looking for this bear. Hello I think they had a death wish. They didn't end up finding it again but we found alot more scat which is bear poop on the trail back.
Me and Jeremy in front of Saddlebag Glacier
Bald Eagles are everywhere in Alaska so I had to take picture but it turned out a little dark.
The Million Dollar Bridge at Childs Glacier.
Us in front of Childs Glacier.
As we were walking to van to drive up closer to the glacier we heard a huge crash. The glacier started calving while we were there and we were lucky enough to get it on video. Jeremy has been here three times and never seen it calve so it was pretty cool. It made some really big waves and it sure was cold!
Jeremy in front of Childs Glacier!
On the way back we saw these swans swimming on a pond. They looked so pretty.
Day Seven 9/12/08
Rod and Jeremy filleting fish.
Rain rain and more rain. The water was so high that river was fast and muddy which made for soaking wet people every day and tough fishing.
Rod and dad are the only ones who caught a fish today. After we left the river tonight we were mad so Jeremy went and bought a huge snagging hook and thay were off to the ocean to get some fish. Lets just say as quick as they got out of the van they got back in!
Day Eight 9/13/08
This was our last day of fishing. We went to the ocean at low tide and dad, Jeremy and Robert were trying to snag some fish because just over this fall there are alot of fish just sitting in the current, while the rest of us were fishing at the pond on the opposite side of the street. Jeremy gave up and came and sat in the van. Dad and Robert stayed and were having no luck. Up walks these to kids probably eight or nine and one was on crutches. Their first and second try those little buggers snagged a fish. You can image how mad Robert and dad were!
Later that night at the second low tide me, dad and Jeremy decided to go give it a try again, after all it was our last day. I kept telling them to just net them even though you are not supose to but they wouldn't. So they both snagged a few but I was getting really sick of watching those stupid fish swim at my feet so I grabbed the net and my first try I got one. The look on dad and
Jeremy's faces was priceless! Jeremy netted a couple and we ended up getting our limit and heading home with smiles on our faces and memories we will never forget!
These are sea otters just swimming on there backs. We saw alot of these and Robert would always name them Howard. It was pretty funny!
Day Nine 9/14/08
We took a drive around Eyak Lake before we had to catch our flight.
This is one of the many waterfalls.
These are the famous berries Jeremy ate! They sure look like you could eat them!
The airport. It is so tiny and they even have a little security check point in there that I thought was pretty funny! All in all we had a blast and really enjoyed each other. Thanks so much Dad for taking all of us. We have so many memories that I will never forget! Also Thanks mom for watching our kids we love so much and Ronda and Saedi for the day she had to work we appreciate your great friendship!
