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| Been sitting in Ketchikan forever |
We have been in Ketchikan Alaska almost two years and during that time we have only gone on one real trip. That one trip was to Naha Bay, we went there on the 26th of January, 2014 and stayed five days. Naha is a bay located near Loring on Rivillagigedo Island.There is a trail leading to the Orton ranch ( a camp), lakes , and tidal rapids!
The night before we left we felt a bit sick, my Mom Dad had not told us about the trip yet, since they wanted it to be a surprise. The next morning Mom and Dad did not want to leave at all, they decided to tell us and see if we wanted to go. Dad came up and said, " We decided to go on a trip to Naha Bay today, but since we are not feeling well we are wondering if we should stay here, do you want to go?" Of course we jumped out of bed saying that we were not a bit sick and that we ere definitely going, no question about it.
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| Leaving Ketchikan in fog |
We all dressed in a hurry, then we did the chores, tied things down, and and filled jugs with water ( Naha Bay has no water supply) and when everything was done... We started the engine and untied the lines!!
We could not believe we were actually leaving the dock, we were all jumping and shouting on the deck!!! A log watch was set, one relieving the other at different times, since everything had a thick blanket of fog covering it. After leaving Ketchikan the fog cleared and the sun shone out with warmth. Some of us stayed on deck as log watch reliefs, while the others retired below deck. Mom was in the galley cooking muffins and making coffee and tea, we had breakfast on the go! When ever Dad wanted to go outside or down to the Aft cabin to check the engine, I would relieve him at the helm. It took about five hours to get there, but we enjoyed every minute of it!! Mostly outside, taking pictures and watching the water pass the hull.
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| Nadejda moored at Naha Bay |
We caught sight of Loring around three a clock in the evening, we landed in Naha bay about three thirty. Once we were secure we kept questioning Mom and Dad if we could go to shore and explore!! Mom said wait till tomorrow, Dad said go right ahead! We went as far as the picnicking area, then stopped and played for a bit then left, we wanted to get back before dark. When we got back Dad started the BBQ and made some hamburgers for dinner, and then we had smores for dessert!
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| A creek running under a Bridge |
The next day we had breakfast and went on the trail leading to the Orton Ranch on the other side of the lake. We kids soon were far ahead of Mom and Dad, since they were always stopping to take pictures, and we were way to excited to walk slowly. We walked along the lake, examining the broken and wrecked spots on the boardwalk trail. The trail was mostly board walk, except for some spots where it was gravel or dirt. There were bridges with creeks running underneath, surrounding the trees and creeks was a swampy muck covered in brown water rushes, moss, and here and there some small patches of grass.
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| Swampy forest floor |
When we sighted the ranch we sat down and waited for the others to catch up, because we wanted to go together to explore the ranch. We waited awhile and when they still did not come we went back looking for them, about ten minutes of walking and we found them still meandering along the trail. They asked us how far ahead the ranch was, when we told them they were relieved, because if we had not found the ranch sooner we would have turned back because it would have be dark in a couple hours. When we got there my sisters and brothers, Anna, Katie,Elaine, Michael, and Gabe, went straight for the swings, while we went to the edge of the creek and snapped photos of a Trumpeter swan swimming
near by.The camp's buildings were of teal color, with a sheltered fireplace in the middle, the ground was covered moss and it looked like summer.
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| The Trumpeter Swan |
We sadly did not stay long, it would soon get dark and we had to be back before then. Dad told us kids to go on ahead and that they would stay with the little boys, who were getting tired. We walked back alone, and ran into a father and his two sons from who we were acquainted back in Ketchikan. When we reached the boat we heated water and had something warm to drink, it was awhile till the others returned, so I read to everybody.
When they finally returned they warmed up and then started preparing dinner, while Dad started the BBQ again, Mom had some hot dogs ready to go on as soon as it was the BBQ was warm enough. We had dinner, then we cleaned up, and then we ate a cake that Mom had made earlier. Afterward, we read and drew pictures until bed time.
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| The girls swinging at the Orton Ranch |
The next morning we woke and made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, we ate and cleaned up. Then we girls dressed to go kayaking to an island in the lagoon that we had seen the day before that looked fun to explore. We kayaked over the to the wood railway used to pull boats from the bay to the lagoon, for the creek that led from the lake was very rough. We soon had the kayak in the water again and Anna, Katie, and I were seated inside pushing off from shore.
It took awhile till we ran ashore on the island, and we were a bit fatigued from all the paddling. We securely
tied the kayak and went through the shrubbery and found ourselves inside a tiny wood, under the trees was open and very green. There was a pile of molded boards that somebody had dumped there, they were covered in moss and grass giving evidence the they had been there a long time. We walked on and ran unto bushes and little trees. In the middle of all the shrubs, there was a pretty little tree that long extending arms in every direction, it was covered in moss and had Old Mans Beard hanging on every branch.
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| The island we kayaked too |
We stayed for about a half an hour, then we headed back, we rounded the corner and found Dad and Gabe waiting for us at the wood railway. We waited till the tide ebbed so we could kayak out of the lagoon instead of pulling out along the railway.
Dad had sent Caleb back to the boat to get the depth finder so we could find the depth of the creek, we found that it was at the lowest three feet deep! The funny thing was that we could not see the bottom, and it was clear water!!?
When we reached the dock we tied the kayak to the dock, and went inside to warm and rest. We read, played poker, drew pictures, and helped with the cooking for the rest of the evening. Around four a clock Dad and fired up the BBQ once again and we had chicken cobobs for dinner and smores for dessert!!
The next day the weather was fine and a perfect wind to go back to Ketchikan. So, we decided to go back that day, we stowed everything and pushed off. We made way and when we reached open water we ran the sails up and sailed for awhile. We reached Ketchikan around three a clock in the afternoon, we hooked up the water hose, power cord, and the Internet. Well, that was our adventure to Naha Bay, it was not much but it sure fired us up. Now we are looking for another chance to get away from the dock and have fun on some place a few miles from where Ketchikan lies!
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| Can't get any more Alaskan than this |
