My New Fishing Rod! - by Gabe

I caught one!

A Sculpin!

For my birthday I got a new fishing rod! I was really excited! I like to go out on the dock and fish off the side. My brother, Michael, got a fishing rod too! He and I like to go fishing together! Once I caught a Kelp Greenling, and another time I  caught a flounder!

We went on a trip to Carol Inlet, we went fishing there, and we caught two Rock Fish! We ate them for dinner! After that we went out in our skiff to fish, we weren't very lucky, we did not catch anything. We went back to the boat before night time. I put my fishing rod away above my bed, where I keep it with Michael's fishing rod!

My Kelp Greenling!

Sailboat Racing in Ketchikan - by Adelaide

The sailboat milling about before the start (we are the sailboat on the right).

Each year the Ketchikan Yacht Club has a racing program through the summer, Anna, Katie, and I signed up for the program. Katie and I crewed together on Camai a Nauticat 35, while Anna on the Sedna a Cal 36.

Our first sail.

 There was a darling little 18' Cape Dory Typhoon in Bar Harbour that was sad looking, we wanted to clean her up and maybe sail her for the summer in exchange for cleaning her. We called the owner and he was really glad we wanted to sail her (since he did not have the time), we pulled out our buckets, scrub brushes, soap, and the hose and started washing her, and when we were done we could barely believe it was the same boat! The owner replaced the halyards and brought down new sails and sheets! We had a lot of fun putting on the sails and and figuring on which head sail to put on, then we took her out into the Narrows, we had so much fun! So, that is how we came by our own little sailboat to race! We went out a few times every week, and took her around the courses, to get familiar with her and know what she could do.

Making way in our first race!

 Well, our first race came up, we headed down to the Sweet Charlotte early to take off the sail covers, get the sheets straight, and untie any unnecessary lines, after everything was ready we waited for the Skipper (our Dad). Once he arrived we hauled up the main sail up and sailed out of the harbour, once we were clear of the break water we put up the head sail, then we would head for the starting line and wait for the race to start. There was a south wind, which meant we were going to do the second course, the race always starts into the wind, we preferred the north wind; south was to variable. Everything started well, but the wind died before we finished the race and had to paddle back to the marina
(Sweet Charlotte did not have a engine). Sweet Charlotte was small and was not hard to paddle, we made it back the dock and put her away, then hopped the bus down to the Yacht Club for the potluck. There is a potluck after the races where you can talk about how well (or poorly) you did on the races, or chastise each other when you stole their wind or something of the sort!

Our next race was more successful, we had a north wind, the sun was out, a beautiful day! We came in third, which is really good for a sailboat her size! We were all really proud of our little racer, we all said she was the sweetest sailboat we had every sailed!

After the last race of the summer, a big cake was made and had all of the sailboats that had raced had their name written on the top, and we celebrated a successful summer, no one had any accidents! Now we are all looking forward to this summer's Ketchikan Yacht Club's Annual Sailboat Races!

The Cake!

Sailboat Craft - By Adelaide

The thing needed to begin my sailboat craft 

Last night my little brothers, Michael and Gabriel, were making little boats out of tin foil. I wanted to try my hand at making one too... but a little different. I picked up a piece of foil and started shaping a hull, stuffing the hollow middle tightly with left over foil to make it solid. I then trimmed bamboo skewer sticks in half running the sharp end into the deck, along with some glue to make it firm. Finally I cut some fabric for the sail, hemming the edges and then tying it to the two masts. It turned out to be a miniature of the Nadejda!

my finished sailboat     

Pictures - by Adelaide

Seagull flying  

I received a camera for my birthday yesterday! We went on a walk earlier today and I saw some cloud formations I had to get, I went to the water and started taking  pictures of the birds and the clouds. Here are few of the results...

A old raven

A couple of seagulls      

A cloud formation

The old raven

Another cloud formation  

Crab in a Clam - by Elaine

A Crab in a Clam shell

After we moored at a dock in Carroll Inlet, we went ashore and explored. I found some crabs under rocks and took them home, and made them some homes inside clam shells. Me and Michael played with them with and let them go afterward, but one ran away before we could let him go. Michael found him the next morning still alive, so, we let him go then. Before we let him go Mom took his picture, we think he looked his best, don't you?!

Naha Bay- by Adelaide

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Can't get any more Alaskan than this 

Doll dress-by Katie

Katie and Annika with doll dress.

Last week my mom and I made a  doll dress for my sister Annika as a surprise. My mom accidentally sewed the lace on the wrong side of the dress; but when I went to take out the stitches I ended up tearing the fabric. After my mom repaired the rip you couldn't even see it anymore;  but when my mom was sewing Annika saw the dress and ruined the surprise. I told Annika that she could still have the dress even if she saw it, so I gave her the dress but told her to never peek at another surprise.  The dress was blue with white and it had lace on the bottom I made the blue part from my older sister's old skirt and I used  gold thread to do the lines on the ribbons the ribbons go to the back so you could tie it off!





    

Just a funny shot.

                                 

Making Almond Toffee By Annika

My first batch of Toffee!

On Sunday night my Mom said I could make a batch of candy. I pulled out my candy making book and I flipped through it to find a recipe. We had all the ingredients for almond toffee.

We began by reading the recipe out loud. Next we toasted almonds and while they were in the oven I started gathering the rest of the ingredients. When the almonds were done I chopped half of them into small pieces and put them aside. My brother Caleb asked if he could chop up the rest of the almonds while I read the recipe again, to make sure that I was following the directions.

Yummy!!

The next step was to melt butter in the special pot that mom bought with her birthday money. When it melted
I added in the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Then I stirred it until the temperature was 240 degrees on the thermometer. I dumped one of the bowls of chopped nuts in. It cooled it way down and separated the butter from the sugar. I continued stirring but after awhile Mom said it was wrong because it wasn't suppose to still be separated. Mom read the beginning of the book to see what to do. We had to quickly put hot water in it and stir, it started to thicken again.

Now all we had to do was wait for the temperature to reach 295 degrees. When it came to the correct temperature I poured it on a cookie sheet to cool. After it was set enough I put chocolate chips on top to melt and then spread over. I took the other bowl of almonds and sprinkled half of them on the top of the chocolate. We do not have a refrigerator so I put it outside to harden. I even had to put a umbrella over it as it was sprinkling. While it was out there I was inside melting more chocolate chips for the other side of the toffee.

After making sure that it was hard, Mom flipped the toffee over so I could spread on the melted chocolate. I put it back out until everyone had finished dinner. My little brother Michael did not want to finish so it took forever until we could eat it. It was really good!

One afternoon walk- by Adelaide

My enchanting vista!

Ketchikan is very wet, I did not know the meaning of wet until I had been through  winter here. The rain is usually accompanied by a fierce wind and it slant sideways so it is blowing in your face, a storm can last up to four days; so, we do not get out that much. South East Alaska gets about 20 feet of rain a year, where we used to live we only had about 15 inches, quite a difference. A few days ago there was a break in the rain and we decided we were going to go for a walk. We did not exactly know where we were going or what we were going to do, we just had to get out for some exercise.

While the others were getting ready I wanted to get some pictures from up high,

Seagulls in the sunshine.

since it was a beautiful day, I climbed up to the top of the mast; it has the most enchanting vista from there! I  got out my camera, I snapped a few shots. Then I heard Dad down on the deck calling, "Let's go!" I quickly put my camera away and climbed down as fast as I could. When I got to the first spreader I yelled to the others, "Wait for me!" I moved down the rest of ladder and jumped off the boat to run down the dock after everybody else! We walked down the dock towards the Plaza, snapping photos along the way.

Annika sketching

We soon found ourselves wandering along the breakwater, with seagulls and ravens flying around us, the sun gently peeping out from behind the clouded sky. There was a strong breeze snipping at our noses and ears, we laughed and scrambled along the tops of the boulders! Anna sat and drew by an old forgotten restaurant, sketching a town that had formed in her mind.

Elaine hunting treasure

Elaine was down and about the water's edge, looking for washed up treasures that might be found on rocks. She did find a car seat and some garbage. Dad had a camera set up and was taking pictures of the sunset
and birds that flew by.  I also had my little camera on, waiting for a bird to fly by into the sunset. Mom was trying to put on more layers to keep warm, which I can not understand as it was fairly warm. Caleb got restless and went on off to the Plaza to get a cookie at the bakery. Michael and Gabriel were throwing rocks in the water, seeing who could throw the farthest; Katie soon joined them. After awhile we started moving on. Mom suddenly saw a eagle perched up on top of a lamp post. Dad got out

The "Boys" throwing rocks.

his camera and took a picture, then saw a better spot so he moved and was just about to take the picture when the bird up and flew away! After it was gone we saw Caleb, his camera held up right below the lamp, I think he scared it away. Well, I guess we will try again another time. We went into the Plaza and walked upstairs to look at all the fifty percent off toys and clothes outside Silly Munchkins. When we finally left we went to see if the bus had come by or not so we could go up to the Library.

The eagle on it's perch.

That idea was ended when Mom bribed everyone: if we did not go to the Library we would go home and make Hot Chocolate! Mom won! I still wanted to go to the Library, so did Dad and he thought about going back to get the car. I knew by that time the sun would be down, so we went and got some milk instead. While Dad shopped Mom and I talked to our friend Lulu( a florist at Safeway), we checked out and then went home! We made a delicious pot of cocoa, we sat around the table drinking from a steaming mug, and talked. Well for me that was a perfect day, I had just hoped we would have another! And we have!!!.

Highland Dancing By: Annika

Dancing at the Pub

We started learning Highland dancing last year in January. Mom put us in the class because it was free and mom's great grandma was Scots. Highland Dancing is a Scottish ballet, the dance we are learning is called the Highland fling. There is more than one dance of Highland dancing one of them is called the Sword dance which one of the boys in our class is learning.

We go practice every Monday evening at the Episcopal church.  Our teacher's name is Mrs. Jane, she works at a clinic close by and she teaches us after work. On St Patrick's day we were in the town parade as the Highland dancers. We then went to O’Brien's pub to perform the Highland Fling. We were also in the Fourth of July parade and after the parade we went to a pioneer home and performed for the people there. On November 30th we will be preforming at the St John's church for St Andrew's day; we are looking forward  to it. My sister, who is twelve, knows the Highland fling the best right now; so she is teaching the younger kid's including me. After the St Andrew's day show we have a holiday break and wont start again for a month. We are hoping to keep doing the Highland dancing until we head south next summer.

Rainbird Trail - By Adelaide

Ketchikan recently built a new City Library above town in a area called Bear Valley. The library used to share a building with the Tongass Historical Museum and both were running out of space, and as the Museum was a tourist attraction the library was moved to it's new location. After the move we had to find a new way up there, because the bus only ran up to Bear Valley once an hour; so we did not visit the Library as often.

The By-Pass

We found the shortest way to walk to the library was to use the 3rd Ave. bypass.
The bypass was built in 2002 to make a second route for traffic to get from the north end of town to down-town. It starts right above the marina and ends in Bear Valley where the library is now located. Walking the bypass was quicker then waiting for the bus, so on nice days we would take the bypass for the fresh air and exercise. We had walked the bypass a couple of times and had noticed two staircases about a quarter mile apart, going up the rock cliff and disappearing into the trees. We wondered where they lead, but did not take the time to investigate. So, on a nice wonderfully warm sunny day our curiosity got the best of us; we gathered water bottles and snacks and we started out.


When we finally got to the stairs we discovered they led to the Rain Bird trail. The sun was bright and high when we started up the steps; when we reached the top of the stairs we turned and looked out across the Tongass Narrows. We did not realize at the time it was just a prelude of things to come. We climbed straight up for the first ten to fifteen minutes, taking short rests when we were winded. The path we were on opened suddenly on the Rain Bird trail which meandered along the hill side. We turned south and started noticing green ferns and ice cold crystal clear creeks. A slight breeze whispered through the trees as we walked; the heavenly smell of pine trees and a sweet smell from the sun when it warms the moist ground. Our ears were filled with the sounds of water falling down the rocks below and the wind rustling the leaves above.  

Our world became one of hopping over creeks and running down stone steps as if we were on an ancient forgotten road. Climbing over and under fallen trees and always wondering what lay around the next bend or over the next rise. We broke from the forest quite suddenly and found ourselves atop a cliff looking down at the town below. A wood fence stretched along the cliff top adding to the beauty of the Tongass Narrows, Ketchikan, and the islands below. It was so breathtaking; there were boats out on the water heading or returning from sea empty or laden down with fish, Cruise Ships were leaving and docking, and the islands were rising and falling in hills and mountains. You could see pretty much everything there was to see all in one glance!


We really did not want to leave the Rain-bird trail, as we descended the stairs we made a decision right there and then that we would return as often as possible, and we have. The Rain-bird trail is a place to think and get your mind settled, a magical place where fairy tales seem true.


Editor: Dad

The Last Frontier - by Adelaide

THE LAST FRONTIER

four seasons and the night

Spring chases winter away

   All the animals, “thank you”, they say
Everything starts to dry

  The birds return to lay their eggs and fly

In the summer the sun is warm

   The mosquitoes fly about in a swarm

The water & grass are deep and green

   The woods are beautiful and serene

In the fall the leaves turn orange and red

   All the animals get ready for bed

The flowers send their seeds to hide

   Safe from winter in a hillside

In winter it rains and such

   It really does not snow much

The water is crystal clear

   The cold hits you in gusts sharp with fear

When the moon shines bright

   It makes the sky pale gray in the night

Then suddenly appears a glow of green and white

   Brighter and brighter it becomes, it is known as the northern lights

I know this because I sleep on the deck of a boat

   With the moon,stars,and northern lights draped over me like a cloak

There are animals such as bears and deer

   This beautiful country covered in green and blue is known as the Last Frontier

Overlooking Tongass Narrows - by Adelaide

The Puddle Ducks of Bar Harbor - by Annika

The drake & his girls looking for food - by Caleb

My favorite animal is a duck. In the marina here there are three mallard ducks. There are two girls and a drake, we call them the puddle ducks. It is funny that the boy has two girls instead of one. I am wondering if they are going to have babies this year. The two girls have disappeared and we have only seen the one. Daddy thinks that they are nesting. If they are it is going to be fun watching them swimming and growing up.

A duck is my favorite animal because they are pretty and their ducklings are cute. Before we moved on the boat we had ducks, mine was a black one. Since we live on a boat I can't have one, instead my mom got me a giant stuffed mallard I use for a pillow, it is very comfortable

The Rain Boot Walk - by Elaine

Our friends & us with rain boots!

It was a sunny, hot day in May. Almost everyone was wearing rain boots. We were there to get into the world record book. We had to put on bracelets to get in the walk. There was one person there wearing a bird suit. We had to walk one kilometer to the end. At the end they took off the bracelets to count them. They needed 1300, but we didn't have enough people wearing rain boots. We will try again next year.

These Little Piggys - by Michael

Sea Shells - by Annika

Last week I checked out three books from the library about shells. I have not finished one but I have learned a lot about shells. Here are some of the ones I learned about. Bubble shells are large and light brown, sometimes striped with white. A queen conch is a little bigger then a football and are a pretty pink and light brown. Sundials are the size of Gabe's palm, shaped like a cinnamon roll with the colors of white, brown and black. I bought a shell here at a local shop. I think it is in the bonnet family.

Snails live in most sea shells. I have eaten snail once... it was an abalone. Abalone Tony caught them when we were in Bodega Bay. It was very good and it taste like chicken.

Tourist for a Day - by Adelaide

One day every year the tour companies give free or discounted tours to the locals. Some of the tours include the Ketchikan Duck Tour, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, Snorkel Alaska and Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary Tour.

Putting on a good face after missing the tour.

At first we thought we were going on a Duck Tour at 1 p.m. with a family we had met at the yacht club. We found out later we had misunderstood, it was to be a rainforest bus tour! Then since the family we were to go with had car trouble we were going to go on the tour without them.

Forty minutes left before the tour mom wanted to get an errand done, so we went to Whale Park while she did. We ate most of our lunch there, then had to rush to the spot where the tour was going to leave from. Right when we got there a bus started to pull out. We went up to the second bus (for a different tour) and the driver tried to radio it to come back, but they could not reach of them. So we sat down and finished the rest of our lunch. Mom said we could go to the Discovery Center instead then take a bus for rollerskating. We could then go back to the Lumberjack show that evening.

When we got to the Discovery Center they had a scavenger hunt for us to do and if you finished it you would get a prize! It was so fun that time went flying past and before we knew it it was time to go. We rushed to catch the bus and right when we reached the sidewalk the bus came around corner. We left rollerskating early so that we would not miss the Lumberjack show. 

Pole climbing event, our team won!

All you had to do to get into show was take some canned food donations! The doors of the show opened at 5 p.m. and the show started at 6 p.m. We did not know if there would be seats if we waited until then and we didn't want to miss it. It was almost full so we quickly found seats. Mom bought some popcorn while for we waited. The show was great! There were two, two member teams contesting against each other. The audience was split up into sides to cheer them on. We were the Dawson Creek Camp & the other side was the Spruce Mill Camp. We won the first two events then Spruce Mill won the next. One of the events was an axe throwing competition and when they missed they had to sing, “I'm a Little Teapot”! The Lumberjack show was the best we all enjoyed it! 

Log rolling, Dawson Creek lost.

Rollerskating at the Rec. Center – by Annika

Katie, Michael & Zoe

The day after we got here we went rollerskating with our new friends. The Rec. Center has three sessions every Saturday on their gym floor. It was our first time rollerskating. It was fun except you would have to get used to falling down a lot before you got the hang of it. It took me and the others three times going there before we got it. We go faster with a lot less falling now. Mom and Daddy are doing good; even Gabe and Michael went out skating on practice skates. Gabe took off and Mom had to go after him. Caleb won a prize for the dancing contest. I tried to do it but I did a horrible job at it.

The Trip So Far - by the Adelaide & Annika

 
The very morning we were going to leave for Alaska, we found out that a rope was tangled in the propeller! When Dad got his wet suit on and was in the water he also found that we were sitting on the bottom of the marina! So, between both of those we had a late start.

When we got onto the bar we went down the river a bit so we could put up the sails. When we were in ocean we were in full sail, the sea was about three to four feet. We all went out and played on the fore deck eating crackers and cheese. Dad let Adelaide go up the mast to the first spreader so that she could untangle the flags. Then it started to rain so we all went inside. The second day was more rough and Mama and Daddy decided that we should go in to Neah Bay for more fuel. Today we are heading back out. We will write more at next stop... 

Surprise from the Office - by Annika

Yesterday mom and dad said the office wanted to see us. We thought that it was  normal because we usually visit them. We were surprised when they pulled the presents from the bag (mom and dad knew about it the surprise). They were sweatshirts printed with Port of Ilwaco. Mine was pink and the other ones were  everyone's favorite color. We tried them on to see if they fit, then we took a picture. Michael was taking a nap back at the boat, so he wasn't there.