Adventure Camp- SC Wrap Up

Wow these last few weeks have been crazy with transition.. I apologize for my lack in blogging. I'll try to catch up this week... I have so much stuff to talk about! It's kind of hard to believe but I'm technically supposed to be back in Oklahoma but I'm staying through the month of September to work on some Salmon Camp stuff for the refuge and I'm way excited about that. But to all my family & friends back in OK, be ready October 1st!

Well I need to talk about my last week of having campers at Salmon Camp! The last session is for 7th & 8th graders and is actually called Adventure Camp. With these kiddos we went on a 3 day camp excursion on an island near the town of Kodiak.. it was pretty fun! The beginning of the week we went over menu items, did some grocery shopping, taught some Leave No Trace, went hiking, and went over supplies needed for camping with the campers. Then in the middle of the week we loaded up a boat and headed over with all the supplies we thought we needed to go camping with a bunch of Jr. Highers! No, actually they were all great kids and we had a great time with them (even if one of them didn't change his clothes the whole time there, he was a character)! It was pretty amazing because on the way there we were able to see two humpback whales... and guess who got it on video!? I did and I tried uploading it on here but it wouldn't work so here's a pic...  (Sorry... if you ever see me with my laptop then have me show you, it's pretty amazing!)

That was pretty amazing to watch! So once we arrived to Long Island we set up camp, went on an exploratory hike, and played a massive game of caputre the flag then ended the evening with a campfire and smores. The next day we went fishing and on a hike to Sand Dollar Cove and a bunch of other fun activities and ended another day with more smores. The next day we packed up camp and headed back to the Visitor Center where we put away some supplies, journaled, watched Refuge videos, and played games outside. Then the campers' families came for our last Salmon Camp cookout; it was hard to believe it was the final one. But it was an amazing time and we couldn't have ended the season with better kids!

On the boat ride..



A lake that was on Long Island

The wonderful sunset view we were lucky enough to witness while camping =)

On a hike!

First day ice breakers

On a hike on Old Women's

Mike, Liz, Karen, & myself... yes, people trust us with their children.

Campfire bonding =)

The whole gang from Adventure Camp

It's kind of sad talking about this because I can't believe Salmon Camp is over! I had so much fun with all the wonderful kids this summer and I can't believe it's fall already. I am so happy to be staying longer though. It's going to be sad to say bye to Alaska but we'll cross that bridge when it comes!

Kodiak Kayaking

So two weeks ago I got to go kayaking in Kodiak! It was a Sunday afternoon and the wonderful lady who hired me, Shelly, texted Liz & I asking if we wanted to go kayaking with her. We went to Ft. Abercrombie to kayak in Monashka Bay. Shelly had 2 kayaks so Liz & her went to get a third one from a friend and dropped me off so I could paddle around for a bit till they got back. So I was paddling around enjoying the view and the peacefulness when all of a sudden I hear a loud exhale... I turned my head to see a sea lion a little ways away from me. He was just swimming along then he stopped and looked at me.... then starts swimming towards me! I had no idea what to do because I was by myself, the sea lion was huge, and I had heard stories of them bothering fishing boats so I just paddled as fast as I could to shore. Sure enough he followed me but only for a little bit, thankfully. Soon after Liz & Shelly showed up and we all went out on the water together! The water was so calm and it was wonderful to be out. Plus we were able to see more sea lions (from a distance), puffins, jelly fish, and sea otters.  It was amazing!

Myself & Liz

Here I am with Shelly!

So you can't see him that well but this is a sea otter poking his head out at us. It's hard to get a good pic of these guys.

Liz took this great pic of the jelly fish

Liz out on the water!

I love kayaking!



Here's Liz & me... being ourselves.

So I didn't get too many pics but you can get the general idea. We had a great time and it was so gorgeous!!! It was a wonderful evening and I'm glad I could get another thing checked off my bucket list for Kodiak!

On a side note there is a family who takes me to church and are so sweet to me. I had told Alan, who happens to be in the Coast Guard, that we were going kayaking and he told me to tell him when I got back just so he knew I made it back safely. Well we ended up going out on the water later then what I had told him and by the time we got back and I was able to call him I think he was one call away from getting the Coast Guard out to go look for me. I apologized thoroughly but am glad I got people looking out for me.. and so is my mom! 



The Randoms of Kodiak

In my time at Kodiak, AK I've came across some very interesting things and I have had some very random moments. If my camera is handy... I take a picture (or two)! I am going to start with the one that made me laugh the hardest. My friend Adia here is on the mountain goat research crew and is also a talented knitter. Therefore she decided that while she was out on her hitches that she would collect goat fur so she could make a hat out of it. So one day I come home to Adia out on the deck carding goat fur... and not only was she carding the fur but she was carding it with cat combs since it was something available for her to buy and cheaper. So I grabbed my camera to capture this wonderful moment! Hahahaha! You gotta love her!

Adia!

The lovely goat fur she collected.

The next adventure I want to share with you happened just a few weeks ago and it's kind of hard to explain since it's so ridiculous. A Russian ship called the Pallada was visiting so there was a surplus of Russian cadets pursuing the town of Kodiak. Since Kodiak actually has a rich Russian history, the Russian community invited them with a live band and music. So Liz, Adia, and myself stopped by and stood awkardly against the wall, like at a Jr. High dance, while we watched Russians do Russian dances to Russian music. It was just a bit too Russian for us. 

The Pallada

Russian dancing

Liz & Adia at the Russian dance... absolutely love it!

Here I am with my campers while on a tour of the Russian ship.

So this I meant to blog about this awhile ago but it can go in this blog and it is.... the 4th of July!!! Liz & I planned a refuge 4th of July potluck party where everyone was supposed to wear red, white, & blue and Liz made a radiant playlist consisting of only patriotic music. We also only had American food at the potluck so the main dish was.... hot dogs! Everyone had a blast!

Happy 4th!







Since the only place you can buy clothes here is pretty much Walmart.. there were a couple repeats on the patriotic shirts.

Myself & Adia looking fierce!

With my dear friend Liz =)

 Lexie with her wonderful USA dish she made!

And here are just random pics I've snapped around town....

Kayaks for sale in Walmart

Boat on fire...

Tim dancing at the Lady Gaga costume party.

Survivor suit team races.

And last but not least.. the random Oklahoma car I found in the Walmart parking lot!



That's all the randoms of Kodiak that I have for now... I hope you can enjoy them just as I did!



Another Village Trip and a Farewell :(

This past Tuesday was another village trip. This one was a bit different however because normally the Salmon Camp crew splits up into pairs and each pair goes to a separate village. Well Liz & Mike were supposed to be heading to Karluk while Karen and I were supposed to go to Akhiok. It turned out that Akhiok had another camp there that week so we may be going there in two weeks instead and Karen had part of this week off to move. Soooo Liz, Mike, & myself were all to go to Karluk plus there was a lady from Kenai Refuge visiting, Leah, so she went with us to help out as well. So we arrive at the airport at 7AM, Tuesday for our flight at 8AM and end up waiting 2 hours before we actually leave due to weather. We were crammed on a tiny plane and for the most of the way we flew closer to the ground then normal due to low cloud coverage. We were just about to turn around but the pilot felt he could land us okay. Sure enough he did... but I was thinking maybe we shouldn't be going if we won't be able to leave the next day. There's always the possibility of the weather clearing up... but it never did the whole time we were there. So Karluk, I believe, is the smallest village on the island with a population of about 40. So we were glad to have 11 kids show up to our educational program. It went well, however some kids had a hard time listening which is a big pet peeve of my mine and caused me to about lose it one day after trying to explain a game about 8 times, but thankfully Liz stepped in for me. The kids had a great time though! We stayed in the school where the maintenance men were staying as well to fix the hot water and heat.The school had 3 classrooms, bathrooms, a miniature gym/cafeteria, and a kitchen. We had fun in there though, we played basketball and watched Sandlot (classic). It rained the whole time so we stayed inside a lot. So on Wednesday we were supposed to leave at 5:30PM but it wasn't looking like we were gonna make it out, because the maintenance men were supposed to leave that morning and were still there. After I accepted the fact that I was going to stay in Karluk for another night (if not forever) we got the call that the plane was coming for us a little after 6.. and sure enough it did!I did freak out a bit because there were times we were flying straight through clouds and couldn't see a thing but we made it back safely! And I had never been so happy to see Kodiak!

This is what Karluk looked like the whole time we were there. Too bad we couldn't see the sun shining.



All the wonderful kiddos we had... they had a fun time!

Mike & Liz crammed in the back of the plane before we left.

Here's the handy dandy map so you can see where exactly Karluk is located at.



The second part of this blog is for my friend Stacey. She was here from Canada on a murrelet research crew consisting of her and our other Canadian friend, Jenna. Liz & I have become good friends with the Canadians (even though they are from Canada and sometimes crack jokes about their Canadian-ness) and had some spectacular bonding times with them. So the night before Stacey left we did karaoke, which she did so bravely for the first time and was a singing fool by the time we left, and got to say bye at the airport the next morning when she left. I'm going to miss her and am so glad to have had met such a great friend. I'll see her again someday though, she's amazing!

Myself & Stacey doing the Alaska throw-down

Mike, Fran, Stacey, Liz, Jenna, & myself before we left for karaoke! Love this group!

Myself, Liz, Stacey, & Jenna at the airport before Stacey's departure :(

Well it was a fun yet interesting week. Next week we have a full week of camp with Jr. High kids and will be going on a camping adventure. After that it's wrap up! I can't believe how fast time is flying here. But I've loved every moment here and am so glad I was given this opportunity to see what I saw, meet the people I've met, and learn all the wonderful things I've learned. But the fun is not over yet! :)



I'm a Salmon!

So I just finished two more great sessions with Salmon Camp for grades 4, 5, & 6. They were both great but very different. The first week had a lot of boys and a lot of energy.... but we had fun for sure! The boys just kept us on our toes. Lol. The second week had an art camp focus and happened to mainly consist of girls. We still had a blast and had an art show this past weekend displaying all the campers' art work at the refuge's Visitor Center. It turned out so great, plus we received a lot of great feedback! It's hard to believe I've been here for 3 months already!!! Time is flying by and I am loving every minute of it! In addition the weather has been just lovely here... sun shining and in the 60s! Here are some of the highlight pics from the last two weeks at camp:

By far my favorite pic... this camper was posing with a huge smile then freaked out when the crab started moving!

 We took a hike to the top of Old Womens

Fishing!

Blood star I found!

My group from Session 5... Salmon Camp took a tour of a Russian ship that was visiting.

Bear Face!

This week I'll be taking another village trip to Karluk! Can't wait to tell you about it. Also, hopefully I'll catch my first salmon! Sorry this is short and sweet... I'll have more soon! :)





Alaskan Heat Wave...

I wanted to tell you about my wonderful weekend I had (which was last weekend). Well I started off the Saturday right by sleeping in a bit and then meeting up with a family here that Liz & I are going to house sit for. Then we picked up Elsa to go for a hike on Old Women's... which is one of the easier mountains to hike up here since it's only 1,400 ft. It was such a gorgeous day & it got up to 66 degrees! That is the warmest the temperature I have experienced here in Kodiak. I wore shorts and it was awesome. Something even more awesome is that up at the top of Old Women's is a lake... so naturally we went swimming and did some sunbathing. It was such a wonderful day with the sun shining and the skies blue...

This was my view while laying out

The lake on top of Old Women's

Liz & Elsa

The view of Barometer from the top... we already conquered that one and once was enough. Lol

On the way down

View of some of the bays

The view on the way up... pretty spectacular!

So that was only my Saturday.... Sunday was a whole new experience. The sweet Kinman family picked me up and took me to breakfast and church, as they always do. Then they dropped me off at the harbor because Karen and Robin (my boss and her husband who also works for the refuge) wanted to take us fishing! They have a friend Wes who had a helper named Caleb with a boat he used to do charter fishing on and we went out with them. This was Liz's & mine first time to go halibut fishing! Elsa went along as well to hang out and she took pics. It was such a great time, altogether we caught 11 halibut and 3 codfish. I was definitely sore the next day since you have to reel in for so long and those fish get heavy! Plus it's interesting to go fishing with such huge hooks and have decently sized fish as bait... but it was all good. The first thing Liz caught was a spiny dog fish which is in the shark family. It was hilarious... but she eventually caught some halibut. It was a wonderful time and I am super thankful that Karen and Robin invited us. Here is my proof of our catchings...

I just had to do a kiss the fish pic!

Liz ready to catch some fish!



My first halibut!

As you can see it was a weekend filled of new experiences. I had a great time, as all my time has been here in Kodiak. God made it so gorgeous here and I am blessed to be here. I've also had a lot of family been calling me this week and checking on me which I love as well! I miss everyone back home but I'm in good hands here. Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend! =)