I took a trip! To....Port Lions!

So this last week, instead of having our typical long week camp schedule, I went to one of the villages on Kodiak Island. The Salmon Camp Crew split up... Karen & Liz went to Ouzinkie while Mike and I went to Port Lions. So pretty much both goups left on Tuesday morning and came back Wednesday evening. We put on a miniature version of Salmon Camp for the kids in the community, going from 1-4 pm on Tuesday and 9 am - 3 pm on Wednesday. We had kids ranging from K-8th grades and at Port Lions we had a total of 21 kids show up. We talked about habitats, did nature journals, went on hikes, went tide pooling, and did a variety of fun activities. Overall it was a great time (minus a kid falling in the water and me having to get him).

So here's a map of the island and you can see where Port Lions is northwest of the town Kodiak:

A bit about Port Lions... it has around 250 people and it was called Afognak village but was completely wiped out in a tsunami in 1964 then renamed Port Lions since the Lion's Club was a big supporter in rebuilding the town. Port Lions is a bit different from the other villages on the island because part of it is native village and the other part is town... it gets kind of complicated. It is 19 miles northwest of Kodiak and you can only get to it via plane or boat.


So once we dropped off our stuff and set up for the day Mike & I walked to a little waterfall nearby and this is what we saw.... it was absolutely amazing!

Here are pics from our plane ride.... our six passenger plane ride. I got to ride shot gun and wear the headset on the way back but unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me! This below is from on the way there.

 Here's Mike & myself once we first arrived to the lovely Port Lions.

 Here is the fancy Port Lions "airport"... yep a gravel runway.

The plane ride to Port Lions in about 5 to 10 minutes. It's real short but essential for the citizens of Port Lions. Every ride I was on had mail, or pets, or people coming from grocery shopping at Kodiak. So yeah Port Lions has no grocery or clothing store... it was quite the experience. But the people here were super friendly and live a slower life style in a beautiful place. Below is a pic of the normal routine there of picking up items shipped from the plane or picking up people.

 If you look closely you can see it if filled with sockeye salmon... the little dark spots. You don't know how badly I wished I had a dip net with me.

 Out with the Port Lions kids!

Tuesday after camp the kids came and got us to go swimming with them. We both jumped in from the top of the waterfall and it was absolutely freezing, it was so cold it knocked the breath out of me... but hey, I did it!

 Mike and I went for a stroll on Tuesday evening and it was absolutely beautiful. The weather was perfect and the skies were clear. That's what the next few pics are from. Below is a pic of me on the bridge that connects the old part of town with the new part.

Prior to coming we were told that we would be staying the night in the library and holding camp in the town hall. Well it turns out they were in the same building, the one shown below.

 Mike & I thoroughly enjoyed staying in the library. We set up a movie ("Walk the Line"), popped some popcorn, made Kool-Aid, had our Reese's cups, and propped ourselves up on some of the pillows for reading time.. it was a nice night.

Well I hope you learned something or enjoyed my pics. I hope everyone has a great week ahead of them! I miss everyone back home and wanted to leave you with one of my favorite pics from my trip this last week.