Adelia's costume is quite the contrast from the skimpy mermaid costume from last year! Philip is quite the seamstress (male version)....he made his "little man" costume!!

Jeremy Councellor, Mary Jane Pediangco, April Councellor and Kelly Longrich...Quite the variety of costumes! From flight attendants to rafting guides....

A Future American Idol Contestant....

Watch out Bucky and Taylor (past contestants)!! Here comes baby Nora! Oh how Nora loves her mom's sunglasses!! (Z)

Yet Another Hunt

Gregg, Mike and I got up early and hiked in the dark to reach the high country before sunrise. Our reward was a spectacular sunrise. The sky turned purple long before the sun came up and the snow on the ground made it seem much lighter than it actually was. At sunrise all the deer were soaking up the sun on the south facing slopes. (PGS)

From the Archives - Halloween 2001

Still a little slow here on Kodiak, so time for another from the archives. This time we feature Ella's Halloween visit from 2001. Back in the old days Ella lived close by in Anchorage and would come down to Kodiak for holidays. In this photo Ella and I accompanied Zoya up to the 'crossfox' lakes as she tried to tag a deer (Note the rifle over her shoulder). Ella and I walked behind as Zoya creeped up the trail on high alert for deer.

On another note, we actually got a little snow yesterday (flurries). Kodiak looks just about like what it does in this photo, and it should because it was taken on practically the same date 5 years ago. Ski season is almost here!

Halloween 2001

Is that Glenda the good witch and Quella Devil? Or the Herrnsteen girls? A Halloween party has since become a yearly tradition at 4002 Cliffside Road. (PGS)

Halloween 2001

Is that Glenda the good witch and Quella Devil? Or the Herrnsteen girls? A Halloween party has since become a yearly tradition at 4002 Cliffside Road. (PGS)

From the Archives - Kodiak 1967

Zoya and I have decided to add a new feature to our blog for those times when not a lot is happening at 4002 Cliffside Road (Do you really want us to post some more deer hunting pictures from the past weekend?) - so it's time for blasts from the past!

In this one we feature my mom and dad's visit to Kodiak in 1967. It is important to realize that I am not the first Saltonstall to visit Kodiak. My dad visited Kodiak in February 1967 to do a story on the king crab industry for Time magazine. He brought my mom with him my and a family friend Mr Robinson (pictured here with my mom - my dad took the photo).

They stayed at the Kodiak Inn (big bear statue out front) and visited Port Wakefield where they saw their first snowmobile (my mom tells me that the snowmobilers were worried about bears hibernating in the caves created under the boughs of spruce trees bent over by snow).

My mom reports that Kodiak was a wild place. She remembers that at one particular bar a patron ran about yelling 'jesus loves me - yes he does' while randomly throwing darts about the bar in a drunken frenzy.

Zoya and I can confidently say that this sort of behavior is no longer tolerated in Kodiak (unless you are at the Mecca at 2AM - we assume my mom was not at a bar at 2AM in 1967).

My mom stands next to what looks like a Grummen Widgeon (but might be a Grummen Goose to my uneducated eyes) both are still used commercially here on Kodiak. But none land at the boat harbor anymore! Patrick's mom and dad, and family friend Mr Robinson flew over to Kodiak from Homer. Patrick and Zoya both are impressed with her shades, boots, and hat!

Kaguyak Village

On Tuesday Patrick got to take a work-related ride over to Alaska Peninsula with Tom Walters in his helicopter. Beautiful flat calm day, but Patrick was still a little nervous crossing Shelikof Strait. It is a long way across the water to the Peninsula from Kodiak, and the helicopter did not have floats. It was the longest ride Patrick has ever experenced in a helicopter. While there they visited the historic village of Kaguyak. It was abandonned after the volcanic eruption of Mount Katmai in 1912 buried the place under more than 2 feet of ash. If you look closely at the photograph you can see the old housepits - all that remains of the village. Although the village Russion Orthodox church lasted into the 1950's before it burned down.

Thorsheim lake

Another view from last week's elk hunt. We experienced some great hiking. Here we are hiking down the mountain towards Thorsheim Lake. All the salmonberry leaves have turned yellow.

Afognak Elk Hunt

Patrick just returned from his Elk hunt on North Afognak. He went with friends Ben Millstein, Ira Edwards, Mark Rusk, Justin Hays, and Jim Eufemio on Jim's seiner. It's a yearly event intended to fill the freezer with tasty elk. Here Patrick and Mark take a welcome break on the deck of the Alpha Centuri. Most of their time on Afognak was spent bushwhacking on shore. They did manage to bring home around 300 pounds of elk meat.

Scanning the high country

Here Justin scans for elk in the alpine. Note the 'termination dust' (first snow of the year) on the mountain in the background. The elk like to frequent the high bowls like the one seen here on the right. On this particular hike Patrick and Justin only saw a few lone bull elk. On another hike they saw 4 elk grazing on another mountain and after a three hour stalk managed to finally harvest one. It took everyone (Justin, Mark, Patrick, Ira and Ben) to get all the meat back to the boat in one trip.

Cruising the trees

Hunting elk on north Afognak requires a great deal of hiking through the spruce forset. The goal is to avoid having to bust through too much devils club, salmonberry and alder when getting to the high country where we could actually see the elk. The elk like to graze and sun in the alpine meadows. Here Justin and Ira negotiate a game trail down a hill back to the boat.

The 'wolf' tree

On a particularly rainy day, Justin, Mark and Patrick, surveyed for archaeological sites on Ban Island. The United States Fish & Wildlife service is interested in the condition of the sites on the refuge and Patrick and his friends found three new sites. While surveying they found this old spruce tree. When it was a seedling there were no other trees around - hence the multiple lower limbs.

Foul Bay Northwest Afognak

Patrick just returned from his elk hunting trip on Afognak. The pictures make it look beautiful, but it rained every day! Some serious wind too (both on the boat and outside). They camped on Jim Eufemio's 47 foot long seiner, and hiked the mountains by day. This is a view over Foul Bay, on the first day it finally cleared off. If you look closely in the foreground you can see the Alpha Centuri at anchor.

Julie and Ray In Seward

Ray and Julie in front of their digs in Seward. Julie is 34 weeks pregnant! American Gothic Anyone?? Where are the pitchforks?

A vist to the Anchorage Saltonstalls

A contingent of the Kodiak Saltonstalls visited with the Anchorage Saltonstalls (Will and Beth). Nora had fun exploring their living room and playing with the wonderful box of kid toys Will and Beth had.

Nora aboard the Trusty Tusty (Tustemena)

Nora enjoyed the 12 hour ferry ride from Homer to Kodiak. She emptied the contents of her moms bag onto the bunk in the cabin. Then she proceeded to sort and stack the contents from one side of the bunk to the other. It provided hours of entertainment! She has her dads tendencies for sorting and organizing. OCD???

Nora and Mike At Don Jose's

Nora and Grandpa Mike at Don Jose's in Homer. Nora was quite the handful at this meal!

Zoya's Trip to the Mainland

Zoya recently returned from her trip to the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage. She and Nora took her Subaru over on the 'Trusty Tusty' and visited friends and relatives in Homer, Anchorage, and Seward. Great scenery on the way. This one is of fall colors on the Kenai River.

Mill Bay Sunrise

Glorious sunrise over Mill Bay. The sun is no longer rising out of the ocean. As winter approaches it rises further and further to the south east. These days it comes up out of the trees on Spruce Cape. Zoya and Nora are off to Homer and Anchorage for the week. Zoya took her car over on the ferry. I am holding the fort down with Roxy Dog until I go off elk hunting this weekend. Roxy and Patrick miss Zoya and Nora.

Its A BOY!

Nora will have a little brother to idolize her.

Finger Lickin' Good Deer & Goat Ribs

Local and out-of-town-friends surrounded the pile of ribs on the counter. The ribs were marinated with a home made sauce (Gregg's "secret" recipe) and they disappeared quickly!

The Deer Hunt

Brian and Ray scan the hillsides for deer. It was a cold day and they found the deer on a sunny, warm, south-facing slope. They came home with about 80 pounds of deer meat. Much easier to carry a deer a long way when it is split between three people!

A patch of sun between rain squalls during the deer hunt.

Baby Nora Has a Green Thumb!

After distracting Nora several times from digging in the indoor plants, it was time to let her explore the dirt outside. In a year or two I imagine she'll be in the garden helping her dad weed and pull carrots in the fall! Many people in the family garden, including her dad, her mom (occasionally), her Great-Grandma Nana in Massachusetts, Granny Emmy in Maine and Grandma Cathy in Homer....so she'll have lots of great role models!!

Its Bathtime!!

After her dirt digging session it's straight to the bathtub for Nora!

More Goat Hunt

Another picture from the goat hunt. Here is Patrick climbing back up a hill after checking down below for goats. Goat hunting is a lot of scrambling up and down in steep places. In the background is Kizhuyak Bay and the native village of Port Lions (barely visible on the far shore).

September Goat Hunt in Kodiak's Backcountry

This past week Patrick and Mike Sirofchuck (a local friend and retired school teacher) ventured miles into the back country to get a goat! Mission Accomplished. It was a LONG hike....
This is the view after they climbed out of the valley where they got the goat. In the distance, on the right, near the blue ocean and dwellings is where they hiked to that night. They made it out of the wilderness right at sunset. Phew.
Patricks quote was "It was like outdoor braille following our trail at dusk". Patrick surprised me at home when he arrived at 10PM....I thought for sure they'd be camping another night!

On Kodiak, the goats live in very rugged country. This is the valley where Patrick and Mike found their goat. Patrick packed the meat out, and Mike packed the hide. Luckily, it was a small goat. Now it comes time to package and process the meat into steak chunks, burger, sausage and canned goat. (It is better than it sounds....trust us!!)

Sunrise on the morning of the goat hunt. Patrick and Mike left the day before and camped over night.
They hiked 8 miles into the back country to get to the region where Mike held the permit to hunt a goat.

Binky-a-holic!! Nora is hooked on her binky.

Mini Ben & Jerrys!!Best Invention Since Sliced Bread!

I discovered mini Ben & Jerry's at the local grocerer! What a FANTASTIC idea! They are small serving size portions. Patrick was quite skeptical. He said, "Oh, so you eat four of those instead of eating a regular size Ben & Jerry's?". He knows his Zoya very well! (Let it be known, however, that I only ate ONE choc. fudge brownie MINI ice cream tonight.) :)

(I also saw that they have ice cream locks in case you have someone in your living quarters sneaking bites of your ice cream. Check it out online. They're made by Ben and Jerry's. Perfect gift for an ice-cream-holic in your life who has problems with other people sneaking bites of their favorite frozen goodie!)

Patrick and Nora on Spruce Cape Beach Walk

This morning we took a family hike out to Spruce Cape Point and Beach. I am so thrilled to have Patrick carry Nora on his back, as I am nearing the point with pregnancy where it is not comfortable to carry her in the backpack. I prefer walking with Nora in the stroller now!
The weather was clearing a bit during our walk, then a big storm rolled in this afternoon. Patrick went silver salmon fishing in his kayak this afternoon on Buskin lake.

Leo Saltonstall--Ella and Dicky's Boy

He is 16 months old now...

Ella e-mailed me a recent photos of Leo and I just can't believe how much he has grown up. He is more like a little guy and less like a baby.
Gosh it is hard to think that Leo and Nora are growing up on opposite ends of the country! Thankfully with e-mail we can get recent pics of the little ones. Many people have asked if Leo and Nora look a lot alike-as they are "double" cousins! Almost genetically similar as siblings! The general consensus is that Leo looks more like a Herrnsteen and Nora looks more like a Saltonstall. Leo has blond hair, Nora brown...but they both have blue eyes!!

Deer Meat + Spices + Grinding= Yummy Burger!

This evening Patrick and Gregg processed 60 pounds of deer meat into burger. This was from deer from multiple hunts this fall. Some beef and pork fat is added to it for consistency and flavor, as the fat is cut off the deer in the processing.

Gregg and Patrick at the burger grinding station.The table is used for wrapping and labeling the burger. The meat is mixed with spices in a big container before it is put through the grinder. The result? Delicous deer burger!

Nora "helps" with the sorting process.... :)

Zoya And Alisa nursing the little ones one the back porch

Nora is 13 months old and Elias is 5 weeks old!

River Rafting Trip on Kodiak

Recently Patrick and 3 of his friends paddled 25 miles down a river on the south end of Kodiak. Phillip from South Africa made the long journey to Kodiak especially to see Kodiak Bears on the river! Luckily, they didn't run into very many! This left Philip somewhat disappointed, however. :)
The oxbows and twisty nature of the river made it difficult to compute 'river miles'. They floated all the way from Doughnut Lake to Bare Creek where a float plane picked them up.
Very few people float the East Fork of the Ayakulik (maybe one party every few years or so). Most people float the lower part of the Ayakulik from Bare Creek down to the sea. The little red 'C's on the map mark where they camped during their trip.

Ridgewalk

Patrick's friend Gregg hikes along a ridge in the 'Refugium'. This part of Kodiak was not covered by glaciers during the last glaciation and is known as the 'Refugium' because many species of plants and animals were able to survive here when they were wiped out by the glaciers elsewhere. Gregg and Patrick noticed that the character of the mountains is very different from what they are used to on the north end of Kodiak. It is much drier and the mountains lack the glacial cirques (bowl shaped meadows at the tops of mountains) so common on the north end.

Floating the East Fork

Patrick used inflatable canoes to float down the East Fork of the Ayakulik. Here they are floating out of the small valley where the East Fork starts and out onto the swampy flats by the main branch of the Ayakulik. This area is a huge swamp. Swans breed here, and a few of them were confused by Patrick's white teepee. From the air it looked like another huge swan to them! They would circle and honk. Patrick and his friends wanted to see the reindeer that live on the flats but never found them. The reindeer are domisticated animals that escaped and went wild in the 1940s.

Fireweed

Patrick returns to camp (the white teepee visible along the river) after a long hike into the mountains near the river. The fireweed turned red early this year.

Dolly Varden Trout

Patrick recently returned from a float trip down the East Fork of the Ayakulik on the south end of Kodiak. They caught Dolly Varden trout far up the river (over 30 miles up the river) where the fish were eating the eggs of spawning salmon.

Fiber Optic Installation Boats in Mill Bay

We've seen lots of excitement here in Mill Bay right from our front porch. The fiber optic cable has been laid in Mill Bay. Its been a 4 day project....as they've had to dig up the bay to lay the cable, as well as Mill Bay beach.

The flood lights and tractors have been going all night on Mill Bay beach for several nights as the crews work away. There have been several boats involved in the process (see photos) as well as divers responsible for making sure the cable is anchored to ocean floor. This is Kodiak history in the making! I don't think we've ever had this much excitement right off our house in Mill Bay. And perhaps this cable will take care of the pesky phone delay/lag time that we experience during long distance calls.

Below is the website on the story. There is a 2.5 minute long story you can listen to on it. Its pretty cool! For all of you folks who are familiar with Kodiak, you may enjoy listening to it.

http://www.kmxt.org/?q=node/808

Mill Bay Beach Gets Dug Up for the Fiber Optic Cable

The crews have been working day and NIGHT on digging the beach up for burying the cable. Its quite the process!!