South Mitkof Island
The adage “Rain before seven, clear by eleven” was appropriate for today. We ended up with a beautiful day in which we scouted out a new beachside campsite (Wilson Creek Area Campground), hiked a 1.5 mile planked and netted loop, and met some new Sprinter owners from Quebec.
Today was the beginning of the commercial Dungeness Crab season. Just before noon, dozens of fishing boats were sitting in the water of the bay in front of our campsite. Exactly at noon, they began dropping the cages into the water. By afternoon, the bay was dotted with floating buoys. Around six the boats started returning to pull the traps. I watched one operation through my binoculars – they kept 5 crabs and threw back two. A local who stopped by stated that the most crabs are caught in the first two days of the season with the yield falling off from there.
We heard one sad piece of news today. The reason there was no logging on Friday was that one of the snuggers had been killed on Thursday afternoon. It seems the top of a tree was dead and the wind from the helicopter caused it to fall on him. They didn’t log on Saturday either because of the heavy rain, but were back to work this morning. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day before they move on to a new location.
After hassling with getting green and wet wood to burn, we had a dinner of halibut, green beans with peppers and onions, and salad.
Wilson Creek Area Campground Review: Located on an unmarked road at about mile marker 26 on the Mitkof highway this campground is no more than a large, flat gravel area a few feet above high water level with a picnic table, two fire rings, and a pit toilet. There is room for 4-5 RVs; the night we were there two 23-footers stayed. The view of the bay is phenomenal. Internet via cellphone is weakly available from Wrangell.
-- Janet (text) and David (photos)
Hi there,I came across your blog as I was doing some resecrah about teaching in Alaska. I am seriously contemplating this as my next adventure when I return to the United States. Right now I am teaching overseas in the United Arab Emirates. I have a husband and 2 year old daughter and so that makes going different places a bit more challenging. However, my husband and I had talked about Alaska quite some time ago and it would be a dream come true for us to raise our little one (maybe another) there in Alaska. We long to experience more outdoor adventures. My husband was raised in CO and loves hunting and fishing. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling me a little bit about getting certified to teach in Alaska and how to find an abundance of teaching jobs up there. I ideally would like to find employment before I arrive back in the US and I know that might be very challenging. I would love a bit more information! Happy Holidays and thank you for your blog! Sincerely, E. Stephanie Woodward
I am certainly no expert on teaching in Alaska although I have been involved with education all my life – student, teacher, parent, school board member. I did think many times how interesting it would be to live and work in Alaska. The land is beautiful and the people amazing, but in places the travel is difficult and the winters are long. We loved the Southeast, but the towns can be reached only by plane or boat, which offers a challenge.
Two books that I read recently that you might find interesting:
You Can’t wallpaper my Igloo (Katherine Norberg) is about a woman who teaches in a relatively remote area of Alaska (http://www.amazon.com/YOU-CANT-WALLPAPER-IGLOO-Wilderness-ebook/dp/B008N3C75C/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1411559210&sr=1-1&keywords=teaching+in+alaska)
The other book told about life in Haines, AL, a city in the southeast which is accessible by automobile: If you lived here, I would know your name (Heather Lende). http://www.amazon.com/Lived-Here-Know-Your-Name-ebook/dp/B003I1WY2K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1411559423&sr=1-1&keywords=if+you+lived+here+i%27d+know+your+name
Both books will give you a flavor of life when living and working in Alaska.
As I said, I am not an expert, but there are lots of resources on the internet for finding jobs and getting certified. At http://www.alaskateacher.org/ you will find information about teaching jobs available in Alaska and at http://education.alaska.gov/TeacherCertification/ you can find out how to obtain your certification in Alaska.
Good luck on your journey.
Janet