Boat Trip to the Misty Fjords

No matter how many grammar errors or spelling mistakes I've made in the few posts, you've got to be at least a little impressed. It isn't very often that you find a roughly literate person like me who knows how to spell 'Fjord'! :)

Anyway; We took the Champion out to the Misty Fjords for an overnight trip a couple weeks ago - just the family. Even though we've lived here my whole life, and have gone several times, it was still breathtaking.

Porpoises playing in the wake of our boat.

We decided to nose up to one of the first rock faces we encountered as we entered the majestic Fjords.

Yup, that's pretty huge!

Bump. We all got a chance to touch the side of the sheer, barnacly cliff.

And it was raining under there! :) - The water pouring off the steep rock gave us a nice drizzle until we pulled away.

If this picture makes you think we live in paradise... you are absolutely right!

Breathtaking, huh?

The mountain peaks behind us rolled along in our wake as we continued deeper into the maze of cliffs.

Amazing rock formations.

Still snowy up there.

Wow.

As we neared the end of the passage, the water turned a murky green.

Mama and the Baby.

This is the Alaskan version of a 'snow cone'. :)

Sammy

Heading back out of the Fjords.




When we were out of the Fjords, we decided to take a walk on New Eddystone Rock.

The Rock

So, after anchoring the boat a little ways off, we began the process of getting the skiff off of the back deck and into the water.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - the skiff?

Off we go!

We soon discovered that the little island was completely over-run with birds! Tons and tons of them!

Weird.

Totally infested with crows and the rock itself being kind of a weird, eerie formation filled with black caves and scraggly bushes- It kind of had the feel of something out of a J.R.Tolkien novel.

Picnicking with the bugs.

What a lovely dead ocean creature! Don't you think?

We were quite a ways out in the middle of nowhere, but it felt pretty nice for a change.

Getting ready to launch the skiff and go back to the Champion.

We made one more stop before heading back home.

It was at a little Forest service cabin - we checked to see if the latest occupants had left us any treasures...

They hadn't.

And back home we go!

Metlakatla Fishery

Okay, so I finally finished blogging the Mexico episode of our life. But, there's still a lot of things I haven't written about yet. My schedule finally caught up with me and it's been pretty hectic trying to balance work at Knudson Cove with finishing up school and all the other projects I've got going on.

So, when we got back from Mexico, I still hadn't completely finished unpacking when the fam. announced that we were heading out to Metlakatla to pack fish for a couple weeks. So I threw everything back in my suitcase and we were gone the very next day. We left Jo at home; she had to work...

Dad and I drove the boat out to the bay where the fisherman were and the next couple days we spent waiting...

and waiting...

It wasn't like we didn't have anything to do though. We played Risk. ...again and again. And by the end of day-2 we were all hating each other pretty bad. Our conversations would be peppered with 'who really should have gotten Europe' and 'how it wasn't fair to hole up in Australia' and such... :)

Getting the boat ready for buying fish.

It was in the middle of the night when the first boat came to give us fish. We all stumbled out of our bunks and clambered up to the deck and pulled on our gloves, ready to work. The whole seascape was black, spattered by the lights of the boats spread across the bay. Scales flew through the air as the fish slid down the de-water box and into the tank. Mom watched Sam in the galley and made up hot dogs and coffee for the fishermen. Emma wrote fish tickets. Paul ran the fish-pump. I operated the weigh-box and tied up boats. Dad ran the hydraulics and kept everything in order, and Johnny hosed off the deck between loads.

Steadying the weigh box.

When we actually got to do some of the work in the day time, it's was amazingly beautiful out. The sun graciously brought out the smell of the herring though as well as the warm weather. None of us really minded though- the nice day was way worth the reek of fish. :)

The best meal in the world ;).

Goodbyes -Part 4-

This is the POST-MEXICO shot of all the kids that went down to Mexico. Yes, a little more sunburnt and quite exhausted (which explains the hot-tub format of the shot).

But, before we found ourselves back in the RUSH of the states again, there were goodbyes to be said. Lots and Lots of goodbyes.
-

On the last day in Mexico, our team went to the homes of the families of each kid that had come to the camp.
Before we got out of the van, the camp instructors talked to us a long time, preparing us for the vist. I doubt any of us were really ready for everything that we ran into that day. We'd all seen pictures of towns like the one we were about to enter... we thought we were completely prepared. But seeing pictures and actually BEING there are two completely differant things.

Two of the things that they told us were 1). not to feel 'sorry' for the families that we saw. For they were placed in their situations by God, and He's got everything in His hands and it's all a part of His perfect plan. and 2). we should be especially cheerful, dispite the goodbyes and our new surroundings.

Jo, with Dania and the rest of her family.

We walked from house to house in the small commuty. And at each place one of the team memebers and their 'nino' would have to say goodbye. As we walked on to the next place, the tears would have to be wiped away and cheerful smiles put in their place.

Some of the homes were trailers patched up with tarp, others, plywood structures the size of a small room. But at each place the family would welcome us with open arms. When we asked for prayer requests all they wished was our safty... each mother, or parent was tearful with gratitude and there was no way our hearts couldn't have broken.

The 'nino's didn't want us to go, or ever forget them. Many of them exchanged their name tags for ours, or gave us things that were really special to them. At each home we'd give the kid a bag of things that we'd compiled especially for them, and to the whole family we'd present a food bag.

Dayanah and I. Probably the best and worst moment of my life.

Right before we got in the vans to leave, she came running down the hill with a letter wrapped around a little chocolate. And right when I thought the tears were all gone, they came right back again :).

One of the houses that we visited insisted on feeding us lunch. It was amazing. Deep fried oysters and home made tortiallas and salsa. The hospitality of every family was beyond touching.

On the van ride back to the camp it was the quitest 30 minutes any of us had spent yet. More tears, comitments that we'd never again take for granted the things that we have... and it was good that we all had eachother to lean on and talk with about the incredibly amazing day we'd just spent.

I think all of us agreed that until you've been there in a place like that and had a relationship with someone like that, you'll never completely understand the feeling of love for that person and place, nor will you fully understand the impact of their situation upon your own life.

The next morning we got up early, had to say goodbye again- this time to the Genesis Diez staff and the camp that had been our home for the past week. We started the long drive back to the states. This time we went back up through Tiajuana. That was another experience in itself. There were people EVERYWHERE, vending their things, and knocking on you car windows.

But nevertheless, we made it back to San Diego all in one piece. The next few days we spent relaxing before flying back up to Ketchikan.

GOODBYE MEXICO

-The End- (finally)

:)