I went with Larry, who works for the State of Alaska Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Our first night in town we navigated down to the beach. The temperatures were in the high 60s and the sun was out.
After a few minutes at the beach, we decided to head to Fort Abercrombie where there are trails and another view of the ocean.
Alaska fireweed is a plant that grows wild in most of Alaska. The flowers on the weed grow in a unique way compared to other plants. The plant starts flowering at the bottom and then works its way to the top. Alaskans often use the fireweed to help determine how much summer is left; if the blooms are at the top, summer is almost over.
The field visit with Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA) lasted three days, and each day was filled to the max with business meetings and appointments at KANA and with community members in Kodiak. These productive days resulted in a desire for some solitude in the evening, so we drove along the road toward Chiniak, which is the only town (Chiniak is technically not a town, but a census-designated place) on Kodiak Island accessible by a road system.
The road system on Kodiak Island is relatively short, so a number of families who live in Kodiak have second homes or camps in Chiniak. However, Chiniak does have a K-10 school with a total of about 10 students. After 10th grade the students are bused to Kodiak High School.
The orange circle in the picture below is a jelly fish.
After driving around the island, Larry and I met his niece, her husband and their three kids for dinner at Olds River Inn, a fantastic restaurant near Chiniak, or about an hour west of Kodiak. The food was fantastic.
The Kodiak Library was built in December, 2013. The space was lovely and had some really interesting pieces of art. There are gathering rooms open and available to the public, so we headed to the library to utilize one of these spaces for a meeting.
I loved this art piece using glass floats. These floats are traditionally used to keep fishing nets and longlines afloat. They can be easily found in Kodiak.
After a long day of meetings on Thursday, Larry and I enjoyed a brew at Kodiak Island Brewing Company.
(photo courtesy Kodiak Island Brewing Co Facebook Page)
They have used traditional fisherman type art to decorate the building, which is pretty neat.
After getting some dinner, we headed west of Kodiak to try our hand at fishing. Unfortunately, only the pink salmon, or humpback salmon, were running, which are really not the best salmon to eat. Larry preferred that we didn't waste our time fishing and just enjoy the scenery.
We headed to another river to find the same luck, but experienced even more beauty.
One thing I always do when traveling is try to find a gym. The KANA gym is available to all Indian Health Service beneficiaries (Alaska Native/American Indian people) and KANA employees. We were given visitor passes so we could access the gym. The gym was very nice and had weight lifting equipment, barbells, cardio machines and a number of different type of strength and cross fit accessories. Larry and I visited the gym each morning before starting our day.
Before a long day of meetings on Friday, we grabbed a coffee from Harborside Coffee and Goods, one of my most favorite coffee places in Alaska. They roast their own coffee beans, so I purchased a bag for Matt and me to enjoy when I returned home.
I love traveling to Kodiak because there is so much to do and each time, I find myself exploring new things. However, I was definitely ready to head home after three long days of meetings and evenings of exploring the island.
Thanks for reading. Cheers!
