The sun was shining and it felt warm on our skin for the first time in a long year. Even though the breeze had picked up, it still wasn't cold. It won't be long now, ‘till the bears wake up and the fish come in, and all the Northern eagles will come down to Southeast to get fat and hatch chicks.
This is our last week before the tourists come in droves, swamping our little community with their shopping bags and happy adventures - to the tune of 5,000 or more different people every day. We have our dock to ourselves one more day, and we weren't the only ones out to take advantage of the long warm concrete expanse. Someone fished over the side, and even though he didn't have a catch when we saw him, he was enjoying himself just the same.
Another family walked their dog on the dock, too. The dogs love the dock because it's so long and open. There aren't many long open spaces in between these rock mountains around us, and the dogs run and run and run when they get the chance. The dock makes a perfect chance to do that when the cruise ships aren't there.
We looked at all the crocus and flowers coming up in Whale Park. This is the smallest park I've ever seen, about 1/4 city block wide and half a block long and shaped like a whale. The Chief Kayan Burial Pole still stands, and they say if you rub the ‘tummy' of the pole and make a wish for money, then money WILL exchange hands around you. The only problem is, the money may be going OUT of your hands, rather than into your pocket.
The creek that runs through town is still quite low. I expect it will take some hellacious rains to make up the precipitation we usually get, but didn't this year. When the snow melts it'll fill the creek some, but we're going to need more rain for the salmon to make it all the way to the spawning beds.
Stores are filled with boxes and early-season employees stacking, unpacking and displaying the new items for sale. Everybody's busy, running around, getting things done while they still can. It's an exciting, restless time of year for any Northern coastal town in Alaska.
Maybe you'll be stopping up this way on your vacation? You really should, if you haven't planned to, yet. Everyone should come and see Alaska at least once in their lives. In fact, it's a rule, didn't you know?
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