Saturday July 15, 2012 Sitka to Appleton Cove Twice a month a produce truck arrives by barge from Seattle and today is the day in Sitka. It was a small farmer’s market but the people were crowded around snapping up watermelon and sweet corn etc. while supplies lasted. Winds have kicked up outside the harbor, which made pulling up the Bullfrog out in the harbor more interesting. Ruth and Kira helped with lines and loading while BJ took the controls. We also made a positive landing at the gas dock by just pulling abeam of it and letting the wind shove us in. Our track today is a reverse of the one we took two days ago except we went past Baby Bear Bay and on to Appleton Cove. Predicted wind seemed to dissipate ... read more

Tuesday July 11, 2012 Neka Bay to Hoonah Rain pounded down all night but lessened by morning. A party of small explorers took Bullfrog and pushed up the Inlet, found the river and went a long ways up into tide flats of rockweed and mussels, and around corners skirting grass flats until it got too shallow for an outboard. Salmon surely spawn up here in the fall along with attendant bears. I dropped into the kayak and drifted back alone, able to see small black-tailed deer. A cabin nestled in the woods looked inviting and I found out later it is a Forest Service cabin available to kayakers and backpackers. Back in Neka Bay I pushed against the rising wind and back onto the Little Liza. We found ... read more

Thursday July 6th, 2012 Hoonah to Flynn Cove and Kira’s birthday We spent the morning lounging. Keith and I picked up the shrimp traps and returned with one very large prawn and as with yesterday the bait box was full of shrimp larvae. BJ and Ruth took the dinghy over to the store and we met them out by the wharves and hoisted Bullfrog onto the Little Liza. We worked our way towards our destination up the coast by mooching for halibut; looking for the right underwater structure to drift over. Flynn Cove is a little nook along the coastline of Icy Strait. We worked our way up to the head and anchored there. It still looks exposed and I can see right up Icy Strait. We are well ... read more

Wednesday June 27th, 2012 Taku Harbor to Juneau Juneau was only 20 miles from Taku Harbor and I could seen the cruise ships before we even entered Gasteneau Channel. We found moorage fairly near downtown and we had just finished tying up when Kira said, “OK, can we find the bookstore now?” We did walk to the downtown area mingling with the thousands of cruise ship folks. Kira found her bookstore, which should keep her occupied until her birthday anyway. The Juneau Volunteer Band played under a gazebo and when they struck up “Stars and Stripes Forever” the crowd gathered, marching, tapping and cheering. We docked in front of “Drumbeat,” the boat I met in Foggy Bay and Dave gave me the lowdown on Juneau. Thursd... read more

Saturday June 23, 2012 Sandborn Canal to Tracy Arm Cove There is not a cloud in the sky this morning as BJ and I sit reading and drinking coffee. I was up early enough to watch the bright sunlight spread across the peaks and seep down onto the water to rest on the bright white head of a bald eagle eating raw fish for breakfast. We stick with scones. The current gives us slow, revolving views of mountains beyond mountains. Back in Stephens Passage we encountered a stiff wind with plenty of chop which we quartered without too much discomfort for the five-hour trip to Tracy Arm. We saw the first icebergs (called bergie-bits around here) while still in the main passage but many ground themselves on the moraines (bars) at ... read more