Jamie Straatsma .com

We recently purchased a small deep v ocean boat and took the family to Valdez, AK. WOW! I have been to Valdez before but not like this. We rolled into Valdez late Thursday night and stayed in a hotel as we were taking the boat out to Jack Bay the next morning to stay in the forestry cabin at the end of the bay. Keep in mind when you stay in a forestry cabin in Alaska, you’re in the deep wilderness on your own. I had never done that before let alone taken my kids to one. Needless to say, we were overly prepared and didn’t forget a thing. The problem with that is it took us about 2 hours to get to the cabin as you have to go by boat and we had WAY to much stuff in our boat! It was quite hilarious putting through the bay at 9 miles an hour not even getting the boat up on step.

I was giddy even so as I love boats and grew up on them. The sun was shining and the scenery was spectacular! Everything was enormous! The ocean, the mountains, the waterfalls, and the gigantic sea lion we kept running into. You lose all concept of time and space. I so love living in Alaska and taking deep breaths of the fresh, crisp air and freaking out everytime I see any animals. It doesn’t matter if I just saw a bald eagle or seal 5 minutes ago and took pictures. I’m going to sqeal with excitement everytime and take pictures. I love observing nature and getting as close as we can.

We arrived at the cabin and it was the cutest most fabulous little cabin away from everyone and everything but nature. My husband grew up visiting this cabin as a child and hadn’t been there in 20 years. He was so happy to be back and impressed with all of the renovations that had been done to the cabin over time. We pulled in at high tide which was perfect for unloading all that weight out of our boat as the water is only about 5 feet from the cabin at high tide. The kids played around on the beach while I settled in and Ryan tended to the boat and raft.

I coudn’t help but recount all the times he told me about black bears visiting them at that very cabin. He’d wake up in the morning and open the front door to see a black bear sitting there like, “Hey, what’s going on man?” They never had any issues with the bears and they meant no harm but I’ve seen way to many movies and heard way to many horror stories. I couldn’t stop thinking about the bears.

Right before we left, a friend of a friend on facebook was commenting on the group of teenage boys that had been attacked by a bear 3 days before we left on our trip. She stated that if the bear was brown, lie down, if it’s black, fight back. Well, I had never heard anyone say fight back when encountering a bear and told her so and she proceeded to tell me that black bears will eat you. I about died! While I do not believe that black bears have a tendency to be man eaters, her comment bothered me immensely as black bears were the only bears my husband ever saw in Valdez. I just kept thinking, “Am I really going to have to fight a bear?” My husband thought it was funny and kept reminding me that when you do finally encounter one out here you will understand why your fears are quite silly.

He was very patient and catered to my fears. He walked me to the outhouse at night and everytime we’d walk back to the cabin I would sprint beside him to walk in front fearing what may be coming. I gave him a good laugh many times and dang it, I just need to see one! Fortunately they prefer fish and there is a plethora of fish this time of year. Well, I felt like a Ptarmigan or Grouse out there in the wilderness. Stupid and unaware of what might be staring at me through the immensely thick brush in this beautiful temperate rain forest. The woods were so thick and you wouldn’t believe how much a stump covered in moss looks like a fuzzy bear! At least a Ptarmigan or Grouse have the camouflage thing going for them. I’m wearing bright clothing in an unfamiliar envioronment. I would never see one coming nor would I hear it because all of the waterfalls drown out all other sounds. We did not see any bears or signs of them and made sure we kept the cabin tidy and removed our trash every chance we got.

We did however spend the 5 days in the bay with 4 harbor seals. They were absolutely adorable! They have huge dark eyes that remind me of Puss in Boots from Shrek. They were very curious about what we were doing and would check us out when we were riding around on our 7’6″ raft. We also saw many sea otters and I hear they are quite the pests. They tend to wipe out their prey. Constantly eating, but they sure are cute. The large male sea lion was fising for salmon one day and that was exciting! He was quite the fisherman and enjoying the heck out of those slamon. He obviously thinks the bay is his territory as he perched himself up on a rock a few days later scratching himself and basking in the sun. He wasn’t thrilled that we were in his area and swam by our boat, looked my husband dead in the eye, and snorted quite loudly at us. We could see females popping up around his basking rock as if to say, “Can we come out yet?” They did a great job at keeping themselves hidden.

Then there were the bald eagles. Have you ever seen a bald eagle fly over your head quite closely while scanning the ocean for fish or the shore for scraps? They are amazing and very intimidating when you see their eyes and that gaze scanning for their next meal. I sure am glad i’m not on their list of snacks! I so enjoy listening to them chatter amongst each other. It’s just like listening to two friendly parrots talking to one another. There were two in our bay raising a rucus with the ravens and other birds around the area. Ooooh can they upset a nest just being nearby. They have no fear and why should they? They sit there almost as if they are deciding if they want to ruin the ravens day or move on because of all the harrassment they are getting. I could’t take enough pictures of those birds.

We went out for our first fishing adventure on day two and my husband was trying to remember all the sweet spots to fish in the area. We weren’t having much luck with the big fish as we were right in between two salmon runs. But if you put a small pixie on a piece of string and just bob it up and down you will yank out codfish all day long. The kids were absolutely thrilled! My 3 year old daughter was using her tiny Barbie fishing pole and was the fishing master! She was reeling in codfish right and left. My son had a bit bigger pole and couldn’t feel them biting as well as she could on her small pole, but he still caught a bunch as well. We have a live fish well in the front of the boat that constantly feeds fresh water from the ocean. The kids thought that was the best thing ever! Catching the codfish and putting them in the fishing well to inspect, pet, and harrass. We eventually moved on to a more rocky area to fish so we could try for some rock fish and they were just as easy to catch as the codfish. They are just a bit more dangerous to handle. They’ve got some prickly dorsal fins. We have many Alaskan mammal and fish books so we always inspect our catch and discuss their habitat, eating habits, and anatomy. The kids love that.

My husband and son went clamming one evening and dug up 31 clams. That was quite exciting for my son. My husband had purchased a clam gun which he had never used before and loved it. Aside from clam digging, my son would constantly scour the beach during low tide and find eels, crabs, bugs, and all sorts of things I had never seen before. He’d round them up in his bucket and show off his find to everyone. The eels were so small and all sorts of colors.

The cabin was surrounded with salmon berry bushes and blueberry bushes. So fun to walk out the door, pick a berry and eat it. They were yummy. Once the rain started it didn’t stop for 3 days and you wouldn’t believe how the waterfalls grew and the creeks started raging! Such a beautiful place and we were very sad to leave. Even though it rains quite often in Valdez, if you have the proper gear, the rain makes no difference. It’s still a beautiful place teaming with wildlife.

The locals were very friendly and we appreciated their help whenever it was needed. The fellow boaters were very nice and there’s always someone nearby or the coast guard if you ever have an emergency. We did not want to leave and can’t wait to go back! I am looking forward to our next visit and what new adventures we may have.