Work hard, play harder, that’s our motto…with our trip in August to the Grand Canyon we were a bit behind for work, so we put in 12-14 hour days to catch up, so we could head to Petersburg, Alaska.
Petersburg is the closest town to Point Baker where the Calder Mountain lodges are located. It has a population of 3300 citizens and it’s economy is fishing, fish processing, and tourism. Our daughter and son-in-law work at the 2 lodges from April until September each year. They asked us to come up the last week of the season and do a few repairs, help with end of the season chores, and then bring a pick-up and trailer home on the Alaska ferry.
We ate dinner at an Asian Fusion restaurant, but pulled pork and gyros were the special of the day..lol.
The next morning we walked to the pier, where Bill from Calder Mountain Lodge picked us up for the hour and a half ride to the northern tip of Prince of Wales Island.
Sunny Point is the lodge that Jerie manages. It is just across the bay from the main lodge.
We were greeted by our daughter Jerie, granddaughters Lizzie and Kaylee and Kaylee’s friends Luna and Annie. Kaylee was excited about the present that ncle Jade sent.
The tide at Point Baker changes every 6 hours and it is a dramatic change
We stayed at Calder Mountain Lodge, which is at the far end of the bay. We had a beautiful 1st evening view
The next morning we headed out with our son-in-law Chris for a morning of fishing.
Chris had just the right spot to catch Rock Fish. These are not all ours, as there were two guests with us. The limit is 5 per day per person and we caught them in 20 minutes.
The sea lions knew just the spot to rest and be safe from the Orcas that are occasionally in the area.
We headed back to Point Baker to do some repair work inside the Sunny Point cabins, as it was closed for the season. We stayed there last summer and it is a great Lodge, with a very down home feel.
We joined Jerie several times on her twice a day commute between the lodges.
Between fishing trips, Jim taped cracks and “mudded” walls. Kaylee had heard Jim talk about “taping” the walls and was very proud that she was helping 🙂
One of the end of the season chores, is the larger boats are driven near the lodge during high tide, they are left to beach during low tide, there is then 4 hours to power wash the bottom of the boat before the high tide returns. The boat is then driven back out.
One day, we convinced Kaylee to go fishing with us. We caught a fish and then she decided it was too cold to fish.
There is just something about fall at a fishing lodge…foggy days, cloudy skies, the sound of a breaching whale, and a feeling of sadness to watch the last guests leave for the season.
Church is abit different in Point Baker…first there is a commute by boat. An audio of a service in Idaho is played over satellite at the main lodge.
We watched an end of the season ritual, where the employees do an evening polar bear plunge, the temperature was 38 degrees. Even Chris did the plunge.
You just can’t top a quiet evening in Point Baker, Alaska. The bay has a passage called “The Gut” that is a short cut to Port Protection. It is not advised to use during low tide, but it was beautiful at sunset.
We cuddled with grandkids, helped with the end of the season provisions count, and enjoyed some down time by playing pool. We discovered that Kaylee had been using the ledge under the pool table as her special hiding spot, We found things that Jerie had been looking for all summer…LOL.
While out fishing one morning, we passed by a barge headed to Petersburg. Barges are how most of the Inside Passage communities receive goods. Fresh items such as milk, eggs, and produce are flown in by Alaska Airlines as cargo.
Due to the recent rain, the salmon were not biting, but we caught a variety of fish, including Pacific Cod and a beautiful but protected rock fish…both were thrown back to live another day.
The first group of employees left for home, it was bittersweet for the entire staff
The mail plane comes to Point Baker once a week, weather permitting. It is a big event for the community. It was also exciting to watch a cruise ship pass the bay…we have been on several cruise ships that took this same route. Even the fishing trawlers were fun to watch.
We couldn’t get enough of the view from our room and porch of the main lodge.
Too soon it was time for us to leave. We would be driving a pick-up and trailer from End of the Road to Hollis to catch the ferry to Washington. It had been a fast and furious few days of work, fishing, fun, and memories.
