Because my husband is spending his summer in Cordova mending fishing nets and I am spending my summer as usual at home keeping our health insurance in place and rent paid.... I needed a vacation. Two weeks in Alaska with the McCalvys. SO FUN! There are additional posts with some of our more specific adventures, but this is a bunch of photos of exploring Cordova.
The local library also has a museum and a large conference room that doubles as an art gallery. This year the theme for the art gallery was "Fish Follies" so all the art in the room had fish or fishing of some kind. And I enjoyed an afternoon at the library/museum/art gallery and learned a lot about Cordova history.
Fish Art outside Library
This quilt is displayed inside the museum and the white writing in the borders is local names and businesses. Each square is something that depicts life in Cordova. Of course, I couldn't get the entire quilt in one picture, so it required two. On this picture, the square in the center row, center right is the Mt.Eyak ski hill. I've skied there! The bottom right square (looks like a white plus sign with a small man in the center) is the Lost Fisherman Memorial. This is a depiction of the statue that sits at the edge of the Marina and commemorates Fishermen that never came home.
Here is a picture of the Fisherman's Memorial from February 2007.
(Top row of this picture is the same as the bottom row of the quilt picture above) This one shows the Million Dollar Bridge (middle row, far right) and the Ice Worm (bottom row, center right)
McCalvy Family Pictures. For Sharon's birthday, Kathleen put this picture frame together - this is as close as we're going to get to a family photo for a while and I LOVE IT so I took a picture of it.
A trip to Cordova is not complete without hiking Haystack Trail. It is a short hike with a great view at the end looking out toward the Copper River Flats and eventually the ocean. Usually there are tons of Eagles that you can hear in the trees and sometimes moose out in the meadows.
McKinley and Dick
Kids don't float - this particular Life Jacket offering is at the boat launch on the Eyak River. There are also Life Jackets available at both entrances to the Marina. I'm impressed. The life jackets are there all the time. When you need one, grab it, put it on your child, have your adventure and when you're done, put it back for the next kid.
Soots - I called her the "Watch Kitty" She spends a lot of time on top of the easy chair with a clear view of the front door. So as soon as you walk into the house, the Watch Kitty had her eyes on you... And if I ever came from the other direction and she didn't see me, she'd swat my hand if I tried to pet her. Attitude.
Meow - he's a sweetheart of an old cat. He will meow and meow and meow and meow to get some attention or food. I loved that he would jump up on my lap and just let me scritch and scritch and he seemed to enjoy it too.
McKinley - She's a good dog! James picked her out, so she's James' dog. But we'd never bring her to Utah because she's die of heat exhaustion and she'd be bored, bored, bored - no bears to bark at.
Slug - this picture is for you Mom Simpson. I laughed at you for swatting the tiny little white slugs off the bottom of the tent. What if these monsters were wandering around the yard and eating your strawberries!
Salmonberry blossom and berry - these berries make really, really, really good jelly. After they've had a chance to grow and ripen of course.
Baja Taco - this is where Kathleen works. The kitchen and food preparation is all inside the red bus. All the seating is inside the building or on the porch or picnic tables. They have really good nachos and milkshakes!
Airport - This is where Mom McCalvy works and one of the two ways into town (the other is by ferry). The airport terminal is that blue building in the background of the picture. Merle K Smith was an Alaska bush pilot who flew for Cordova Air Service and was eventually it's president for 29 years until it merged with Alaska Airlines. He earned the nickname "Mudhole" when his plane augured into a mud hole on a tundra runway at the Bremner Mine (near McCarthy). He spent the night scraping mud out of the engine and was able to take off again the next day.
James and Mom McCalvy
I didn't get a picture of the Post Office or the PostMaster on this trip, but I did find one from May 2008 - I love that mural in the background. I don't know what any other Post Office in the world looks like in the back room, but I like this one.
One beautiful day, Kathleen and I rode our bikes from home into town (about 4.5 miles). We were about .75 miles on our way and stopped to look at a highway marker when McKinley caught up to us. She was happy to be out for a run. And then we got to ride with her home again and then back on our way to town - thanks McKinley for adding 1.5 miles to our ride!
Wildlife at the marina. This beautiful bird speared a little fish or something while we watched her. Mostly we see seagulls and maybe some otters or seals in the water. So this heron was a nice change.
See - seagulls. The younger ones are mostly gray, while the mature birds are the white and gray variety. They are entertaining to watch though - especially the young ones. One tried to land on the railing and missed - he was straddling the railing with his feet and wings wildly flapping around. He finally lifted back off and I assume flew somewhere else out of embarrasment. Another young bird landed directly ontop of a second young bird. Both of them had their wings out for balance and it was a bit of a seagull totem pole for a few seconds.
I never did get to go for a ride in the river skiff, but I did get to hold onto the tie rope while James attempted to get the motor started. We took it back home and Dick and James got it to start right up. I had to leave town before it was officially launched for the summer, but I hope there are many, many fish caught from inside.
A favorite activity is to "drive out the road" or drive any distance along the Copper River Highway. It is paved for the first 13 miles out to the airport. And then it is a dirt road for another 30+ miles out to Child's Glacier and the Million Dollar Bridge. We saw a few moose, tons of seals in the river and tons of eagles. This eagle has a great perch above the river.
So... Those are some bits and pieces of a small Alaska community. One of my favorites!
