Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Top 10 Thorne Bay trip highlights

  1. Touring the countryside and marking a trail with Robin, Karen P. and Jim (KP's husband, Forest Service geologist and record-breaking huntin' fool) on 4-wheelers during our quest for an unmapped cave
  2. Seeing what must be one of the only places in America where you write down how many gallons of gas you pumped and your name and leave it in an ice cream bucket
  3. Watching fireworks with Robin in Craig over the 4th of July while KP worried and fretted in the background about fireworks injuries and EMS calls
  4. Having my ass fall asleep (and hearing about KP's and Robin's asses falling asleep) from sitting 4 abreast in the cab of a pickup for hours on end while driving all over the place on gravel logging roads (El Capitan, Whale Pass, Thorne Bay, etc.) and trying to scare KP with our "reckless" driving
  5. Eating soft-serve ice cream (something I haven't had in a year!)
  6. Staying at a backcountry lodge owned by KP's and Jim's friends
  7. Stocking shelves and seeing how to run a liquor/video store in the middle of nowhere
  8. Watching Jim call in a deer to within 5 feet of him using a simple blade of grass
  9. Seeing the boys fly fish at Trumpeter Lake
  10. Seeing things uniquely Alaskan, like a teeny, tiny Sitka black tail deer fawn, a bear beside the road, salmon jumping upstream, signs about how to use your firearm in a residential area, hanging roadside effigies and more

Take a look at pictures of Thorne Bay and Prince of Wales Island.

2 comments:

HW said...

What a beautiful place! I have a feeling the bucket method of paying for gas might not work around here. The wife of the chief of police in one of our burbs had her tank drained in their driveway. Now there is a hotline number to report gas thieves.

KIA said...

Yes, it is a beautiful place. The gas station in Coffman Cove upgraded from a coffee can to credit cards!