Kolt's first deer

Kolt has made a friend who owns a boat (Steve).  This could be good b/c it satisfies Kolt while giving us more time to save for our own, but it could be bad b/c Kolt is now going to want his own.  They decided to go hunting last weekend on Kruzof Island, just west of Sitka but still part of the city & borough of Sitka.  (It's not that far away from our island.)  Nobody lives on Kruzof Island, however, the forest service has a cabin over there that can be rented & there are also some campsites.  Part of Kruzof Island consists of Mount Edgecumbe, a dormant Volcano considered to be the iconic feature of the Sitka area.  You can see the volcano from miles out in the ocean, making it an ideal navigation aid in the days before GPS.  Mount Edgecumbe is usually snow capped year round & is the smooth slopes are often compared to Japan's Mount Fuji.  On April 1, 1974, a local prankster named Porky Bickar flew in and ignited 100 old tires in the crater, convincing nearby residents of Sitka that the volcano was erupting.  There are supposed to be some really beautiful hiking & biking trails on the island so I am hoping I can go over at least once while we live in Alaska.  Like the main island, Kruzof is also full of brown bears.  
Anyways, back to Kolt's hunting trip...... 
Kolt has never killed a deer & it has been on the top of his "list".  A couple weeks ago Kolt went out with his friend & b/w the two of them, they killed a deer.  Long story short.... Kolt shot the deer in the foot which stopped it, Cooper (the friend) shot the deer in a good spot & killed it, however, they didn't think it was dead so Kolt shot it again in the back strap which essentially "ruined" the deer.  They didn't get a lot of meat off of it & they both considered it to be Cooper's deer.  So, Kolt & his friend Steve, went hunting on Kruzof.  Kolt shot a deer, in the "kill spot" (I'm not sure what it is called) & it fell right over.  Then Steve shot a deer that they had to track just a short distance.  Needless to say, Kolt was VERY VERY proud of his first deer.

   

Just a little update

I have NOT abandoned the blog!  I have just been a little busy & haven't gotten around to posting anything.  I started my new job at the bank last Monday so this is my 2nd week of work.  So far I like it a lot.  I work with a lot of other girls around my age & they have all been very friendly & helpful.  Having a job gives me something to do & has put me on a normal schedule.  I am just very eager to be trained so I can work on my own.  We found out today that our household goods will be delivered on Friday.  YAYY!!!! Finally, we will have our stuff.  We are both very excited about that & I can't wait to spend the weekend cleaning & unpacking & setting up the house.  Kolt has a friend from work that he hangs out with now.  They go fishing & hunting & sometimes when they go to the shooting range I tag along with.  Last weekend we went for a hike with Gunner & thankfully didn't see any bears.  Tourist season is over now.  The last cruise ship was supposed to come in last week but got cancelled due to weather.  October & November are supposed to be REALLY bad months for storms.  We actually experienced one last week.  It's pretty much like a hurricane.  The ocean was crazy with huge white caps & the wind was knocking down trees all over town & the power even went out.  So we have that to look forward these next 2 months.  We have already started losing 5 minutes of daylight every day, I'm not sure when we get to the  minimum amount of daylight though.  But when we do, the sun will come up around 10am & it will get dark around 4:30pm.  It only lasts for about a month & then we start gaining 5 minutes of daylight every day again.  We are still getting used to the prices around here.  A case of aquafina bottled water is about $10 & a 24-pack of mountain dew is almost $14.  On the bright side...... a bag of ice is only .99 cents, haha.  Pedicures are about $50 & buying clothing here is absolutely ridiculous.  Needless to say, I have begun my adventures of online shopping.  I'm getting used to the town & having a job has introduced me to the strange concept of "addresses" in remote villages, aka "the bush."  i.e:  The third house on the right with the blue door.  I will write again soon, just wanted everyone to know we are still alive & well.        

Fortress of the Bear

Today Kolt & I went to the Fortress of the Bear, a rescue center for orphaned brown bears here in Sitka.  There were two four-year old bears, Killisnoo & Chaik, in one tank & three two-year old bears, Toby, Lucky, & Baloo in another tank.  Each tank is ¾ acre, one is 17ft tall & the other is 14ft tall, both have ponds with salmon.  We were on a covered viewing platform between the two tanks.  The Fortress of the Bear is a non-profit organization the is run by volunteers.  They take in cubs who have lost their parents & most of the time are starving & extremely small & sickly looking.  They can not sell the bears to zoo’s or anything so the bears are usually donated.  One of their most recent cubs, Lucy, was given to Casey Anderson’s organization, Montana Grizzly encounter.  Casey Anderson is the guy who has a show on Nat Geo about Brutus the bear.  I took a bunch of pictures & some videos, but these are the only bears we have seen since we’ve been in Alaska.  

Killisnoo was my favorite.  He seemed to really like people & was very animated.  When we first arrived, Killisnoo & Chaik, who I believe are brothers, were sitting by a stump looking up at us.  Chaik eventually got bored & went to sit by the pond, Killisnoo would walk around but when people were looking at him over the side of the tank, he would come back & stare at them like they had food for him.  When the trainer told Killisnoo to “be fierce” he would open his mouth wide & show is teeth.  You expect a loud growl to come out but he was very quiet.  He climbed along some tree stumps & came to the edge of the tank & stood up all the way to see us.


 Killisnoo & Chaik

 

Killisnoo

Chaik

Toby, Lucky, & Baloo were also siblings I think.  Toby liked the water & he came to the edge of the tank to see us at one point.  He was standing on a wet tree stump & when the trainer told him to “show us how you pray” he let go with his two front hands, stood up & put his hands together like he was praying.  It didn’t last long though because he slipped & slid down the stump like he was on a slide.  Lucky & Baloo got aggressive with each other over food a couple times while we were there but I didn’t catch it on video. 

Toby, Lucky, & Baloo

Toby

Lucky & Baloo

They also had a small petting zoo type area with some ducks, geese, sheep, goats, & a mini horse.    

 

Pictures of our House

For those of you who are curious as to what our house looks like or now nice housing is here, this is for you.  Pictures of our house from front to back, bottom to top.  It is still empty & probably will be for at least another month.


                                                   The Front

                                                   
                                                        As you enter the front door

 

Looking at the front door from inside

                                   The mud room (1st room as you walk through the front door)

                                          Downstairs hallway   (Bathroom & closet to the right, door straight ahead is to the storage/crawl space under the stairs, & there is another closet across from that door & then the kitchen entry way is on the left.)

                                                     Downstairs 1/2 bath & closet #1)

                                                          Downstairs 1/2 bathroom

                    Downstairs hallway looking into the living room, closet #2 on the left

                                      Downstairs hallway looking into kitchen & living room

Kitchen

                                                     Kitchen looking in from dining room

                            Looking into the dining room/living room & hallway from kitchen

                                     Looking into the living room/dining room from hallway

                                                   Living room from Dining room

                                                    Dining room from living room

                                             From the back door looking into hallway

                                                                Bottom of stairs

                                                                    Top of stairs

Upstairs hallway (looking at the bathroom & laundry room.  Master bedroom & 2nd bedroom are on the right.)

                                                Upstairs hallway from master bedroom

                                                                  Upstairs full Bathroom

                                                                   2nd Bedroom from door

                                                 2nd Bedroom looking into hallway

                                                         Master bedroom from door

                             
                                              Master bedroom looking towards hallway

                                                                Master Bedroom

                                                        Laundry room from door

                                                          Laundry room from closet

                                                      Laundry room towards hallway

                                                                     Backyard

                                                               Back of the house