The Baker Bunch: Alaska! in August 2015

August 4, 2015

Andrew, Ambur, Amiane, Mom, Aaron, and Adriane.
Salt Lake City, Utah Airport. Ready to fly!

My sister Adriane had a goal to see all 50 states by her 40th birthday. Alaska was the last state she needed to make that goal. Our brother Alex was working in Katachan, for the summer, so we decided as siblings to all go with Mother and enjoy a trip together to Katachan, Alaska. It is the first time we did a "Just Siblings" trip, without spouses, children, or pets.
There is no way to post all the pictures, describe all we did, or all the memories we made. I will simply post some of the pictures we took, and let them speak for themselves-- with a few labels here and there to help jog our memories! (These pictures are a collection from all the pictures taken by everyone. With 6 people taking pictures, there were oodles of pictures to choose from. Most of the pictures are strait from the camera. There were way too many pictures to edit them all!)

The first step of the trip was getting mom out the door!

"Did I get everything? I feel like I am forgetting something."

A 6 hour layover in Seattle, Washington gave us time to do a little sightseeing. First we rode the tram from the airport to downtown.

A fun reflection as we entered the subway.

Who doesn't want their picture taken with a giant squid?

on the wharf,

We enjoyed having lunch, and feeding the sea gulls.

Sightseeing, and taking a break from all the stairs!

Seattle Subway System contains no restrooms, which I discovered just before we were suppose to board. So I had to hike back up to street level, cross the street, find a store, hike another level or two--as the restrooms are as far from the entrance as possible--only to find the restrooms were closed because they were detaining a shoplifter. By the time I finally got to go it was a true emergency. And then, to top it all off, a bird pooped on me as I walked back to the Subway. Other than that, it was a great way to get around.

Touch Down!

Coming into Ketchikan.

The plane landed on a small island, then we took the ferry over to Ketchikan.

Covered walk way to the ferry.

Riding the ferry.

Aaron and Adriane

The visitor's center:

Glad we didn't run into any of these alive!

August 5, 2015

Exploring town.

Being built on hilly slopes made for some interesting roads and architecture.

Yes, the salmon are running!

August 6, 2015

This is the resort where Alex works.

Ambur and Alex

We were able to take the boats out fishing, free of charge with Alex and Heather as our guides. Thanks for the sweet hook up Baby Brother!

A little bit of rain did not discourage our fishing.

Pulling up to the beach to do a little exploring.

What a itty bitty crab!

Andrew and Aaron. Thank goodness for selfie sticks!

Morning catch for the girls.

Amber, Mom, and Heather.

A quick change and mom is ready for a hike!

Instead of a hotel, we rented a "Fishing Shack". We had our own, fully stocked kitchen, so we cooked fresh fish as we caught it, and had some very wonderful meals!

Smoked Salmon

Broiled Salmon

August 7, 2015

Our wonderful accommodations.

The house came with a suburbane to drive, which came in handy for sighting seeing, going to the fishing resort, and . . .

for those moments when you are craving sugar.

Alex, Amiane, and Andrew

Alex, Aaron, Amiane, Adriane, and Andrew

Largest fish caught today, 6 lbs 6 oz. Caught by Amiane.

Fishing at the resort meant they cleaned and filleted our fish for us!

The largest and the most fish caught today was me.

After a morning of fishing, it is time for an afternoon of hiking.

Adriane & Andrew

August 8, 2015

Andrew, Alex, Mom, Amiane, Ambur, and Aaron

Aaron, Mom, and Ambur

Banana Slug. And they are yellow!

A Jelly Fish!

Upside down, buried truck. I think it has been there awhile!

Ambur and Aaron cruising along.

Rock Fish or something like that.

The fish were put on ice to keep them fresh.

Another big fish for Amiane.

After a morning of fishing we are headed to Silver King Lodge, on another smaller island.

Our cute little guide and trusted boat captain for the charter boat.

Seeing the eagles was amazing.

Aaron captured a cool video of the Eagle swooping and catching a fish,

but I haven't figured out how to put movies on here.

Silver King Lodge

Adriane and Ambur

These small island deer are about the size of a Great Dane Dog.

Obviously, their small size makes them a nuisance.

This sign was taped to the back door of the resort kitchen.

"Deer are coming in---Keep door closed"

Aaron, Amiane, Mom, Ambur, Andrew, Adriane

1st or 2nd largest known tree in Alaska.

Lunch!

Fresh crab, caught that morning, sausage, shrip, clams, corn and baby potatoes.

Amiane, Mom, and Aaron.

The New Record for Largest Catch of our group, 7 Lbs 7 oz.

August 9, 2015

The far end of the island usually has bears looking for salmon and huckleberries.

It looks like it is carrying a bear cub, but it is a salmon.

Mom and Adriane

Andrew and Mom

(I know Andrew doesn't like sideways pictures, but I love how they make you

look at the picture differently. Look at the strength in Aaron's face. Turning the picture puts the emphasis on the waterfall, but I would rather have the emphasis on Aaron.)

Alaska grows them big! Can you say Banana Slug?

Totem Poles

Adriane and Andrew went on an adventure of their own, Alaska Canyon Adventures, an extreme zip line! (Zipping through the trees from great hights did not appeal to me!)