After the birding trip with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT) near Anchorage, I flew about halfway out the Aleutian Islands chain to a town called and island called Unalaska. I spent 2+ days there - too short a time, but I packed a lot into those days!!
First of all, lest you think that Unalaska is something like Pepsi "the Un-cola", no, it's not a statement by the residents saying, "we're not Alaska", or "we're unlike mainland Alaska". It comes from an Aleut phrase (or from Russian adoption of Aleut) meaning "near the peninsula". ?? OK, maybe not exactly "peninsula". "Alaska" comes from Aleut via Russian meaning something like the big land sticking out into the sea" or "the mainland". So "Unalaska" essentially means "near the Alaska Peninsula/ mainland AK". And it actually makes sense if you look at a map. The Alaska Peninsula sticks waaay out from Alaska, especially if you include Unimak "Island" in the peninsula, and Unalaska is only about 20 miles or so from the peninsula. This was all a legacy of the very early Aleuts, and later Russian fur traders in the 1700s, whose lives were based in the Aleutian Island chain, but who knew they were "close" to a much bigger land. But "close" is relative. It's about a 4 hour flight to get from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor, and it does seem so far away that maybe it is a little bit "un"Alaska :-). And now hold on... what's Dutch Harbor? Dutch Harbor is the name of the beautiful harbor in town, and also the name of the airport, which is confusing, because both the town and island are called Unalaska. The harbor is called Dutch Harbor because apparently a Dutch boat was first to dock or anchor there. Anyway, that's what's in a name - surely more than you wanted to know!
There were two main reasons why I chose to go to Unalaska. One, of course, was a bird. This is probably the best place in the world to see the Whiskered Auklet, certainly the best place in the US. It is a very interesting seabird in the Alcid family (Auks/Murres/Puffins), which actually does have striking white feathers that stick out like long "whiskers".
First of all, lest you think that Unalaska is something like Pepsi "the Un-cola", no, it's not a statement by the residents saying, "we're not Alaska", or "we're unlike mainland Alaska". It comes from an Aleut phrase (or from Russian adoption of Aleut) meaning "near the peninsula". ?? OK, maybe not exactly "peninsula". "Alaska" comes from Aleut via Russian meaning something like the big land sticking out into the sea" or "the mainland". So "Unalaska" essentially means "near the Alaska Peninsula/ mainland AK". And it actually makes sense if you look at a map. The Alaska Peninsula sticks waaay out from Alaska, especially if you include Unimak "Island" in the peninsula, and Unalaska is only about 20 miles or so from the peninsula. This was all a legacy of the very early Aleuts, and later Russian fur traders in the 1700s, whose lives were based in the Aleutian Island chain, but who knew they were "close" to a much bigger land. But "close" is relative. It's about a 4 hour flight to get from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor, and it does seem so far away that maybe it is a little bit "un"Alaska :-). And now hold on... what's Dutch Harbor? Dutch Harbor is the name of the beautiful harbor in town, and also the name of the airport, which is confusing, because both the town and island are called Unalaska. The harbor is called Dutch Harbor because apparently a Dutch boat was first to dock or anchor there. Anyway, that's what's in a name - surely more than you wanted to know!
There were two main reasons why I chose to go to Unalaska. One, of course, was a bird. This is probably the best place in the world to see the Whiskered Auklet, certainly the best place in the US. It is a very interesting seabird in the Alcid family (Auks/Murres/Puffins), which actually does have striking white feathers that stick out like long "whiskers".
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Quick story before the photos... After viewing the Whiskered Auklets, we headed back in to the harbor. On our way in we had the great fortune to see two Laysan Albatrosses -->
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Spoiler alert, I did see many, but it was quite an adventure!! Keepin it Reel Charters was the group that brought me out to search for those birds. Second reason was just the adventure - how interesting it was to go way out on this string of volcanic islands and see scenery like nowhere else. What a great adventure it was!
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The boat captain suggested dropping a fish line and seeing if we could get a small fish like a cod to "chum" and see if the albatross would come closer. We did indeed get a cod within a few seconds, and it brought both albatross practically right next to the boat. We dropped another line down and somewhat surprisingly came up with a small halibut (shown above). Now, I had actually asked whether I could buy some fresh halibut from Keepin it Reel, and this provided the perfect opportunity. I was flying home the next evening, and Keepin it Reel froze and packaged this lovely fish for me. I had and extra duffle bag with me, and I put the fish package in that one, along with a little bit of laundry. The funny part of the story was when I checked in for my flight back to Anchorage on a small plane... The person checking bags said, "Mr. Williams, we are a little overweight for the flight, so there is a small chance that we can only send one of your bags today. Could you please tell me which one would be the priority?" I smiled and said, "Well, this one has all my important stuff and most of my clothes; this one has frozen fish. Which one do you think would be the priority?!" She smiled and said she would do everything possible to send them both. Luckily they both made it, and my family had many enjoyable meals of delicious halibut!!
The entire Alaska trip was fantastic, but I might just say that Unalaska was the tops!!
The entire Alaska trip was fantastic, but I might just say that Unalaska was the tops!!
