I’ll miss the privacy of this cove, alive with eagles, bear and all the silent, underwater tenants.

I was up at five with the jingle and meowing of Kona patrolling my sleeping area, waiting for her food dish to alert her to breakfast, still an hour away. But I’ve had plenty of sleep. Today we head for the hot springs and I dig out my swimsuit to prepare.

At 6:45 a yacht showed up in our formerly private cove and it anchors right by the magnificent falls. While we ate breakfast in the wheel house, they lowered something at first unidentifiable off the second deck. An emergency exit they were testing? Peter laughs, It’s a water slide! Our idyllic cove turned into a mini-Disneyland for the rich. Feeling grateful they weren’t here last night when we had the cove to ourselves.

We see a couple of hummingbirds darting over the prow. Sue thought maybe they were attracted to the bright orange things hanging there, a raincoat and a life ring.

Pete motored the dinghy out to the crab pot he lowered last night, but came back empty-handed. Well almost empty handed. He’d temporarily imprisoned a tiny long-bodied fish with a red striped stomach in a Tupperware dish. Just 4 or 5” long, Pete called it an eelfish bit we don’t really know what it was.

We’re leaving soon, and hoping for better luck with the prawn trap that Peter set at the entrance to the cove when we arrived yesterday.

Treasure from the Deep!

We’re on our way out, and Pete pulled up the prawn trap, 250 feet of rope, hand over hand for what seemed like half an hour but was probably 10 minutes. Would there be a catch? Sue told me about the time they pulled up their trap as a grateful octopus eased out, stomach full. I’ve mentally crossed my fingers.

Yes!  The bottom of the trap was full of wriggling prawns. We took turns estimating how many. Pete guessed 53, Sue 69 and me 72. We were all wrong. 96! Enough for shrimp cocktail, scampi and another night’s dinner as well. 2 different species, all fat. Pete is on the lower fish cleaning deck, washing them for tonight’s feast.

Now we’re underway down Chatham Straight to Baranoff Island and a soak in the hot springs.

Along the way Sue steers and points out a whale blowing on the horizon just right of the bow, starboard. I don’t see it and now I’m spoiled from whales having been so close, I don’t bother with binoculars. But still I watch, and see the occasional blow and tail flukes as they head for deep water.

We’ve arrived in Warm Springs Bay on Baronoff Island, and have anchored in the harbor maybe ½ mile from the springs where a number of small vessels are tied at the dock. There are a few summer homes here in a row near the hot spring tubs, rugged looking wooden structures in need of paint.

We took the dinghy to the “civilized” hot springs near the houses, but tomorrow it’ll be the one by the water falls, where 2 years ago Pete saw a pile of grizzly scat in the woods. So it’s true…

It’s still a cool and misty day, perfect for a hot spring soak.

A Gigantic Tub and Delightful Soak

The gigantic private tub (Sue and Pete had their own) is constantly being filled and noisily, slurpily drained with sulphur-scented water. But it stays completely full with this constant back and forth. It’s clothing optional here since the 3 tubs are in private rooms with locks on the doors and curtains on the windows, but I wore my suit so I could keep them open and see the waterfall nearby while soaking.

I’d forgotten how that first exquisitely pleasurable dip into a mineral water-filled tub, up to the neck, felt. Sue said she heard my “Ahhh…” through the 2 walls that separated us.

After 25 minutes, I’d had enough. It was a luxurious, but curiously draining soak.

We dressed and decided to hike down towards the primitive hot springs, the ones by the waterfall to check it out for tomorrow’s adventure. A nice little hike over laid out planks, rocks and roots. We picked blueberries, a little tart, for tomorrow morning’s pancakes along the way.

Amongst the rounder leaves of the blueberry plants, I spotted a few bright orange-yellow salmon berries. These were plumper (and sweeter) than the ones we picked a few days ago.

Surprisingly I noticed some deep footprints next to the planks we were stepping on, wondering out loud why somebody chose to walk in the muck instead of on the wood. Pete pointed out what should have been obvious to me; these were bear tracks.

I didn’t make it all the way to the springs, but Peter did, clapping his hands along the way so he wouldn’t surprise any grizzlies.

He told us later there was not a single person soaking there today.

We’re home now, back on the Kama Hele and Pete called me from the wheelhouse to watch as a big brown grizzly stripped berries on his way climbing a lush hillside. He showed us a video later and we watched while close-up, this bear scratched himself like a big dog.

Scampi tonight! I think I’ll read a while and rest. What a life.

Time to prepare for dinner. Pete showed me how to clean the shrimp by twisting and pulling off the tail then splitting the front and removing shell and legs. Sue took a photo of us, blue gloved, intent on the task. I’m looking a little disgusted, but that was just to be funny. I loved working on this homey task with my stepson.

Wild Blueberry Disaster and Delicious Scampi

The blueberries are full of little worms! How many did we eat on the walk and is that why they were a little sour? Probably good for the bears fattening for winter, though.

Peter noticed the worms while picking through them at the sink and I offered to take over that job. We didn’t see any when we picked them, but now I see a little wiggly head emerging from a berry. It’s some kind of life cycle thing going on here. And they have little threads. Silkworms and mulberries? I’ll have to research that. But there’s no “picking through” them anymore. Overboard with the entire lot.

The scampi was amazing! Sweet delicious fat chunks of curly shrimp meat nested in spaghetti noodles, garlic, butter, chopped veggies. Did Sue say she could eat this every day, or did I just think I could? Maybe both.

I wish we had a key lime pie to finish off the meal. We may be in Alaska, but it would be perfect now.

As I ready this day’s thoughts for my blog, I think what a lucky woman I am, getting to relive crisp memories and then share them with you, too!

More soon…

Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry

P.S. I wish I’d brought a few other sweaters, so you don’t think this green outer layer was the only thing I had to wear! I swear, underneath I had on all sorts of colorful tops. But it was pretty chilly in Alaska.