Cold Bay and Izembek – July 16

Today we stopped in small ports: Sand Point, King Cove, Cold bay and False Pass. Remember the ferry travels 24/7, so docking time can be midnight, ten in the morning or 6 pm! Time is fluid on the water – things happen when they happen – and the long daylight hours mask the passing of the day so an 11:30 pm arrival in port feels like dusk.

The gem of the day was our stop at Cold Bay. There is the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. It has the largest eel grass beds in the world. One reason, they think, for the abundance of the Bering sea is the nutrients flushed out of the eel grass beds to the sea with every tide. There are biologists who studying the eel grass. Warmer temps have brought changes like alders and willows to the landscape, there have also been changes in the bird populations. The biologists are studying the protein levels in the eel grass, looking to see if the temperature or other factors may be having an effect on the nutrient density.  Birds rely on the eel grass for its high fat and protein content to fuel their migrations. Like the Pacific-golden plover who migrates to New Zealand for the winter! (smart bird!)Izembek spans a few Islands – we visited Grant Point near the lagoon. The landscape is stunning flat open aleutian tundra. The winds were blowing… yet not enough to blow out the clouds that shrouded the volcanic peaks. The lupine and Indian Paint Brush and Pearly-everlastings were in full bloom! It was exquisite. And there was bear poop! I was surprised thinking there wasn’t much for a bear to graze on…. and then we discovered the salmon berries. They are huge! On par for Alaska! Everything is big here… the bears, the trees, the sea otters… and the salmon berries!

I haven’t mentioned yet that it was peak salmon berry time. Every stop  I gorged myself on salmon berries. They were everywhere and just calling to be picked. I swear my poop was going to look just like a bears from all the berries I ate!

These small ports range in size. Sand Point has approximately 800 residents, where cold bay and False Pass have about 40. People are quite friendly. I also think they have a good sense of humor because besides the Izembek refuge Cold Bay has the distinction of the loneliest phone booth in America! There IS a phone in that booth AND it works!

Stopping in these ports/villages I find myself wondering what it would be like to live here. I felt remote when I traveled in the Brook’s Range, but this is a different kind of remote. The weather is unforgiving yet the landscape is stunning. I haven’t been bored one moment on this boat, even when the weather hasn’t been ideal. The feeling is one of being at ease and peaceful. Would it feel that way all the time? Would I like the reprieve from busy city life or would that only last a short while. What would it be to immerse into this landscape and lifestyle?