Its been really windy that last couple days, one night it got up to around 70 mph! This morning it was beautiful and calm but right now there is actually thunder and a couple flashes of lighting!! Thats really rare for Ketchikan or let me rephrase that.... Yes Bay Lodge.
On the 27th (day after tomorrow) we'll be coming to town for a week!!

Today Nicky and Ryan left for Maui :(, Nicky was saying that she'd send my a post card for Maui, while I'm shoveling snow, lol.

Here are some pictures of seals basking in the sun...

Humpback Whales

A couple days ago Mom, Saylor and Me were kayaking in the back bay when we saw some humpback whales surface! It looked like a mama and a baby, so we paddled closer to get a better look. We followed them all over the bay, and I don't think I ever paddled so fast in my life, (I'm still a bit sore).

My Adventures Since 4th of July

 I can't believe I haven't posted since 4th of July!! Well I guess I should fill in the gap.

Me and my mom took our kayak and paddled to the back bay and found a sign that said there was a trail that linked onto the main McDonald trail that starts at the lodge. We'd heard from other crew members that there was no trail at all, but me and my mom went anyway just for the fun of it. Guess what... they were wrong there was a very very old trail that was marked by markers but the markers didn't start until you got passed a big hill. So if you were standing on the beach you wouldn't be able to see it. We followed the markers for a while in super thick brush, but eventually we came to a muskeg, while we were walking through the muskeg we saw bear foot prints and also the skunk cabbage roots had been dug up eaten  there were deer foot prints too. At the end of the valley the markers went on for a minute more then there were no more markers to follow! So we had to turn back. :(

 muskeg valley

The beginning of the trail

Some weird plant we found

Red soft moss

The stream next to the trail

Hike To the Hot Springs

About a month ago my cousins the Axelsons came and picked me up from the Lodge and we went for a hike to the hot springs in Bailey Bay!! The first part of the hike wasn't hard because it was pretty manicured. Also because when you came to the half way point there was a canoe you can take the rest of the way to the hot springs. Carrie, Me, Paul and Emma took the canoe going up to the springs and had a great time trying to figure out how to get up the narrow and shallow streams!! I have done this hike once before and also to the canoe a year ago, so I thought I remembered which stream to take, I was soo wrong (I forgot to mention that there was 2 streams to pick from). First we took the small stream that only took us half the was there, so then we took the second stream which was wider but even more shallow and we kept getting stuck on sand bars, again and again and again..... finally we got out of our exasperating situation though we were all laughing the whole time we were stuck. We thought that we'd be in the hot springs by the time the others got there but because it took us soo long to figure out that we couldn't use the streams the group was already past us! Some FAST canoe ride! Anyway the springs were amazing and to be somewhat dare-devilish Emma and I after soaking in the hot springs went and jumped into the foot deep freezing creek then got back into the hot springs. It felt great but at the same time Horrible!! After a while we had to head back and this time almost everyone who had hiked all the way took the canoe going back. I had an awesome time and I know everyone else did to!!

I would have posted a bunch of pictures but I can't find any of the hike!! There are too many files, to many pictures, to many..... everything!!!!!


Oh! I just remembered, I am getting my very own....Computer!!!  I finally saved up enough money to get one! I asked my homeschool program if they would pay for a mac book Air or at least half of it but the wouldn't. So I decided on getting a Dell... one second...Ok, a Dell 14.0" Laptop PC, (Its funny, I don't even know the name of my own computer, hehehehe) I can't wait till it gets here, it should arrive on Friday along with the backpack I bought for my computer! All this buying, if I keep on like this I'll be broke before I know it!!

Independence Day Pictures

Ok! Here are the photos from the 4th of July!!

Sparkler Fight!!

Cinder decided that she was moving into the office because she didn't like all the fireworks outside!

Jim, one of the guides here took these pictures.

12 Is A Magical Number

I'm 12!! My birthday was on June 23, and it was on a Thursday the busiest day of the week! I had to guide the morning which was an adventure. Nicky and I took up 3 guys and since there was a man who was 84 years old he couldn't go all the way to the lean to. So Nicky took the other 2 guys up and I stayed with the other one. (J is what the older guys name was) J was fly fishing at the edge of the river and then he was about to slip and fall into the river so I grab his hand but then I slip on a loose rock and fell getting my sleeves soaking wet and the back of my coat. All he did was laugh at me. He decided to turn back before we had even been fishing for a half an hour.I had to radio Nicky that we were going back (after we were both at the lodge later that day she said that when I called it scared her to death because we had agreed that we would only use the radio for emergence's like if there was a bear or one of the guests got hurt) I had to help him over every root and rock and every hard spot on the trail for about an hour! Then we finally got back! Hallelujah!! I radioed to Nicky and told her that we had safely arrived at the lodge.

The rest of the day I just spent time with my family and ran away from people who kept saying that they were going to throw me off the dock 12 times instead of 12 birthday spanks!!!

My 4th of July was great, the hole day my family set off fireworks and had sparkler fights and I dropped bombs on people. Then that night there was a beautiful firework show!!! (I haven't loaded the pictures of the 4th of July but I will soon).

This is Dandelion, the bear I was talking about in my last post.

Some beautiful foxglove.

eyes its prey...

catches the eel...

Poses for my picture

One of my moms rosebush blossoms

A wild rose

Another beautiful evening at Yes Bay Lodge.

 Yesterday was Thursday and that's when I guide up the river but yesterday there was no one to go up with me so I didn't guide. :( Instead I took pictures of flowers the hole day!

Sunshine

So much has happened I don't know where to start!!! We got the paint needed to finish up the railings and now they are done!!!!! I am sick of painting! Last week we had been preparing for a small crew ship to come and Thursday  it came into the bay and Nicky and I guided some people up to the pond in the morning from 7:00 a.m. to noon and then we took another group up from 1:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.. I had such a busy day that when I got back I could barely keep from going to sleep during diner, lol. Every Thursday for the hole season there will be a crew ship coming and the lodge will give fishing trips up the river and flight seeing tours.

Saturday was so amazing! First right before my mom, Saylor and I went kayaking I heard the dogs barking down at the beach. So I went down there and something was shrieking and  I saw little brown nose sticking out of the rock! It was a mink, so I moved a rock out of the way and then shooed the dogs away. When we went kayaking we went to the back bay and saw another mink!! After we saw the mink we heard a pair of loons and called back to them!! Since we where in our kayaks we were able to get really close. Later, in the afternoon we saw the first bears of the season!!! There were 3 brown bears across the river eating grass. The Mama was huge and she stayed close to the woods but her cub's (who are so big that its only weeks before she kicks them out) went all about. Their dad, who I saw last year, is as big as a Volkswagen and has round teddy bear ears and is a bright blond and that's why I called him Blondie lol. On of his cubs is just as bright a blond as he so I was going to call him Blondie Jr. but that didn't sound right. I thought of called him either Sunshine or Dandelion, which one should I pick or if you think of something better comment and tell me what you have in mind!

Yesterday my dad showed me how to dock the boat and then let me take it out by myself around the front bay!! I have never been in the boat by myself, and it was awesome!!! That evening Saylor and I went down to the dock and got some crab and I started cleaning them when Nicky comes down with Rex (who a couple weeks before in town got beat up by another dog and now has a hole in his neck) and he scared a mink into the water which was sneaking about the dock. I only saw it swim under the dock.

Today Nicky and I got out from storage all the chairs and tables that go outside on the decks. First we had to get them out of a closet under the lodge, then rub them down with soap. We had to carry them to the front deck and then forgot where the tables went! It wouldn't have been so hard if it hadn't been so hot outside.

Me kayaking in the 1 man kayak Nicky and me share.

It was so fun going under there!!

Saylor's cheesy smile, in the 2 man kayak

Having Fun

Yesterday me and my family went to town and mostly shopped for the day. I got up at 5:30 a.m. and stayed in bed for a half and hour then my dad yelled at me to get up! We left for town at 6:30 a.m. and the ride was beautiful, we went to the house and then were on our way the the mall till my dad called and said that when he and Art got out of the truck and Rex (Arts dog) stepped on the lock button inside the truck and locked them out! So me, my mom and Saylor had to go back to the house and get the extra keys for my dads truck and run them out to where he was! Me and my mom thought it was funny but my dad thought other wise. We went to the Landing for breakfast then went shopping and right before we left for the lodge Saylor and I got some ice cream form McDonalds. The ride to the lodge wasn't as nice as that morning, it was 8 to 10 foot swells with a bit of chop in the middle, and right before the the mouth of the lodge it got ruff and I regretted eating the ice cream, lol. When we got back home I was sore and tired but had a fun time!!

One of the things we got at town was a Kayak and today we put it together and everyone got to ride in it!! Me and Nicky went for a long time, we went up the river twice and to the little islands around the lodge. We had a blast and so did Saylor and mom, they went Kayaking for a long time to and Saylor is a Kayaking pro now lol!! We will be getting more Kayaks soon and Nicky is getting one to! I didn't get
any pictures but tomorrow when I go Kayaking again I will make sure to get some.

Nicky with her cat, scout

Me in my skirt on a sunny day!

My dads new plane