Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/83

Contributor - Beverly Harvey

Title - Our Alaskan Adventure

Topic - Travel

In January, when most winter vacationers were packing their swimsuits to head to the sunny south, my husband and I were packing sweaters, mittens and warm underwear. We were headed for Kodiak Island, Alaska, to visit our daughter, Diane and her husband, Paul. They were on a remote part of the island called Amook Pass and there we stayed for twelve days in a large cabin with all the comforts of home. There were a few 46 neighbours", but they were miles away. It was necessary to fly from the city of Kodiak by means of a five passenger float plane, and traveling between the mountain peaks to our destination, caused much admiration for the skills of the pilot.

Day after day, while we were at Amook Pass, we stood in awe of God's creation. We looked at snow-capped mountains on either side, and as we stood at the water's edge in front of the cabin, we could look down the Pass between Kodiak and Amook Islands, and see snow-capped mountains ahead as far as thirty miles away! It was a new experience for us and it was exciting!

We spent our short daylight hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) exploring as much of the surrounding area as possible in a 1 5 foot skiff, just big enough to hold the four of us. We marvelled at the variety and beauty of the ducks. we counted dozens of bald eagles, and never tired of watching their graceful flight across the sky. We found seals and sea lions, deer and fox. Although the Island is famous for Kodiak bear and King crab, we did not see any of them. The weather was not extremely cold and we had mostly sunny days.

The arrival of darkness, at about 4:00 p.m., did not stop our exploration. When we could no longer look up and out, we looked down - with our flashlights we explored the creatures of the sea left exposed by the outgoing tide. Creatures we had only seen on TV or read about in books, we could now see and touch - starfish of many colours, huge 20-legged starfish, limpets, sea anemone, hermit crabs, mussels by the thousands, sea cucumbers which lay in jelly-like masses without the support of the waters, sea urchins and jelly fish. It was beautiful to stand there in the quiet darkness and watch the full moon come up over the mountain tops, and to worship God who had made it all.

One day we left the cabin in the skiff about I 1:00 a.m. to look for sea lions. The weather was good and the water was calm in the Pass as we headed for other islands where they might be found. After leaving the Pass we crossed a larger bay of water to go around several small islands in our search. At about 1:00 p.m. we were going to head for "home" as we had not been successful in our search, only to discover that the wind had increased, and with the incoming tide the large bay was not safe for us to cross. Paul immediately returned us to the small island we had just passed, and we tied up the skiff. Emergency clothing, food, a gun and CB radio (survival gear) always went with us in the boat. Diane got out the radio in hopes of contacting some young trappers who were at our cabin, to ask them to come for us in their larger boat. Paul started a fire in an old shack close at hand. Two hours later we had a nice warm fire, but no rescuers, and we had to think of the possibility of spending the night on the dirt floor. By 4:00 p.m. Paul had fashioned a stove out of an old wash tub, but my husband suggested they go out in the boat and check the bay. They soon returned, and said, "Put out the fire, we're going". By this time it was dark, so with prayers in our hearts and on our lips, we set off. Though we were soaking wet, we arrived at the cabin thanking God that He had brought us through our "Alaska adventure" safely.

One of the first things we learned when we arrived on the Island, was the friendship and loving care of Christians in Kodiak who were friends of Diane and Paul. They gave of their time and love to meet us at the airport, take us to their homes for lodging and meals, and when high winds prevented our flying on to our children for three days, they took us sight-seeing, included us in church activities and gave us meaningful tasks to do at the Kodiak Baptist Mission for Indian children. They are brothers and sisters in Christ whom we will probably never see again, until we see them in Glory, but they have left a warm and wonderful feeling in our hearts for Kodiak Island, Alaska.

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