FISH-ON-THE-BRAIN: Valdez, Alaska

We arrived in Valdez, AK yesterday in the rain. All day and all night it has been wet and grey with the famed mountains of Prince William Sound shrouded in fog and low lying clouds. We caught glimpses of glaciers and waterfalls during our drive from Thompson Pass, but the spectacular scenery of the area has been hidden behind a veil of mist and fog. We ventured out to tour the town last night in the drizzle and and Mark posed for pictures at "The Fat Mermaid." We wandered the marina and got the forecast for the rest of the week which calls for rain, as much as 40-50 mm on some days! (Of course, this town also gets 40 feet of snow every winter!)

Despite the wet weather, we decided to stay an extra day to tackle laundry, homeschooling and blog updates before heading off to Tok, AK. Mark took the girls fishing from shore at Allison Point this afternoon in the hopes of letting the girls practice their casting while reeling in the pinks. They saw Stellar sea lions gorging themselves on salmon and the girls were able to catch fish on their own. Heidi grabbed the fish with her hands and was able to catch them like a grizzly bear. Nicole even had a pink salmon release her eggs all over her when she held it up for a photo. The hatchery at low tide stinks like something awful and Nicole caught a fish head and they both played around with "zombie" pink salmon. We have the makings for halibut fish and chips tonight for dinner and TV for the first time in 3 months, so I'm sure the kids will be happy!