A Trip to the Lake

This was our first day that we really had a vehicle to get around Dillingham and its environs since we rented the car for the first week. We've been here about three weeks now. First trip of the day was to head down to the post office. There was a package from my mom--she sent us another Brita water pitcher, since the first one broke in the mail. (It filtered water okay, but leaked when you poured it from a crack in the side.) Anyway, now we have a nice Brita pitcher and an extra filter, since the filter on the first one was just fine. She also sent me a couple of pairs of pants, and some more snack goodies to pay everything in. My mom sure knows how to pack a box.

After the post office, we checked out the hardware store. They actually sell a lot of stuff there. Upstairs is a whole housewares and toys and stuff section. Apparently they have appliances downstairs. The main floor is normal hardware stuff. Then, down in the "marina" section, they have boat engines, ATVs, snowmachines (snowmobiles, to those in the lower 48) and other stuff. They sell ammunition down there, too. It looks like they sell ammo for my rifle, which is interesting, since it wasn't available locally in Lexington. I guess they have lots of weird calibers here, and since ammunition can't be ordered by mail in Alaska (from what I understand), you have to have something for everyone.

After that, we came home, and took stock of our kitchen. We needed some groceries. Now, I used to really dislike shopping for groceries. It always seemed like it took forever to drive from our house to the Meijer in Hamburg, and I didn't enjoy walking the acres of aisles looking for food.

Dillingham is different. There are only two grocery stores, and they're small. The trip from our apartment takes about a minute, two at the most. Today we went to the AC Value first. It seems like they have cheaper prices most of the time versus the N&N Market. We saw the public defender in the produce section and said hi. The produce section actually seems less fresh and well-stocked at AC, but everything else is better. Nevertheless, Samara wanted some particular bacon that was on sale at the N&N, so we went there next. We were still done with our shopping very quickly, even after going to two grocery stores. Now that's my kind of shopping.

We spent quite a bit of the rest of the day indoors, since it was a bit rainy out. But this evening, Samara couldn't take being shut in any longer. So we hopped in the Jeep and went out Aleknagik Lake Road towards the lake. Unlike our first trip out there (when we stopped at the first sign of water and came back), we made it all the way to the lake this time. You drive right down to the end of the road at the boat ramp.

Anyway, the drive out there is really pretty, and there are some really cool mountains to see.


Then when we got to the end of the road, there was a parking lot on the right before you got down to the boat ramp. We parked there, with other cars, and a plane.

Yeah, this plane can land in the water and float, but then it also has landing gear that folds down so that it can drive up the boat ramp and park in a parking lot. How weird is that?

From the parking lot, we walked down to the lake.


There is actually parking a little bit closer than the parking lot with the plane. But it's for...

You see, the town of Aleknagik is on the north shore of the lake, whereas we were at the south shore. The 25-mile road from Dillingham ends there at the boat ramp on the south shore. If you live in Aleknagik, as approximately 250 people do, then you get out of your car, get into your boat (a small skiff anchored right on the beach) and head over to your house on the other shore. Or you can fly into one of the small airstrips on the north shore. Here's some houses across the way...

I explained to Samara that I thought the boat transportation to get to your house explained why the grocery stores always asked whether you wanted plastic bags or boxes. That threw me off the first time I went shopping, but it makes sense that it's easier to pack boxes in your boat than a whole bunch of plastic bags.

The lake is very beautiful, with lots of mountains in the background.

The water is also very cold. If you fall into the water from a boat in Alaska, you'd better be wearing a life jacket. If not, the cold will sap your strength so quickly that you'd drown in a matter of minutes. Swimming just makes you cold faster. That's pretty scary stuff.

Here's Samara and I next to some of the boats.


Anyway, after walking around a little bit and taking in the scenary, we headed back into town. It seems like lots of people were stopped on the sides of the 25-mile lake road, sometimes in little turn-offs. I'm not sure what they were doing, to be honest, but there were so many people we noticed stopped along the road in the middle of nowhere that it seemed strange. Maybe we can ask someone on Monday and find out, because it was weird.

Back home, we ate a late dinner and watched a couple of movies. Stay tuned for more Alaskan excitement, and we miss everyone back in the lower 48!