Cullen and I spent five days in the small fishing community of Cordova, AK in Southeast Alaska last week. We were there on a media tour sponsored by the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association with three other bloggers. Craig came out for the weekend, which was awesome because then he could watch Cullen while I run the half-marathon and it was an opportunity for him to visit the area as well. Neither of us had been to Cordova before, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time and could definitely see ourselves returning in the future.
Last week I recapped our first day there, but then we were too busy for me to write any more posts, so here’s a look at some more highlights from our trip.
Thursday morning I ran 6.5 miles along the waters of Prince William Sound. It was absolutely gorgeous–a little drizzly but nothing too bad. I also did another run that afternoon, an easy 4 miles.
We were supposed to go out on a commercial fishing boat for the day, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.
Instead we hiked Heney Ridge Trail which is an old-growth forest (my favorite), so we were well protected from the rains.
I carried Cullen in a backpack, and he absolutely loved it! He was bouncing up and down, talking, happy-screaming, and enjoying even minute of it.
During our trip, on several different occasions, we met local people from the community who are involved with the commercial fishing process. Actually, let’s be clear, if you live in Cordova, most likely your job is in some way connected to fishing or dependent upon the fishermen.
Talking to these fishermen (usually males but there are some women out there too) really gave this trip a whole new perspective. Fishing isn’t just what they do to support their family, they truly love it and pour their heart and soul into this way of life. More often than not, fishing has been in their family for many generations and it is truly a way of life: there’s no such thing as a weekend, they spend several months away from their family, and it is physically hard and demanding work. So, so, so many times during this trip fishing reminded me of my parents and their family farm: the work ethic, the lifestyle they have chosen, and just how passionate they are about what they do.
Friday morning we bundled up and headed out for some sport fishing in the rain. Cullen was properly prepared with his polar bear hat, a fleece “snowsuit,” and waterproof overalls. He napped quite contently in his stroller. Now that’s an Alaska baby for you.
We did catch some pink salmon (one of the five different varieties of salmon). It wasn’t too hard as they were all schooled up under a bridge, but it was still fun.
That evening we attended the Copper River Wild Salmon Festival where the four of us bloggers were the judges for the Taste of Cordova–a cooking contest that incorporated local foods and often salmon, of course.
We sampled all sorts of local foods.
My tasting plate. It was a hard decision because all of the dishes were fabulous.
That pretty much concluded Thursday and Friday of our trip. Up next, my race recap from the half-marathon on Saturday. I’ve run some small races, but this one might top some of the others in terms of timing and the start line.
