Land of the Midnight Sun

Alaska is grand! I love being here! It reminds me a lot of New Zealand actually, especially with its sharp, tall mountains plunging into the ocean water. The difference is that Alaska is so much bigger and has incredible natural wildlife- moose, grizzlies, eagles, etc.



Alana and I were picked up from the Anchorage airport at midnight by her older brother Ben and his fiancé Tanya. We drove for four hours from Anchorage to Ninilchik. Even though we drove through the night and into the early morning, it was light outside. In the Alaskan summer, the sun never sets! (The trade-off? In the winter, the sun never rises). Summer skies in Alaska get a bit dusky, but never dark. Hence, the name Land of the Midnight Sun.

We enjoyed a beautiful drive along the Turnagain Arm, staring out the windows in awe at the snow-covered mountains illuminated by the moon and lightened night, reflecting in the calm water below. As the sun started to "rise" around 3am, we saw lots of moose grazing alongside the road! 

We pulled into Ninilchik around 4am and went to sleep in the Clooten's camper van for a few hours. We woke up around 6:30 (mainly because it was so bright outside) and started getting things ready to go fishing, including dressing in layers and layers of warm clothes. I went to the general store in town to purchase a fishing license and frozen herring to use as bait, and then we prepped and loaded the Clooten's raft. Never had I ever been deep sea fishing on a little raft... this was bound to be a great experience!


Alana, myself, Mr. Clooten, Tanya, and Tyler took the raft four miles off shore into the Cook Inlet. Backed by the snow-covered volcanoes of the Alaskan Range and under a brilliant blue sky, we put down the anchor, baited our lines, and waited... or not!! The fish were biting like crazy! I literally put my line down on the bottom, got immediate nibbles, and then snagged a fish! Catch, after catch, after catch! We literally didn't have any time to breathe as there was always someone reeling in a fish, removing a fish from a line, or baiting a line for the next go. It was so fun! Before long, the entire floor of the raft was covered with flopping  halibut and cod. Yuuummmmm!


During our fishing trip, the sea was incredibly calm and peaceful. We had two whales come close to our raft, and we saw sea otters and a mama with her little cub sea otter. When we returned to shore for lunch with our catch, we immediately filleted the fish (10 halibut, 2/person by law, and 12 cod). Sea gulls and, get this, BALD EAGLES, swarmed the beach around us, waiting to feast on the fish remains. It was amazing seeing the bald eagles up close- they're such big birds and absolutely beautiful and so intense!


We enjoyed a large and rewarded lunch of french toast made by Mr. Clooten and were joined at the campsite by Alana's other brothers, Nate and Lucas, as well as her second cousin Chip, who actually lives in Atlanta too! It's a family affair at Ninilchik, and I'm so fortunate to be a part of it!