July 16 - Porcupine to Pelican

July 16 – Porcupine to Pelican

Got up and headed out fairly early …. the crack of 9am maybe headed for Pelican with about a 19 mile run.  Part of this will be in ‘big water’ on the outside and part will be inside, behind the islands.   I will be hunkered down to fend of being seasick.  Sea Jay left earlier headed directly for Elfin Cove so that they could do some serious fishing.

Arrived in Pelican – whew made it thru another crossing.  Glen took all options for inside routes.  I guess he wants to stay married.  <grin>

We walked the entire town well really a community.  There appears to have been a number of changes since 2013.  A new fishing lodge is being built, and several of the homes have had work done.  There is a new ‘gallery’. There are businesses working in the canneries/fish packing.  We went into one and visited with the owners during lunch break.  They buy fish from the fisherman; clean, cut, package and flash freeze or pack whole and ship it out.  They will even process, pack, and ship fish for travelers like us.  The business is run by a young couple and the husbands brother, and business seems to be going well for them.  One brother is a fisherman, and the other and his wife run the processing and shipping.  The wife was raised here in Pelican; they live in Portland during the winter and Pelican in the summer.  

There were many more locals and semi locals in town today.  Reportedly the weather and water for fishing in the ocean (they go out from here about 20 miles into the ocean) is ‘a bit rough’ today.   Late in the day we saw fishing boats return to port with lots of fish.  Some of these were the commercial fisherman and others were charters from the fishing lodges.   One of the charter boats (5 people on board) came back with two large ice chests of fish ….. salmon and halibut.  They had a good day.  Another boat came back with 3 large dock carts full of Silver Salmon. 

We spent a couple hours in the library trying to get some internet messages in and out.  Slow process but better than nothing.   The entire library is about the size of two small bedrooms.  It is one of two places in town that you can get the internet so it is a hub for the community.  The other place is the medical clinic which is only open a few days a week.

After happy hour on Magic; Gary, Lenore, Diane, Willard, Chris, Willow, Glen and I all went up to Rose’s Pub to catch the Saturday evening action.  There were two other couples in there, and of course Rosie was there.   Rosie is 83 yrs. old and has been running this place for 43 years; it was a bar under a different name prior to that.  Prior to that she ran a tug boat.  She said that she had spent so much time and money in the place that she had to give up the tugboat and buy the bar.  The woman is a hoot.  When we all came in and sat down she yelled out.  “Drop your pants and let’s have a party”.   She raised 11 children here in Pelican with an undetermined/undiscussed number of husbands and/or fathers to her children.   Lenore and I visited with her up by the bar for some time and she insisted that we shoot some tequila with her on her.   She is a party animal and apparently has always been.  Brian and Allie (other customers) who are in town while traveling as we are on their boat m/v Skylark II (they keep it in Bellingham, but live in Florida), were there.  Brian used to be a Captain on a Coast Guard vessel stationed in Sitka and told us of stories of coming to Pelican years ago.   He said he always arranged for the vessel to come into Pelican early in a cruise as the guys needed several days to scrub off Rosie’s signature from their butts.  Apparently she’d yell ‘drop your pants and let’s party’ back then too; and she signed lots of ‘cheeks’ “Love Rosie” in permanent marker pen.  The place is covered with signed 1 dollar bills.  Diane wanted to put one on the ceiling and was told just to stand on the bar, being short she had Willard climb up.  Rosie tried to ‘help him’ by holding his pants …. And giving them a tug saying ‘let’s party’.   One of her daughters ‘Mary’ was at the bar earlier in the afternoon and some of our group visited with her (she is in her early 30’s and is one of the youngest children).   Rosie’s family moved her to Juneau this year but she was back to get summer started and celebrate at the bar.  She has found a young couple to manage the place for her.    Rosie told Lenore and I that she liked us and so she’d share all her boyfriends with us.  We all should be so lucky as to be as spry as she is when we reach 83.

Allie, Lenore, Rosie, and Liz

 

 

Hills Salmon caught in Pelican in the early 80’s.   On display in Rose’s Pub.

 

 

Dart board in the Pub.  Crown Royal bags all around it.

Notice the safe placement of the electrical cord and outlet.

 

Sign from the men’s room at the Pub

 

Pelican Bike Rack, also used for hanging snow sleds.

 

 

Oops --- someone left something yummy in this bucket and a bear got it.  Apparently bear can’t take the top off these buckets any better than humans can.

 

 

 

Yard art ---- fire pit