Page 225 - Vacation Country Travel Guide

com; Website: www.dillinghamak.com.

Founded in 1818 as a Russian trade center,
Dillingham is now an established fishing community
which has evolved into the economic, transportation
and public service center for western Bristol Bay.
Commercial, subsistence and world-class sport
fishing, fish processing, cold storage and support of the
fishing industry are primary activities. Bristol Bay’s
rivers support the world’s largest red salmon run. All
five species of Pacific salmon, halibut, Actic char and
grayling, northern pike, Dolly Varden, rainbow and
lake trout are all found in great abundance in area
waters. A wide variety of guided fishing adventures
are available. There are five national wildlife refuges,
wilderness areas and parks in the region, as well as a
number of state parks and wildlife protection areas.
Visitors will find comfortable accommodations
at B&Bs, hotels and lodges, and may also enjoy
wilderness camping in the surrounding vast expanses,
where one may spend an entire trip without seeing
another person.
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

The Aleutians are a series of 300 islands
stretching 1,400 miles from southwestern Alaska
to Russia. An Alaska Marine Highway ferry makes
the trip on a monthly basis April through October,
from Homer and Kodiak along the Alaska
Peninsula. After leaving Kodiak, passengers sail
past the perfect cones of several volcanoes, the
treeless but lush green mountains of the Aleutians
and distinctive rock formations and cliffs. The
ferry docks at small villages along the way and
make an Alaskan vacation the trip of a lifetime. at the end of the line in Dutch Harbor the ship
stays in port for several hours, long enough for
Villages and Communities a van tour designed specifically to accommodate
ferry passengers.
on Kodiak Island
It can be said about all the villages of Kodiak Unalaska/Dutch Harbor
Island that they are remote, accessible only by boat Located on one of the furthest points on the
or air and have very few amenities. For the most Aleutian Island Chain; 800 air miles from
part, visitors should not expect to find a restaurant Anchorage, served by daily flights and Alaska
or convenience store, sporting good supplies or Marine Highway ferry. Population 4,300.
up to ten feet tall on their hind legs. emergency gear. Visitor Information: Unalaska/Port of Dutch
Kodiak bear populations are healthy and Harbor Convention and Visitors Bureau,
productive, as they enjoy relatively pristine habitat SOUTHWEST ALASKA MAINLAND Phone: (877) 581-2612; Website: www.
and well managed fish populations. Bears have unalaska.info.
traditional areas they use each year, but because of the
rich variety of foods available, the groups here have Bethel At the end of the Aleutian Chain, Unalaska/Dutch
some of the smallest home ranges of any population. Population: 6400. Visitor Information: Bethel Harbor is also its largest community. It is a busy
Although generally solitary in nature, Kodiak bears Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 329, Bethel, fishing and seafood processing port and popular
often occur in large groups at concentrated feeding AK 99559; Phone: (907) 543-2911; Email: tourist destination offering sportfishing, bird and
areas, and have developed a complex language and bethelchamber1@alaska.com; Website: www. wildlife viewing, cultural and historical exploration,
social structure to express themselves and avoid bethelakchamber.org. hiking and beachcombing. The community enjoys a
fights. strategic position at the center of one of the richest
Cubs are born in January or February and weigh Located in southwest Alaska on the Yukon Delta fisheries in the world and consistently ranks as the
less than a pound, emerging from the den in May or National Wildlife Refuge along the banks of the number one port in the nation for seafood volume
June weighing 15 to 20 pounds. Typical litter sizes Kuskokwim River, Bethel’s lifestyle revolves around and value, processing many hundreds of millions
are two to three cubs, although occasionally sows are the water, with several nearby world-class trout and pounds annually.
sometimes seen with five or six in tow, probably due salmon streams. There are no roads connecting Bethel Unalaska’s history is a mix of Unangan (Aleut)
to adopting from other litters. Most cubs stay with with any other cities, but daily jet service is available native culture and Russian fur trade. The Museum
their mothers for three years, and become sexually to Anchorage with a one-hour flight time. Air taxi of the Aleutians is the only archeological research
mature at age five, continuing to produce cubs services provide scheduled and charter flights into and storage facility for the Aleutian region. Located
throughout their lives. over 50 communities in the surrounding area. on the remains of a World War II warehouse,
Air charter floatplane services and boat charter the site was once part of Fort Mears. Permanent
operators based in Kodiak can arrange tailor made displays focus on native Aleut/Unangan culture
tours for Kodiak bear viewing along the secluded bays Dillingham from prehistoric times to the present, the Russian-
of Kodiak Wildlife Refuge, Afognak Island to the Population: 2400. Visitor Information: American era and the role played by the islands in
north or on the Alaska Peninsula, providing visitors Dillingham Chamber of Commerce, Phone: WWII. Rotating exhibits showcase local artists as
with a diverse array of experiences guaranteed to (907) 842-5115; Email: dlgchmbr@nushtel. well as traveling exhibits from Russia.

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