Besides going out on a boat, taking a plane trip, or driving around the island, there are quite a few things within walking distance in town. The airport is a little outside of town, so you will need a shuttle to your hotel or bed and breakfast if you decide to see the island.
Our hotel was right in town so it was easy to explore the streets. We started with the Visitor Center which sits right on the water.
The visitor center was the next door neighbor to the fish processing company that operates from inside a ship attached to shore. I explained more about that in this post. Luckily it didn’t smell bad or fishy as we walked by.
Up the hill from the visitor center is the Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. We stopped in there a couple of times, once to get out of the rain on the way to somewhere else. It explained the history of the refuge and and how they are protecting bears and wildlife on the island.
Most of the wildlife information sites in Alaska include the life cycle of salmon and their importance to the food chain. I loved this display of a sow and her cubs fishing for salmon.
Across the street from the wildlife refuge building was the oldest home on the island, the Erskine House. It is a historical site and was once a Russian fur trading post. Built in 1792, It remarkably survived the 1964 earthquake. Today it serves as a museum named after its founder and contains historical artifacts.
Right beside the Russian museum was the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church and cemetery. It looks very similar to other Russian churches we have seen throughout Alaska.
There is also an Orthodox seminary in town with housing for the students who come from all over. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it. So far we have noticed the most Russian influence here in Kodiak. Not many of the churches will let you go inside, but I was able to take a picture through the window. Services are still being held weekly in this church.
Outside the church were remnants of the old church bells. The current church was built in 1945, after the previous one burned down in 1943. Only the bells remain from the original church.
While heading back toward our hotel, we stopped at the Kodiak Brewery one day. We tried a few flavors of their beer and I was quite surprised how good they were. Alaska has a number of breweries throughout the state. Our next one to visit will be Denali Brewing Company. Stay tuned for our taste test there!
There are two harbors separating the private boats from the commercial vessels and larger vessels. One can only be reached from Near Island, across the channel. This tug was basking in the sun on his day off. It is amazing the size of the huge barges that it can handle. The cannery barges generally arrive on Mondays and Wednesdays.
This commercial fishing boat can be viewed from a major road in town because it is not docked on the Near Island side. Boats are coming and going all the time, and you can see deck hands who are always working.
Just before I took the boat picture above, a Kodiak “character” asked me to take his picture. He was hanging out on a bench drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade at 12:00 in the afternoon. I didn’t want to be rude…
An easy way for repairs to be done is by driving a boat up these wood beams during high tide. Once the tide goes down, the boat stays and can be reached for repairs. I have never seen this before, but what a clever idea. Just hope the mechanic gets done in time before high tide.
One day Darin wanted to go on a hike so we walked over to a trail on Near Island. From there, we could see the homes across the channel. Some of these are bed and breakfast establishments since there is not enough hotels to accommodate visitors during the summer months.
The channel is also the main entry point for the ships to return to the harbor. We saw several coming through. It would be entertaining to sit on the deck at one of those houses and watch the boats coming and going.
Rental cars are hard to come by right now. Some people resorted to contacting uhaul and drove their trucks and vans around. I suspect the lack of cars is due to the military activity at the missile launching site.
The state of Alaska owns the property, but we heard that the federal government is paying to use it right now. They are working on a missile interceptor. The news about North Korea launching missiles has made some Alaskans very nervous. We were able to drive around with a tour guide, and we noticed a lot of activity.
Our guide told us that most of the military equipment and tents were not on the island a couple of weeks ago. They performed a test last night and launched an interceptor. On the evening news, they stated it was not a result of North Korea, but many here don’t believe it.
The fog set in as we passed over the ridge to the area, so my pictures are not very clear. The troops are living in the smaller tents on the right. This is a big deal for a small little fishing community.
Back into town, there is a Russian deli that our boat captain recommended, Monk’s Rock. The bread was homemade and our sandwich was the best we have eaten in a long time. Mom devoured her cinnamon roll, so it must have been tasty too. They had a small gift shop and the inside was quaint with a lot of character. Don’t let the outside of the building fool you. I love it when locals give us good suggestions!
My final picture was taken in front of the harbormaster building, beside the fisherman’s memorial. The statue was made by students out of trash from the ocean. What a way to recycle! Kodiak is definitely worth a visit if you are looking for things to do in Alaska.
