The Emerald Isle
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11/28/2007
I lived on and in Kodiak more than twenty years ago and have been there since. First of all, as to the town.....it's not as scenic as one might expect, as a good part of the downtown area was swept away by the tsunami of 1964 and the replacement was erected haphazardly and has deteriorated badly since then. There is a large area of tacky, boxy homes called Aleutian Homes which looks to have been at one time some kind of military housing which converted to civilian use and is not exactly scenic. Very few trees in Aleutian Homes giving the area a kind of post apocalyptic feel. Much of the town has been overrun by a huge influx of Filipinos who came in originally to work the canneries, many still do, but many now seem to be devoted to less savory activities and have formed into gangs. Which is not to say that some of the town is not in fact quite scenic, and the immediate setting is spectacular with smaller islands offshore from Kodiak City in beautiful blue green seas. There is a small channel between Kodiak City (on Kodiak Island) and Near Island which, during storms, is breathtaking as the channel is converted into a raging "river" with stupendous waves. The Kodiak Archipelago consists of several large islands (Kodiak, Afognak, Raspberry, Spruce among them) and perhaps hundreds of smaller islands...if one has even a skiff and the weather is calm one can enjoy pristine maritime adventures equalled in few areas of Alaska or the world. The weather is mild by Alaska sandards, not as cold, not as much snow, although there are tremendous rain storms. Wal-Mart and a huge, well stocked Safeway make living in Kodiak not as primitive as it used to be and there has been construction of nice apartment buildings. It's a relatively short flight to Anchorage.
Patrick | Springfield, OR