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> May 5, 2006 – Dutch Harbor and Unalaska Tour, My favorite pictures from the tour
Samantha_Dassler_Barlow
post May 9 2006, 05:33 PM
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Today, my researchers, Lee and Jackie, took those of us that flew in yesterday on a tour of Dutch Harbor. We started out by checking our email at the public library in Unalaska (right next to Dutch Harbor) since the hotel Internet was not working properly. I am now a card-carrying member of the Unalaska Public Library! We had to join in order to use the Internet.

After the library, we hopped in the rented van and began our tour of the town. Our first stop was as the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Ascension, the oldest cathedral in Alaska. We were not allowed inside, but we enjoyed peaking through the windows and walking around the grounds.

Russian Orthodox Church
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Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Ascension, built in 1896 and restored in 1996.

After the church visit, we took a dirt road that wound around the island to the World War II Memorial. I thought that the white crosses that marked the graves looked very peaceful on the side of the mountain.

Unalaska Graves
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Graves on side of mountain near the site of the WWII memorial. Some of them were made in recent years.

WWII Memorial
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WWII Memorial – There are many remnants like the bunker seen in the picture all around Dutch Harbor.

We kept following the dirt road around the edge of the island where we next stopped at the strangest of places – the dump. We learned that Bald Eagles are very common here and they are also scavengers, so the best place to see a bunch of them is on the cliffs near the dump.

Continuing along the same dirt road, we wound our way along narrow passes with the water right below us on our left side. We saw 3 stellar sea lions playing around in the water. Their heads would pop up out of the water for just a moment and then they would disappear, only to resurface in another place.

We stopped at a place called Summer Bay. There is a beach with sand dunes here. That is unique because most of these mountains have erosional features at their bases. But, here, it seems that there is a deposit of sand that may be of volcanic origin. It was very dark sand and it started to snow.

Being the shell collector that I am, I found shells of Pacific Razor Clams (Siliqua patula). They have beautiful purple bands that probably don’t show up well in the picture. While out on the dunes of Summer Bay, it started to snow and it was so cold!

Razor Clam
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Pacific Razor Clam (Siliqua patula)

Sam on the Beach
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Me, freezing at Summer Bay in the snow while collecting shells.

Later, we ate dinner at the Chart Room in the Grand Aleutian. I had some really delicious sautéed scallops – the perfect way to end a perfect sightseeing day!
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